Rating: 3.5/5
Hae-won (Ji Sung-won) is a bank teller forced on vacation after assaulting a coworker. She decides to vacation in Mudo, a Southern island where she grew up. There, her childhood friend Bok-nam (Seo Young-hee) welcomes her after years of ignored letters and messages, and Hae-won sees the terrible life Bok-nam has been forced to live
Beautifully shot landscapes and compositions contain horrifying images — perhaps too sharply captured at times as the fake tans of the actors portraying islanders glow in the sun — but easy to get used to in the runtime
Jang Cheol-soo has worked with Kim Ki-duk, and it shows — the matter-of-fact portrayals of rape and abuse are notably similar. That said, this film is not as interested in fucking with your morals the way Kim likes to do, and it is more successful as a result
This film leans more into a classic melodrama tone, which may be a turn-off for some horror fans, but the violent special effects are equally over-the-top to match — not quite splatter-level, but not subtle
Seo Young-hee has a complicated role as someone who suffered abuse for years by the time we meet her, deeply traumatized and yet somehow carrying forward. At the point at which she breaks, she is holding onto not just revenge for the inciting incident, but for the years that led up to it and everyone who let it all happen. With so much to carry, she does an incredible job
Overall, a surprising film that has a moral without ever preaching it to you