THE OLD WOMAN WITH THE KNIFE is a South Korean Crime Thriller (org. title: Pagwa). It starts out being good, but ends as great. This is yet another example of brilliant filmmaking through a character-driven plot. Do not miss out on this one. Read our full The Old Woman with the Knife movie review here!

THE OLD WOMAN WITH THE KNIFE is a new thriller from South Korea (org. title: Pagwa). With its crime plot and thriller driver, this movie completely won me over with its ending. Sure, many South Korean movies have solid twists, but what I love about any twist in these movies is that it’s often been teased ahead of time. This one is no exception.

The runtime is two hours, and with a character-driven plot, you may be expecting a slow-burn movie. However, that really isn’t the case because this movie also has a lot of action scenes and features an assassin plot. Yeah, it’s a gorgeous genre-mix that I initially liked, but the ending was much better than I ever expected.

Continue reading our The Old Woman with the Knife movie review below. Find it on Digital from November 25, 2025.

Older but not over

The lead character is also the title character in The Old Lady with the Knife. She is an aging assassin known as Hornclaw (Hyeyeong Lee), but being an older lady has its perks. For one, nobody expects that she is an assassin. Over the years, Hornclaw has seen it all, and we also get several flashbacks to better understand her.

Now, in the twilight of her career, she is asked to mentor a reckless rookie, which she isn’t too crazy about. Not least because he doesn’t listen much and doesn’t want a mentor. His name is Bullfight (Kim Sung-cheol), and he is extremely skilled as well. In fact, Hornclaw’s employer sends Bullfight along on missions as her backup.

Something she does not like. At all.

However, as much as she doesn’t want help, she might need it. She is starting to show physical deterioration, so while she has her wits about her, it may be time to call it quits. Then again, there are still so many people who need to be eradicated. Hornclaw has always had a code – not unlike Dexter Morgan – so she needs her marks to be “human vermin”.

Young and brazen

Bullfight has been working on his own, and without any colleagues to worry about or bosses to listen to. To be honest, this is how Hornclaw has been acting for most of her career, so they do come across as similar in many ways.

Maybe this is why Bullfight and Hornclaw (and yes, these are codenames – after all, they are assassins) soon form an unlikely bond. Is it a heartfelt and deep connection, or more of a distrust that requires both to stay close? As in the “keep your friends close, but your enemies closer” adage?!

Well, yes. Both, really.

Regardless of their connection, cracks in the underworld are showing because its leaders aren’t strong enough to lead. Clearly, this is why both Hornclaw and Bullfight prefer to be on their own, even as they’re forced to work together. This escalates further as Hornclaw discovers someone wants her dead.

Now she can’t trust anyone, and she needs to stay sharper than ever to survive!

Watching Lee Hye-yeong (In Front of Your Face) as Hornclaw is brilliant. She may have gray hair, but she is fiercer than most people decades younger. Male as well as female. Seeing her work with and against Kim Sung-cheol (Hellbound) as Bullfight is a joy. They bring the best and worst out in each other, which makes this story all the better.

Watch The Old Woman with the Knife on Digital

The Old Woman with the Knife is directed by Min Kyu-dong (Memento Mori, The Prayer), who also wrote it alongside Kim Dong-wan. This movie is based on a book by Gu Byeong-mo, which I am not familiar with, so I can’t say if it follows it particularly closely.

Aside from Lee Hye-yeong (or Hyeyeong Lee) in the title role, we also have Yeon Woo-jin (The Killers, The Cursed), Kim Moo-yul (Ballerina, Sweet Home, Space Sweepers), and finally Shin Sia (The Witch: Part 2 – The Other One) as the younger version of Hornclaw.

As stated earlier, The Old Woman with the Knife was a movie that I felt started out as good. I was fine with that and figured this would be a solid 3 out of 5. Then came the third and final act, where everything comes together. Despite already anticipating the development, it was done so well that I could not help but end on a higher rating than initially expected.

Do not miss out on this South Korean genre treat!

THE OLD WOMAN WITH THE KNIFE is out On Digital from November 25, 2025. If you want a physical copy, then it will also be available on Blu-ray™ and DVD exclusively through Amazon®.

Details

Director: Kyu-dong Min
Writers: Gu Byeong-mo, Kim Dong-wan, Kyu-dong Min
Cast: Lee Hye-yeong, Kim Sung-cheol, Kim Mu-yeol, Shin Si-ah, Yeon Woo-jin

Plot

Aging hitwoman Hornclaw and young prodigy Bullfight work as assassins taking out society’s trash. They quickly bond as she mentors him in the ways of the blade, but, when Hornclaw becomes the next target for elimination, there’s no one left to trust.

AS YOU STOOD BY on Netflix is a thriller series from South Korea (org. title: Dangsini Jugyeossda). With 8 hour-long episodes, it’s a character-driven plot about domestic abuse, desperate choices, and consequences thereof. Read our As You Stood By series review here!

AS YOU STOOD BY is a new Netflix series from South Korea (org. title: Dangsini Jugyeossda). Despite these often being labeled simply as “K-Drama”, this one deals with a very dark subject matter and is more of a crime-thriller production.

Season 1 has eight hour-long episodes, as we usually see from South Korean series, and there are many flashbacks in the story. These are used to show us how a character was pushed to their actions, which tend to be quite desperate.

Continue reading our As You Stood By series review below. Find season 1 on Netflix now.

How long can you stand by and do nothing?

As You Stood By has the tagline “Two desperate souls. One desperate choice,” which can almost double as a simple plot description. The subject matter is domestic abuse, and as the title indicates, it asks questions about those who see it and do nothing.

Now, I think we all know it isn’t as simple as that. There are usually many things to take into consideration, which is also something As You Stood By includes. From children in a household to being dependent on an abusive partner. To name just two.

However, As You Stood By is a crime-thriller for a reason, which becomes apparent by the end of episode 1. Actually, it’s also in the plot description and the trailer.

Break the cycle… and get revenge in the process

After being trapped in a world of abuse, two women realize that only death can set them free. But why should it be their death, when it could be that of the abuser?

Once this thought has been spoken, putting it into action comes next. And no, it isn’t as easy as it sounds, nor does it go as smoothly as they would like. Things like that never do.

However, after years of standing on the sidelines, something must happen to break the cycle. That is what As You Stood By is truly about: Taking action and hoping for the best, but realizing that there will always be struggles of some kind.

Watch As You Stood By on Netflix now

As You Stood By is based on Hideo Okuda’s novel “Naomi & Kanako”. The series comes from director Lee Jeong-lim (Revenant) with the teleplays from Kim Hyo-jeong.

The two lead roles in As You Stood By on Netflix are portrayed by Jeon So-nee (Parasyte: The Grey) and Lee Yoo-mi (All Of Us Are Dead, Squid Game). These two have to carry most of the character-driven plot, and they excel at this.

In other key roles, we see Lee Moo-saeng (The Silent Sea), Jang Seung-jo (Snowdrop), and Kim Mi-kyung (Warning: Do Not Play).

The very dark subject matter won’t be for everyone. For some, it will hit too close to home – in one way or the other – but that could be exactly why it’s important to watch it.

As You Stood By is out on Netflix globally from November 7, 2025.

Details

Director: Lee Jeong-lim
Cast: Jeon So-nee, Lee You-mi, Jang Seung-jo, Lee Mu-saeng

Plot

When two women plot to end an abusive marriage through murder, an unexpected visitor arrives — threatening to shatter everything they’ve carefully planned.

THE UGLY is a new mystery thriller from South Korea. It comes from the director of the zombie megahit Train to Busan. For this one, there is nothing supernatural, but it is just as heartbreaking. Read our full The Ugly movie review here!

THE UGLY is a South Korean thriller from the genre filmmaker who gave us Train to Busan. This time around, it’s all about the ugliness of human nature. Okay, to be fair, the zombie movie had plenty of that as well, but there is nothing supernatural about his 2025 movie.

The runtime of this mystery thriller is just around 100 minutes, so it’s much shorter than most South Korean genre movies. However, this is still a very character-driven movie with a strong and heartbreaking story.

Continue reading our The Ugly movie review below. Find it in US theaters from September 26, 2025.

What is truly ugly?

The plot of The Ugly will soon force its audience to ponder what is truly ugly: Someone’s appearance or human nature? Of course, movies from South Korea always tend to offer nuanced plots and characters, but the answer is clear.

One is skin deep and entirely in the eye of the beholder, while being ugly in your behaviour goes much deeper.

In this movie, we meet Im Yeong-gyu (Kwon Hae-hyo), who was born blind and is a master artisan. He has a business hand-carving beautiful, engraved seals. Of course, being born blind did make for a tough start in life for him.

We’ll get back to that later.

The story of The Ugly truly begins when his son Dong-hwan (Park Jeong-min) receives a call from the police about his mother. They call to inform father and son that Young-hee, their wife and mother, has been found.

Or rather, her skeletal remains have been found. Supposedly, she up and left them and disappeared 40 years ago. Now, her remains have been found buried, which indicates that someone was around when she died.

In other words, murder is at the top of the list as the probable cause of death.

A life story of pain

Needless to say, Dong-hwan has a lot of questions for his dad, who never looked for her. He has never even seen the face of his mother, as no pictures of her exist. Neither has Yeong-gyu due to being blind, but he at least knew her.

Dong-hwan, who is a loving and kind man who takes care of his father, begins investigating the death of his mother.

Helping him in this endeavor is Su-jin (Han Ji-hyeon). She’s a television producer who has been filming a documentary about Yeong-gyu, and can already feel that a much bigger story is lurking there.

By interviewing people who worked with his mother at a garment factory 40 years ago, Dong-hwan soon comes to learn some brutal facts about his heritage. Obviously, he also speaks with his dad, but this mostly comes later.

Without giving away too much, I can say that both his parents had a lot of pain earlier in life. More so for his mother, who was a loving and caring person, and someone he clearly takes after.

Watch The Ugly in US Theaters

This new thriller mystery comes from filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho (JUNG_E, Revelations), who both wrote and directed the movie. He also produced alongside WOWPOINT (Netflix’s The Bequeathed and Parasyte: The Grey).

In fact, Yeon Sang-ho didn’t just make this movie; He also created the 2018 graphic novel “Face” that this is based on. A graphic novel he both wrote and illustrated.

Maybe that’s why the story of this movie hits so hard; It’s a true heart cause for this filmmaker. The casting of this movie helps it all come together with Park Jeong-min (Newtopia) and Kwon Hae-hyo (Bogota: City of the Lost) as father and son at the center.

NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH…

The similarly titled The Ugly Stepsister which we’ve reviewed here >

If you’ve watched Yeon Sang-ho productions such as Train to Busan or Hellbound, then you’ll recognize that he is a storyteller who will break your heart. He uses genre elements to draw you in, and then tears your heart to pieces.

The Ugly is perhaps the strongest and best example of this. If for no other reason, the fact that nothing supernatural comes into play, but rather human nature simply rears its ugly head.

Do not miss out on this one!

The Ugly premieres in U.S. Theaters on September 26. 2025.

Details

Director: YEON Sang-ho
Script: YEON Sang-ho
Cast: PARK Jeong-min, KWON Hae-hyo, SHIN Hyun-been, HAN Ji-hyeon 

Plot

One day while overseeing a documentary crew filming his blind father at work, Im Dong-hwan gets a phone call that his missing mother’s remains have been found after forty years. Determined to find the truth of her disappearance, Dong-hwan embarks on a twisted odyssey through his family’s traumatic past, uncovering dark secrets along the way.

MANTIS on Netflix is a new South Korean action thriller. It’s a spin-off of the 2023 Netflix movie Kill Boksoon, but it differs quite a lot in tone, as this one is much lighter. Still entertaining, but doesn’t pack the same emotional punch. Read our full Mantis movie review here!

MANTIS is a new Netflix action thriller from South Korea (org. title: Samagwi, Korean: 사마귀). If you’ve watched the 2023 Netflix movie Kill Boksoon, then this world and several characters will be familiar, as this is a spin-off movie.

Despite being a South Korean genre production, the runtime is just shy of two hours, which is fairly short. Even compared to the original movie in this universe, which has a runtime of 2 hours and 17 minutes.

Continue reading our Mantis movie review below. You can find it on Netflix now.

A shake-up in the hired killer industry

In Mantis, the title character is an ace assassin who has chosen this insect-inspired name, which many love to ridicule him for. He is a former colleague of the brilliant killer Gil Boksoon, who was the star of the 2023 movie.

As Mantis (Yim Si-wan) returns after his European vacation, it’s to a new world. The hired killer industry has been shaken up, and a new world order needs to be established.

Could Mantis be the head of a new company with his fellow trainee (and friend, who he clearly has feelings for), Jae-yi? Well, if it were up to him alone, the two would definitely be colleagues. Jae-yi (Park Gyuyoung) is more conflicted.

And how can Dok-go (Jo Woo-jin), another legend from the world of assassins, fit in? Each of them is aiming for the spot as top killer, but only one can be the very best!

Finally, there’s the tech bro, Benjamin (Choi Hyun-wook), who also seems intrigued by this world, and wants to be included… or in charge?!

A Kill Boksoon spin-off movie

While this is a spin-off to Kill Boksoon, and very clearly plays out in the same world, it does differ quite a lot.  This 2025 movie is much lighter and uses more comedy and action rather than emotional and psychological triggers.

In fact, “psychological thriller” was a subgenre for Kill Boksoon, and it isn’t included for this 2025 spin-off movie.

Think John Wick and Ballerina, but with even bigger tonal differences. The movies take place in the same world, but feature different main characters, though still including many of the same characters and cast members as well.

Watch Mantis on Netflix now

The South Korean Netflix Original movie is directed by Lee Tae Sung and created by Byun Sung Hyun, who wrote and directed the Netflix film Kill Boksoon.

The 2023 movie was watched for over 63.3 million hours by subscribers, which equated to roughly 27.5 million Netflix views. Obviously, there was an audience for more from this assassin-fueled universe.

Despite the trailer revealing (or at the very least indicating) as much, I was a little disappointed that Mantis was so much lighter than Kill Boksoon. With South Korean production, I tend to enjoy the heavier emotional plots more.

Having said that, this is still a very entertaining genre-mix, where brilliant fight sequences are combined with a thriller and crime plot. Give it a shot and see if it’s your cup of tea.

Mantis (org. title: Samagwi) is on Netflix from September 26, 2025.

Details

Director: Lee Tae-sung
Writers: Byun Sung-hyun, Lee Tae-sung
Stars: Yim Si-wan, Park Gyuyoung, Jo Woo-jin

Plot

The secret society of contract killers falls into chaos, unleashing a new breed of assassins. With old rules in ruins, who dares claim the shadows?

THE ECHOES OF SURVIVORS: INSIDE KOREA’S TRAGEDIES on Netflix is a new true crime documentary series with eight episodes. It’s related to the In the Name of God docuseries. Read our The Echoes of Survivors: Inside Korea’s Tragedies docuseries review here!

THE ECHOES OF SURVIVORS: INSIDE KOREA’S TRAGEDIES is a new Netflix documentary series with 8 hour-long episodes. Each case is covered over two episodes, so it’s more like four documentary films, and you can easily watch them as such.

This is a companion docuseries to In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal from 2023. That was also a South Korean Netflix production, and it’s best to watch that first. This is more of a follow-up series, but it can be watched on its own. It just isn’t done as well, unfortunately.

Continue reading our The Echoes of Survivors: Inside Korea’s Tragedies docuseries review below. Find it on Netflix from August 15, 2025.

Overproduced theatrics

While I would usually applaud any true crime production that focuses on the victims, I feel like The Echoes of Survivors: Inside Korea’s Tragedies is closer to exploiting them. From the very first episode, the theatrics surrounding the interviews with victims are just too much.

They’ve recreated the place where these people were trapped and abused for years as kids. Now they dress them up in the same clothes they were forced to wear back then, and are confronted with the scenery as well.

It results in tears and desperation, which was obviously the goal.

The fact that they were forced to wear track suits, sleep in bunk beds, and be cruel to one another makes it impossible not to think of Squid Game, which is also mentioned. Clearly and understandably, Squid Game was inspired by the brutal circumstances.

Real life horror in the name of God or greed – often both

Episodes 1 and 2 focus on the Brothers’ Home, which was an actual concentration camp that existed in South Korea in the 1970s and 1980s. Officially a “welfare” home, this was a place where people were abused and forced to work till they dropped.

Yes, including kids.

We meet some of these kids as adult Brothers’ Home survivors and hear their stories, which is what I am always curious about. And yet, the setup of these interviews and the need to make them react by confronting them with the very setting they escaped seems cruel and unnecessary.

The Echoes of Survivors also continues looking at the JMS Cult, which was a big part of season 1 of In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal. For a long time, this new docuseries was simply labeled as Season 2 of In the Name of God, before getting the title of The Echoes of Survivors: Inside Korea’s Tragedies.

Learning from your past

What I do appreciate about The Echoes of Survivors is the fact that this Netflix documentary series focuses on tragedies to avoid repeating them. Rather than ignoring them or denying that it happened, they deal with it.

That’s how you learn from your past. You can say “Never forget” all you want, but some people have clearly forgotten and do actually ignore and deny events that happened in the past. Be that concentration camps, slavery, or how any colonizing power has dealt with native populations.

And no, I’m clearly not talking about just South Korea any longer, but many other nations would clearly do well to utilize the same tools. Especially accepting, acknowledging, and learning from past tragedies.

Watch The Echoes of Survivors: Inside Korea’s Tragedies on Netflix now

The Echoes of Survivors is directed by Jo Seong-hyeon. Also, it has the same creative team as In the Name of God. It’s great to see them all return for this companion docuseries. It’s not a Season 2 of In the Name of God, but the series does focus on similar cases.

Also, there’s the one continuation of the JMS case. On top of this, we’re getting three new tragedies covered in this series.

Again, I want to applaud the idea of focusing on victims. I’m just sorry to say I feel that the original documentary series did a better job of this. It’s almost like the success of In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal has resulted in a bigger budget. But not used in the best way.

Officially, it’s stated that The Echoes of Survivors is “Told with care, clarity, and purpose”, which I want to acknowledge does happen. I just really was not a fan of how the interviews were framed. It didn’t sit right with me and ruined a lot of the overall experience for me.

Still, I appreciate the focus on victims and wanting to learn from tragedies rather than ignore them.

The Echoes of Survivors: Inside Korea’s Tragedies is on Netflix on August 15, 2025.

Plot

A documentary series that captures four harrowing incidents that shook South Korea, recounting the stories of days that must never be repeated — through the voices of those who survived.

THE WOMAN is a new Korean Thriller screening at Fantasia 2025. It offers classic elements of South Korean genre storytelling. However, it also has a vibe that steers in slightly different directions than the norm. Read our full The Woman movie review here!

THE WOMAN is screening at Fantasia 2025, and this thriller from South Korea offers a fascinating and sinister plot. Forget all about supernatural horror or some classic villain. This one hits much closer to home.

Even the opening quote about people seeking knowledge that will serve to confirm their already established beliefs (I’m paraphrasing, but you get the gist) is a teaser for what you’re about to experience.

Continue reading our The Woman (2025) movie review below.

It all begins with a vacuum cleaner and strawberries

When Sun-kyung meets Young-hwan, the two are complete strangers. She meets him because he is giving away his vacuum cleaner for free using an app that serves this very purpose: Secondhand trading.

Young-hwan is a strange man, and Sun-kyung doesn’t feel too comfortable with him. Something is just off. When she brings him strawberries as a thank-you gift, he reacts with something that can only be described as horror.

That simple exchange escalates in a strange way, where they’re fighting over the strawberries. In the middle of this, her old college classmate Ui-jin shows up to protect her, as he also notices the very strange vibe of this man.

Too quick to judge quirky

The next day, a homicide detective reaches out to Sun-kyung because Ui-jin has apparently committed suicide right after this encounter. Immediately, she suspects Young-hwan has something to do with the death of her former college friend.

Not least because he dies in exactly the same way that Young-hwan’s own mother supposedly died. It’s all just too much of a coincidence.

Also, he is weird and quirky, so he must be off. And isn’t he exactly the kind of person who would kill someone?

The Woman offers us a glimpse into the power of suggestion, rumors, and online “sleuths” who want nothing more than to stir up trouble. However, this can lead to real-life consequences. And that is the core subject of this South Korean thriller.

The Woman is screening at Fantasia 2025

Hwang Wook directed The Woman, which is very different from his previous movie, which also screened at Fantasia. That one was a hysterical, neo-Western black comedy titled Mash Ville (2025).

With The Woman, Hwang Wook shows a very different side of his filmmaking talents. This latest movie is a character-driven psychological thriller that will keep you guessing. Even after much is revealed, you will continue to guess about what just might come next.

The entire cast is exceptional, but Han Hye-ji still stands out with her performance as the title character. This is independent filmmaking of exactly the quality you’d expect from a movie screening at Fantasia. I hope to see much more from Hwang Wook in the future.

The Woman is reviewed as part of our Fantasia 2025 coverage.

Details

Director: Hwang Wook
Writers: Lim Dong-min, Hwang Wook
Cast: Han Hye-ji, Byun Jin-su, Kim Hee-sang, Nam Jin-bok

Plot

An exchange of strawberries and a used household appliance turns into a nightmare for Sun-kyung when her partner turns up dead. Now she must follow the trail of a disturbing stranger.

TRIGGER on Netflix is a new South Korean series with ten episodes and a plot about guns in a democratic society. Officially, this is an action-thriller, but I think that is selling it short. Read our full Trigger series review here!

TRIGGER is a new Netflix series from South Korea. This is a limited series with ten hour-long episodes and a plot that should resonate with audiences worldwide. In short, it’s about the escalation of murder in a country that isn’t used to gun violence.

It focuses on both the perceived need and the obvious danger of having guns in a democratic society, where this shouldn’t be necessary. While this is listed as an action-thriller, it often feels more like a psychological crime thriller. Which is a good thing.

Continue reading our Trigger series review below. Find it on Netflix from July 25, 2025.

The introduction of guns in a gun-free country

With Trigger, we’re getting a story set in gun-free South Korea. It turns out the country is far from as gun-free as people have believed. In fact, quite a lot of people have gotten their hands on illegal firearms.

And we’re talking all kinds of people who have been feeling increasingly angry. People who want to fight back against injustice. But also just anyone who wishes to deal with annoying people. In other words, guns are suddenly in the hands of everyone. From little ol’ grandmas to known criminals.

Illegal firearms are all over the place, and this does (unsurprisingly) result in levels of unprecedented violence. How do you deal with this from a legal and preventive standpoint? Especially when you haven’t been accustomed to gun violence?

And how are these people getting guns?!

That’s what you’ll see in the Netflix series Trigger as the story evolves. People are divided into pro-gun and anti-violence groups, who act out of fear and a longing for justice, respectively.

Familiar faces in lead roles

While there are ultimately a lot of characters in Trigger, a few are key to the storyline as we follow them during this strange time in South Korea. And yes, if you’ve watched South Korean Netflix productions in the past, you can expect a few familiar faces.

Not least Kim Nam-gil as the former military sniper turned police officer, Lee Do. You may recognize Kim Nam-gil from Pandora, the Netflix series Karma, and The Closet.

Also, Kim Young-kwang plays the character of Moon Baek. He is a very mysterious person who seems to be hiding something under his seemingly carefree attitude. Kim Young-kwang was previously in the Netflix series Somebody.

You’ll also see Kim Won-hae (Graceful Friends) and Gil Hae-Yeon (Midnight) in the Trigger series on Netflix.

Watch the Trigger series on Netflix now

The new South Korean Netflix series Trigger was written and directed by Kwon Oh-seung. His movie Midnight screened at Fantasia a few years ago, where it received quite a lot of attention.

We’re currently covering Fantasia 2025, and you can check out the latest reviews here >

If you’re curious about a thriller crime series that covers the subject of guns and gun violence, then Trigger is a fascinating watch. It tries to look at the subject from multiple angles to understand both the pro and con points of view.

With 10 hour-long episodes, there are multiple storylines to get through, but it’s well-made and interesting all the way through.

Trigger premieres on Netflix globally on July 25, 2025.

Details

Writer & director: Kwon Oh-seung
Cast: Kim Nam-gil, Kim Young-kwang

Plot

Illegal firearms appear and shooting incidents continue to occur in previously gun-free Korea, and two men pick up their guns for different reasons.

FRAGMENT is a South Korean Thriller Drama (org. title: Pa-pyeon) with a heartbreaking story about guilt and blame. It deals with a murder case by looking at all those affected. Screened at Fantasia 2025. Read our full Fragment movie review here!

FRAGMENT is a Thriller Drama from South Korea (org. title: Pa-pyeon) currently screening at Fantasia 2025. The movie is so full of pain and heartbreak that you may want to skip it if you’re already dealing with grief or any hint of depression yourself.

Obviously, the movie evolves in ways both good and bad, but it is very brutal to watch things escalate for all our main characters. We’re following the son of a killer and the son of the murder victims. Both are miserable, but deal with their circumstance in very different ways.

Continue reading our Fragment movie review below.

A monopoly on being the victim

When someone is murdered, the focus is far too often primarily on the killer. Sure, the victims are mentioned, but the focus tends to be on why and how the killer could do such a terrible thing. It becomes a study of that person and an attempt to understand their motives.

That’s why I only really appreciate true crime documentaries when friends and family of the victims are involved. I need the focus to be on the victims. We must acknowledge the ripple effect. Not least the pain caused by such a heinous crime.

With Fragment, it goes a step further and also focuses on another element: The relatives of the killer, who are very quickly put in a box with the killer due to being related.

In the case of this story, we’re dealing with a 15-year-old boy and his younger sister, whom he fights to protect. Both from the truth of what their father did and to keep her fed, safe, and happy.

So while the son of the murder victims is wearing his victimhood as a shield against the world – including those who want to be there for him – the kids of the killer have also taken on the blame of their father. But are they not victims as well?!

Kids can be so cruel – as can adults!

Unfortunately, I don’t have to tell you, dear reader, that kids can be extremely cruel. Not all kids, but just one bully, is enough to make life unbearable. So imagine what it’s like when this bully discovers that your dad is the killer, the school has been talking about forever?!

Of course, the landlord of their apartment isn’t much better. She is constantly badgering them, and while it is understandable that she needs the money she is owed, there is little sympathy for these kids.

Fortunately, as with most South Korean productions, we also see kids helping out and adults going the extra mile to help someone in need. It’s never black or white, but the shades of gray do range from very dark to quite light. And in that latter category, there may be some hope left.

As the two main characters, we first have Jun-gang (Oh Ja-hun), who is the son of the killer and takes care of his little sister. Oh Ja-hun is amazing and delivers a nuanced and heartbreaking portrayal of a kid forced to grow up, who takes the burden of the world on his shoulders.

Meanwhile, Gi-su (Moon Seong-hyun) is the son of the victims and now lives by himself after his parents were brutally killed. While Moon Seong-hyun has less screentime, he will make an impact on you. In fact, his character’s situation is so depressing that I’m glad we didn’t see him more.

Fragment is screening at Fantasia 2025

This is the feature film debut of writer-director Kim Sung-yoon, who previously worked as an Assistant Director on movies like The Vanished and Bring Me Home. With this one as his debut, he is off to an extremely impressive beginning.

Fragment (org. title: Pa-pyeon) features a profound and heartbreaking story that focuses on the often forgotten victims of any crime, but especially murder. The children of the victims or perpetrators. They are innocent, but too many people don’t see it that way.

I’m happy to say that Fragment has enjoyed impressive success at the Busan International Film Festival, where it won three awards. Fantasia 2025 chose this movie to premiere on their first day, and it absolutely deserves that kind of spotlight.

Fragment was screened and reviewed as part of our Fantasia 2025 coverage.

Details

Director: Kim Sung-yoon
Writer: Kim Sung-yoon
Cast: Kim Gyu-na, Oh Ja-jun, Moon Seong-hyun

Plot

The son of a murderer and the son of his victims struggle for atonement and forgiveness after their fates are sealed on that night of the murder.

NOISE is a South Korean horror movie that just screened at Fantasia 2025. It deals with a topic most people are able to relate to: Noisy neighbors. Especially if you live in an apartment complex. Read our full Noise movie review here!

NOISE is a South Korean horror movie that offers elements of psychological thriller as well as supernatural horror. I watched this just before the Netflix movie Wall to Wall (also from South Korea), and they have very similar premises.

Or rather, they begin the same way, but then differ wildly as they evolve. If you’ve watched the Netflix movie and want a real horror movie with a core plot about the struggles of having noisy neighbors, then you’ll want to watch Noise. At just 93 minutes, it’s much shorter.

Continue reading our Noise movie review below. Screened during Fantasia 2025.

Noise that drives you mad

In Noise, the title character of constant noisy neighbors is very relatable. And yet, the experiences of the people in this particular apartment is out of the extraordinary. We follow Joo-young (Lee Sun-bin), who deals with hearing loss and uses a hearing aid.

Obviously, this isn’t a bad thing when surrounded by noise. She can simply take off her hearing aid for some peace and quiet. Her young sister Ju-hee (Han Soo-a), however, doesn’t have this option. Maybe that’s why she’s going mad in this seemingly quiet neighbourhood.

Joo-young moves out to life in a dorm at her place of work, but then gets word that her sister has suddenly disappeared. That’s when she returns to the apartment and realises something is very wrong.

Not least with the man living in the apartment below hers, as he arrives at all hours of the day and night, complaining that she’s making noise. She isn’t, but she does hear noise from her own upstairs neighbors as well.

Out of this world?

The longer Ju-young (or Joo-young) stays at the apartment, she realizes something is very off. With brand new hearing aids and an app on her phone that detects when someone near her is speaking, she is having some strange experiences.

Could her sister’s disappearance have something to do with these strange noises? And where is that voice coming from?

Finally, there’s the very creepy and extremely foul-smelling basement full of trash. Could something be hidden in that room that no one wants to get near?!

With Noise being a horror movie with supernatural horror as an official genre, this story also includes something that seems to come from the beyond in some sense. However, just as with any zombie movie, you need to be careful of the supposedly “normal” people as well.

Noise is currently screening at film festivals

Director Kim Soo-jin and screenwriter Lee Je-hui have created a movie that gets under your skin and forces you to try and put yourself in the place of the characters. What would you do? How would you react in the same situation?

While Noise is a really good South Korean horror movie, it will not make it onto our “Best South Korean genre movies” list. As good as it is, I did actually find the new Netflix movie Wall to Wall to be more efficient and elegant.

Sure, that one is a psychological thriller, and this is a supernatural horror movie, so that plays a huge part. Having said that, I would always recommend checking out this horror movie as it has extremely efficient moments and a story that works well overall.

This movie did have me on the edge of my seat, but the ending was a bit of a letdown. Well, it was and it was not, as I loved part of the very final twist. Just not the one before that one.

The film premiered at Sitges in October 2024 and has been playing film festivals all over the world since then. It still is, so catch it if you get the chance. We’ll update this review with news about any wider releases that will make it easier to watch.

Noise (org. title: Noijeu) is screened and reviewed for our Fantasia 2025 coverage.

Details

Director: Kim Soo-jin
Writers: Lee Je-hui, Kim Yong-hwan
Cast: Lee Sun-bin, Kim Min-seok, Ryu Kyung-soo

Plot

A woman with a hearing impediment who is haunted by sounds linking to her sister’s disappearance and the presence of a malevolent spirit. It leads to a dark secret and the revelation of a mysterious entity.