“Seven Years of Night” Theatrical Poster

Director: Choo Chang-min
Writer: Jung Yoo-Jung
Cast: Ryoo Seung-Ryong, Jang Dong-Gun, Song Sae-Byeok, Ko Gyung-Pyo, Moon Jeong-Hee
Running Time: 123 min.

By Paul Bramhall

The theme of a parent seeking to avenge a wrong doing against their child has been one that’s gained plenty of mileage since the beginning of the Korean wave. From Park Chan-wook’s Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance in 2002, through to more recent entries such as Lee Kyoung-mi’s The Truth Beneath, when done correctly, there’s a certain power to these tales that taps into that primitive need to protect our loved ones. Seven Years of Night is the latest entry to explore the vengeful parent trope, and marks the second time for one of author Jeong Yu-jeong’s novels to be adapted for the big screen (the first being 2014’s Shoot Me in the Heart).

At the helm this time is director Choo Chang-min, his first time to return to the director’s chair since 2012’s hugely successful Masquerade (that triggered a trend of lush period dramas). While Seven Days of Night loses Masquerade’s leading man Lee Byung-hun, it does see Chang-min paired up with his previous titles co-star in the form of Ryu Seong-ryong. One of Korea’s most versatile actors, Seong-ryong was on somewhat of a hot streak during 2011 – 2013, with memorable roles in the likes of War of the Arrows and Miracle in Cell No.7. While more recent roles in The Piper and The Sound of a Flower failed to resonate with audiences on the same level, Seong-ryong’s performances in them were still arguably the highlight.

Playing a hard-up security officer, after purchasing an apartment he can’t really afford, he decides to rent it out and moves with his wife and son to employee accommodation in Seryung Village, a small hamlet next to a lake. However while driving there late one night alone and under the influence of alcohol, he hits a young girl that suddenly appears out of nowhere from the surrounding forest, and disposes of her body in the lake. The girl’s father, a physically abusive doctor whose wife has ran away, and it turns out was also what his daughter was attempting to do when she was struck, makes it his mission to find out who was behind her death, and make them pay.

The father is played by an almost unrecognizable Jang Dong-gun, looking like he paid a visit to the same hair stylist as Jean Clade Van Damme in Enemies Closer, and comes across as a seething vessel of nastiness and spite. After the previous year’s mis-fire V.I.P., here Dong-gun takes a chance on a role that casts him against type, and it’s a chance that pay off. A far cry from his action orientated performances in the likes of No Tears for the Dead and The Warrior’s Way, as a vicious brute of a man who feels little remorse for his abusive ways, his role is a memorable one.

The narrative of Seven Years of Night, significantly, largely focuses on the past rather than the present. We learn that Seong-ryong’s misdemeanour was discovered, and he’s been in prison for the last 7 years on death row, while his son, branded an outcast because of his fathers crime, has grown up to become a diver under the tutelage of his father’s former colleague. However the bulk of the narrative takes place during the period that leads up to the girl’s death, and the subsequent consequences of it.

Tonally, this makes for Seven Years of Night to be an interesting beast, and the final product is one that feels unbalanced in where its focus lies. This is most likely due to the source material being a novel, however it shouldn’t be an excuse for an uneven narrative. Chang-min’s latest also feels like a by-product of what we’ve seen a lot of since the success of Na Hong-jin’s The Wailing, and that’s the incorporation of supernatural elements into the more traditional tale of revenge. Seven Years of Night incorporates them far better than say, Yoon Joon-hyeong’s Fatal Intuition, however by the time the end credits are rolling they still feel misplaced.

Indeed the opening scene indicates that a supernatural thriller is exactly what we’re in for. The security supervisor explains the local superstitions that surround the haunted “man-eating lake”, and that for the nearby dam’s construction a whole village was submerged, without the normal practice of it being demolished first. There is also the inclusion of a woman possessed with shaman like visions, played by Moon Jung-hee (Hide and Seek), that feels like she should have more bearing in the plot. As it is though, she does little else other than show up to give ominous premonitions, and explain to Seong-ryong’s son why he’s being visited by the ghost of the girl. To top things off, Seong-ryong suffers from vivid dreams of a well that see him sleep-walking to the lake every night, but what the reasons are behind them remain shrouded in mystery.

All of these elements slowly build up a sense of foreboding dread, as we’re led to question what mysterious forces are at work in the village, and it’s a tone effectively built upon as the plot progresses. At times it feels like Chang-min forgets himself that we’re watching a flashback, as there’s more than one occasion when we get a flashback within a flashback. However this is forgivable, and in many ways is indicative of the core problem in Seven Years of Night, and that is the events that unfolded in the past are far more interesting and layered than what’s going on in the present, which is inevitably where we need to end up.

The cast though all clock in stellar performances, which make it easy to keep watching. In particular, the role of Seong-ryon’s son, played by Jung Joon-won (who was in both The Piper and Hide and Seek) in the past, and Go Kyung-po (Coin Locker Girl) in the present, sees both actors perfectly cast, and very much looking like the older and younger versions of themselves. Song Sae-byeok (A Girl at my Door) is also on point as Seong-ryong’s colleague that ultimately becomes his sons guardian, and feels like the moral core of the tale, despite his decisions not always resulting in positive outcomes.

As well acted and lavishly produced as Seven Years of Night is though, the finale that all the events of the past are building up to in the present, unfortunately feels like a letdown. It’s actually so generic and underwhelming that, out of its 2 hour runtime, Chang-min dedicates a measly 15 minutes to it. During this time a series of events are glazed over at such speed, that when the screen goes blank, you’ll question if you didn’t miss something. To refer to an earlier comment, the rushed conclusion is more than likely a symptom of the book it’s been adapted from. The events of the past allow for plenty of atmosphere building, with the village and the way the characters interact with each other feeling like a pressure cooker of tension. However once it reverts back to present day, it very much feels like – this happens, then this happens, and then this happens. Roll credits.

Perhaps the best way to enjoy Seven Years of Night is to enjoy it for what it is, rather than what it frequently teases to be. It is, at its core, the tale of a mean spirited man looking to avenge the death of his daughter, one whom he had little regard for until her death. What it’s supposed to be is the redemption of a convicted murderer’s son, as he finally finds meaning in his life after seven years of despising himself for who he is. Then what it actually comes across as, is a confusing blend of characters haunted by their past and ghosts of the departed. While I’ve always admired how many Korean filmmakers can blend multiple genres together into a coherent whole, it’s a skill that should never be taken for granted. Seven Years of Night is one such example, which would have benefited from more focus on what it actually is, and less on what it isn’t.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 6/10