One of the best monster movies/sci-fi films I’ve seen, and easily in my top 10 of the year. Find the biggest screen you can and go see it.
Note: I’m not going to give away the slightest spoiler, and I strongly recommend that anyone planning to watch it avoid even looking at the posters. The less you know, the better.
In an isolated coastal village in South Korea, strange and violent animal deaths begin to occur. The local police chief, Beom-seok, and a young police officer try to figure out what is happening, while hunters and local residents also get caught up in the situation.
It soon becomes clear that this is no ordinary animal, but a mysterious creature.
It’s almost a given that when a great drama director takes on genre cinema, they’re going to deliver something unusual and highly entertaining. I already thought the director’s previous film, The Wailing, was excellent, but here I’d give him the crown.
An hour into the film, we still haven’t even seen the monster, and we don’t mind at all. The director gives a masterclass in suspense, following the protagonist as he witnesses the creature’s destructive path through the village. Destroyed houses, slaughtered people, gunshots and distant screams. He builds a sense of awe and terror around the creature without even showing it, simply through the consequences it leaves behind in our world.
And when the time finally comes to see it, the reveal is almost shocking, because what stands before us is a truly frightening and menacing figure.
From there, an unrelenting fight for survival begins, packed with adrenaline-fueled sequences and thrilling action. The effects are excellent, especially during the destruction scenes. There are fantastic confrontations and chaotic sequences, with countless highlights. At times, it feels like the frantic panels of a manga brought to life. Especially when all of this is combined with suspense and humor, the result is pure magic.
As for the creature itself, it looks great, although the CGI isn’t perfect, particularly in brightly lit scenes. Overall, however, the work is very good and never becomes distracting.
And it doesn’t become distracting because the director isn’t satisfied with simply making a monster action movie. He has an entire mythology in mind. The film is long, and it constantly introduces something new: a surprise, a new piece of information, or a shift in what we thought we knew. As a result, it keeps your interest from fading.
One thing it does exceptionally well is a change in perspective during the third act, which I absolutely did not see coming. It gives the story an entirely new dimension, in a very unique way that leaves you to decide for yourself where the moral line lies.
Hope does horror, sci-fi, and even comedy extremely well. There were scenes where I laughed from the heart, and so did the entire theater. This isn’t a conventional blockbuster. It has strange characters, a bizarre and dark tone with moments of black humor, while gradually expanding into a large-scale mythology. By the end, my jaw was on the floor. Yet, damn it, it has the director’s full creative identity stamped all over it. And that makes it a fresh and distinctive film for a mainstream audience.
I also have to mention the clever setting of the small village that has been left to fend for itself, with no help coming. On one hand, it creates an atmosphere of desperation. On the other, there’s a political dimension, with the locals’ suspicion toward enemies coming from the north. The creature itself is the ultimate “outsider.”
My only real negatives were a few scenes that repeat themselves and go on slightly longer than they should, as well as the fact that the film doesn’t actually conclude. It reaches a certain point and simply ends. Since we’re apparently getting a sequel, as the director has stated, that doesn’t bother me at all.
This is the kind of film we should support, talk about, and tell other people about.