Summary
History has its evil eye (or in this case eyes) on the present as an ancient grudge breaks to new carnage. It’s monk vs cop vs historic entity in a clash of genres that never quite gels.
Asian cinema has seen a great deal of success in fusing spiritual concepts with genre filmmaking. Any horror fan could probably tell you this, and the South Korean box office has been no exception. From the blockbuster success of the Along with the Gods series to the strong audience response to Svaha: The Sixth Finger (2019), it’s something director Kim Tae-hyoung clearly aimed to capitalise on in THE 8TH NIGHT (제8일의 밤).
The story begins with the ubiquitous animated opening explaining that over 2,500 years ago, two ancient tortured beings were trapped in caskets. In order to escape, they must inhabit seven human hosts. Trusted with protecting the caskets, monk Ha-jung (Lee Eol) sends young initiate Chang-seok (Nam Da-reum) in search of Seohwa (Lee Sung-min), a former ally believed by Ha-jung to be humanity’s chance against the evil.
The ancient battle breaks forth onto modern Korea when Chang-seok arrives in the city in search of Seohwa. Chang-seok is goggle-eyed at seeing the sights and sounds of the big smoke for the first time, and his vow of silence is frequently tested (and broken) when the plot requires it. There’s also the obligatory detective Kim Ho-tae (Park Hae-joon) hot on Seohwa’s case, believing that he has something to do with the grisly bodies turning up all over town.
In mystical horror thrillers, the necessary suspension of disbelief means that it’s all about the mood. We can totally buy a little girl emerging from a well, to use a classic example, if she is as creepy as all hell. So, it’s just that the mood here is a bit flat, languishing as it does in long stretches of mediocrity and exposition. So. Much. Exposition. Indeed, the film often spends time explaining things that happened only moments before.
Nam Da-reum, primarily known for his television work, makes for a capable co-lead on the cusp of solo success. Yet this is often a cat-and-mouse two-hander at times, with Lee Sung-min (The Man Standing Next) and Park Hae-joon (Believer) Female characters are basically sidelined, except for the one lady (Park Se-hyun) with really big crazy eyes — and a third one on her right cheek — who freaked me the hell out but also made me giggle in equal measure.
THE 8TH NIGHT had a lot of promise going in, but ultimately fails to tie all of its threads together in a satisfying manner. Rather than relying on the momentum of moment-to-moment scares, it falls back on some standard horror tropes and thin characters, leading up to a muddled ending and cranial sores from all the head-scratching.
2021 | South Korea | DIRECTOR: Kim Tae-hyung | WRITERS: Kim Tae-hyung | CAST: Lee Sung-min, Park Hae-joon, Kim Yoo-jung, Nam Da-reum | DISTRIBUTOR: Netflix (Global) | RUNNING TIME: 115 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 2 July 2021
