There have been various repetitive themes in Korean thrillers that I have noticed the more I expand on the movies I watch. Unfortunately, the one that drives me the craziest is the sacrifice of the heroic male leads. These leads aren’t always sacrificing their physical lives, but sometimes it’s their sanity, families, or overall well-being. For a 10/10 movie, these plot inclusions wouldn’t normally bother me since you’re taking a full circle journey with the characters, but it’s so repetitive specifically in Korean thrillers that it loses some of the emotional factors that you hold onto throughout the story. Additionally, most of the time the heroine is a passionate police officer, detective, special agent, etc. Not only do they have these characters in their movies, but they implement so many crime subplots in Korean dramas, specifically romance.
Reality on Screen:
The film Memories of Murder is interesting to start off with because it is based on the true story of a Korean serial killer. This ending is meant for the audience to feel the ambiguity and unease lingering since at the time of it’s release the actual case was still unsolved. Throughout the film you see a cocky detective from a rural area take on the investigation of multiple murders in his small town. The best thing this film did was highlight the lack of care, training, and professionalism that could be found in the police force especially in the late 80s. The intentional ending meant to mirror reality is a prime example of how to carry an ending without audiences regretting sitting through the film.
Revenge Plots
Just about any genre of Korean television will have some sort of revenge plot implemented in it. Why? Most likely because it allows the audience to get engaged and have someone to root for. This is not something I’m against and I enjoyed it most in I Saw the Devil. This could have been a film I rewatched if it weren’t for the ending. Watching the main character give up every part of his life especially his sanity, and be left with nothing in the end ruined the story for me. In this movie we see the characters play an entertaining game of cat and mouse where there can only be one winner. Instead of glory, the end made me question what was the point of the main character continuing to live. As if there were nothing left for him but a jail cell or a psychiatric ward.
Your Everyday Heroine
Train to Busan is a movie I will probably never remove from my rewatch list. There are so many elements that make it entertaining and a must see film. I included it on my regretful endings list because once again we see a theme of heroic leads sacrificing themselves for others. Not saying their lives are more important considering it formulated an emotional ending, but I wonder why this theme continues to work for these films. They’ve allowed their audience to put all of their hope and trust into specific characters, then strip the characters from you completely. Although Train to Busan is a movie I would recommend, if you break down the plot it is not very original in Korean film.
This list could be longer, but I wanted to highlight the most highly recommended Korean horror movies. Outside of movies specifically, if I had to recommend a television show it would e Flowers of Evil. That was my first introduction into a well done Korean psychological thriller.
Have you ever felt a sense of emptiness after a film? If so, comment the name down below. If you haven’t seen the movies mentioned I recommend all of them.
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