Category Archives: Korean

Tastes of Horror (2023) Review

Posted on June 26, 2024 by Paul Bramhall

Director #1: Ahn Sang-hoon Director #2: Yoon Eun-kyung Director #3: Chae Yoo-joon Director #4: Kim Yong-gyun Director #5: Im Dae-woong Cast: Lee Zoo-young, Kim Joo-ryoung, Shin Eun-soo, Kim Tae-hoon, Park Jin-a, Choi Soo-im Running Time: 118 min. By Paul Bramhall The horror anthology is a production that’s been around for years, and in Asia there have been several takes on the format in the 21st century. The early 2000’s gave … Continue reading →

Posted in All, Korean, News |

Hopeless (2023) Review

Posted on June 25, 2024 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Kim Chang-hoon Cast: Hong Xa-bin, Kim Hyung-seo (Bibi), Song Joong-ki, Kim Jong-soo, Park Bo-Kyung  Running Time: 125 min. By Paul Bramhall In Korean cinema it almost feels like a rite of passage for debut writer and directors to tackle the gritty social drama, usually focusing on those who live on the bottom rungs of Korean society, and with 2023’s Hopeless Kim Chang-hoon proves he’s not going to be one … Continue reading →

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Don’t Go Too Far (2021) Review

Posted on May 29, 2024 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Park Hyun-yong Cast: Son Jin-hwan, Son Byung-ho, Choi Jae-sup, Lee Sun-hee, Park Myung-shin, Lee Kyung-sung, Lee Do Yup, Ji Dae Han, Kang Tae Young Running Time: 77 min. By Paul Bramhall  While it’s not uncommon for movies to be based off stage plays, what is uncommon is for the actual theatre setting itself to be integrated into a production intended for the screen rather than the stage. Part of … Continue reading →

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Thunderbird (2022) Review

Posted on May 10, 2024 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Lee Jae-Won Cast: Seo Hyun-Woo, Lee Myeong-Ro, Lee Seol, Kim Kyu-baek, Park Seung-tae, Choi Euna Running Time: 96 min. By Paul Bramhall I confess to being a fan of the “having a bad day” sub-genre, the kind which places a character (or characters) in an unenviable situation over the course of a short timeframe, and come with a narrative that’s usually built around the mantra of everything that can … Continue reading →

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Roundup: Punishment, The (2024) Review

Posted on April 26, 2024 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Heo Myung-haeng Cast: Ma Dong-Seok, Kim Moo-Yul, Lee Dong-Hwi, Park Ji-Hwan, Lee Beom-Soo, Kim Min-Jae, Lee Ji-Hoon, Lee Joo-Bin, Park Bo-kyung, Derek Chouinard Running Time: 109 min.  By Paul Bramhall In a world where it’s perfectly normal to wait a couple of years for a sequel to land, The Roundup rebranded follow-ups to 2017’s The Outlaws have looked to buck the trend. Audiences only had to wait 11 months … Continue reading →

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Closet, The (2020) Review

Posted on April 7, 2024 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Kim Kwang-Bin Cast: Ha Jung-Woo, Kim Nam-Gil, Heo Yool, Kim Si-A, Park Sung-Woong, Shin Hyun-Bin Running Time: 95 min.  By Paul Bramhall  While the practice of shamanism has always been around in Korean cinema, it was arguably The Wailing that popularised it within the context of the horror genre for a 21st century audience, and 2020’s The Closet was one of many productions post its release in which shamanism … Continue reading →

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Wild, The (2023) Review

Posted on March 19, 2024 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Kim Bong-han Cast: Park Sung-woong, Oh Dae-hwan, Seo Ji-hye, Joo Suk-tae, Oh Dal-soo, Hwang Se-In  Running Time: 110 min. By Paul Bramhall When Korean cinema broke out internationally in the early 2000’s it was the countries gangster genre that quickly gained a favourable reputation, defined by an aesthetic that never shone away from brutal violence, and populated by memorable characters who were usually lucky to make it to the … Continue reading →

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Exhuma (2024) Review

Posted on March 15, 2024 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Jang Jae-Hyon Cast: Choi Min-sik, Yoo Hae-jin, Kim Go-eun, Lee Do-hyun, Jeon Jin-Ki, Kim Jae-cheol, Hong Seo-jun Running Time: 134 min. By Paul Bramhall While many directors in the Korean film industry tend to gravitate between different genres, there’s something admirable about how director and writer Jang Jae-hyeon has carved out a niche for himself helming supernatural horror mysteries. After making his feature length debut with The Priests in … Continue reading →

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To Sir, With Love | aka Bloody Reunion (2006) Review

Posted on February 29, 2024 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Im Dae-woong Cast: Oh Mi-Hee, Seo Young-Hee, Yeo Hyeon-Soo, Lee Ji-Hyun, Yoo Sul-Ah, Lee Dong-Kyu, Kim Eung-soo, Jang Sung-Won, Park Hyo-Joon, Lee Tae-Rim Running Time: 93 min. By Paul Bramhall Pick any Asian horror from the early to mid-2000’s, and there’s a high chance you’ll encounter a long black-haired ghost, inevitably showing up to terrorise the cast and seek revenge for a past wrong. A trend that was started … Continue reading →

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Monstrous Corpse, A (1981) Review

Posted on February 26, 2024 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Kang Beomgu Cast: Chiang Ming, Yu Gwang-ok, Hong Yun-jeong, Kim Wang-guk, Baek Song, Pauline Wong Running Time: 85 min. By Paul Bramhall  As far as baffling remake choices go, the obscure Korean horror oddity A Monstrous Corpse from 1981 must surely be up there as one of the top contenders. A reimagining of the 1974 Italian and Spanish co-production Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, director Jorge Grau’s Lake District set … Continue reading →

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Sleep (2023) Review

Posted on February 16, 2024 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Jason Yu Cast: Jung Yu-mi, Lee Sun-kyun, Kim Keum-Soon, Kim Guk-Hee, Lee Kyung-Jin, Yoon Kyung-Ho, Lee Dong-Chan, Park Hyun-Jeong, Hong Ha-Naim Running Time: 94 min. By Paul Bramhall The best horror movies plug into the kind of primeval fear that everyone can relate to, and in that regard its hard to think of a more commonly binding part of being human than the need to sleep. For most of … Continue reading →

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Returned a Single-Legged Man 2 (1974) Review

Posted on February 6, 2024 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Lee Doo-yong Cast: Han Yong-cheol, Bae Su-chun, Kim Mun-ju, Im Eun-joo, Elton Chong, Park Dong-ryong, Cho Chun, Kim Wang-guk, Hwang Jang Lee, Han Tae-Il Running Time: 88 min. By Paul Bramhall The taekwon-action genre is one that’s largely faded into obscurity both in the west and in its native Korea, a combination of lack of availability, and the titles which are available usually being heavily bastardized from their original versions. … Continue reading →

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Concrete Utopia (2023) Review

Posted on February 2, 2024 by Will McGuire

Directed: Uhm Tae-Hwa Cast: Lee Byung-Hun, Park Seo-Jun, Park Bo-Young, Kim Sun-Young, Kim Do-Yoon, Park Ji-Hu, Lee Seo-Hwan, Kang Ae-Shim, Lee Hyo-Je, Lee Sun-Hee Running Time: 129 min. By Will McGuire Concrete Utopia, South Korea’s nomination for Best Foreign Feature at the upcoming Academy Awards, is a tense thriller, a particularly honest class commentary, a leap forward for special effects work in the Korean cinema, and twenty minutes too long. … Continue reading →

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Badland Hunters (2024) Review

Posted on January 28, 2024 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Heo Myung-haeng Cast: Ma Dong-seok, Lee Hee-Jun, Lee Jun-Young, Roh Jeong-Eui, Ahn Ji-Hye, Park Ji-Hoon, Jang Young-Namm, Park Sang-Hoon , Ahn Seong-Bong Running Time: 107 min. By Paul Bramhall Badland Hunters marks the latest entry in Korea’s burgeoning fascination with post-apocalyptic settings, a spin-off from director Eom Tae-hwa’s Concrete Utopia, which saw a group of survivors living in the last standing apartment block after an earthquake razed Seoul to … Continue reading →

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Alienoid: Return to the Future (2024) Review

Posted on January 18, 2024 by Paul Bramhall

Director: Choi Dong-hun Cast: Ryoo Joon-Yeol, Kim Woo-Bin, Kim Tae-Ri, Lee Ha-Nee, Yum Jung-Ah, Jo Woo-Jin, Kim Eui-Sung, Jin Sun-Kyu, Wi Ji-woong, Lee Si-hoon Running Time: 123 min. By Paul Bramhall Korea’s premier blockbuster director Choi Dong-hoon returned with a bang in 2022 with Alienoid, a time travelling sci-fi genre mash-up that threw in everything from Shaw Brothers references to a John Woo homage. Shot as a 2-parter, the second … Continue reading →

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