%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/eyebrow4_3772.jpg]]

''Dead Friend'', also known by its original title as ''The Ghost'' (which is the literal translation of ''령'' or "Ryeong"), is a 2004 South Korean horror film. It was written and directed by Kim Tae-gyeong and was his debut feature. It stars Kim Ha-neul as Min Ji-won, Nam Sang-mi as Su-in, Bin (Jeon Hye-bin) as Eun-seo, and Shin Yi as Shin Mi-kyung. Both Kim Ha-neul and Nam Sang-mi previously starred together in ''Too Beautiful to Lie''.

The film centers around Ji-Won, a teenage girl suffering from amnesia, who is being haunted by strange and disturbing visions. Things take a turn for the worst when she discovers her high school friends are being killed off one-by-one by what seems to be a vengeful ghost. It is up to Ji-Won to try to recover her lost memories and find out why the ghost is killing off her friends before it comes looking for her next.

----
!!'''This film contains examples of:'''

* AlphaBitch: Ji-won was this in high school, picking on her former friend Su-in.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Su-in, completely by accident, got what she wished for - She ''becomes'' Ji-won. Unfortunately for her, there were some [[GhostlyGoals nasty consequences.]]
* BreakTheHaughty: It was quite ''fun'' watching the victims' terror just before they were attacked, considering what haughty bitches they were in the past.
%%* CatapultNightmare: Practically every time Ji-Won wakes up.
* CigaretteOfAnxiety: Ji-won's high school friend Yu-sung needs to light one up while telling Ji-won about the "bizarre" things she's been seeing.
* CompletelyDifferentTitle: The original title of the film is ''령'' (Ryeong), which literally translates to ''The Ghost''. However, the English version changes the title to ''Dead Friend'', which does have a connection to what happens in the film.
%%* CreepyChild: The slow chant "Hide well...Your hair might show. Hide well...Your hair might show" was especially creepy.
* DarknessEqualsDeath: Every death happens on a dark night in a dark room. For an extra kicker, it's usually a stormy night too.
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Every character in the film. Possibly intentional? The four main girls were particularly creepy whenever they stood in a row and just ''stared'' someone down.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The scene where a meek Su-in says "I want to be you", talking about how much she worships her more popular friend Ji-won.
* GhostlyGoals: The ghost had unfinished business to attend to...but not before killing off most of the film's cast.
* GirlPosse: The flashbacks reveal that Ji-won, who is kind and sweet now, used to be the AlphaBitch head of a Mean Girl posse that picked on Su-in. Why is she nicer now? Because she isn't really Ji-won.
* GrandTheftMe: Su-in's spirit has taken over Ji-won's body, although she doesn't realize that. Ji-won's spirit for her part has possessed her own mother.
* IWishedYouWereDead: Eun-jung wishes a ghost would take her sister away. Guess what happens not five minutes later?
* KillTheCutie: Poor Su-in, pushed into a river by her bitchy fake friends.
%%* NightmareSequence: Ji-won has more than one.
%%* OminousMusicBoxTune: The movie's theme song.
* PoliceAreUseless: While reporting a ghost ''is'' pretty ridiculous, it's hard not to shake your head when the police officers laugh in Ji-won's face and call her crazy when there are a bunch of random, unexplainable and ''downright impossible'' deaths happening around the city.
* TheReveal: The ending. When Su-in drowned in the river, her spirit took over the body of Ji-won in a case of GrandTheftMe; the character of Ji-won has actually been Su-in throughout the movie. Ji-won's spirit, evicted from her own body, has possessed her mother.
* StringyHairedGhostGirl: Played completely straight, with the scary damp ghost girl, until the TwistEnding that puts a spin on the ghost's identity.
* TomatoInTheMirror: The ending reveals that the spirit of Su-in is inhabiting Ji-won's body, and that the ghost is actually the spirit of Ji-won.
* VomitIndiscretionShot: The lovely close up of Eun-seo vomiting buckets and buckets of water.
----