Rating: 2.5/5
Oh My Horror 2025 | 20/52 | Korean Horror
May 1997 Jin-seok awakens in the back of a car with his mother, father, and older brother, Jin-seok, drenched in sweat. The family is moving into a new home. Though Jin-seok has never seen the house, he cannot help but feel it is familiar. Yu-seok, whom Jin-seok admires, walks with a limp from a car accident the previous year. Though their father initially promised them separate rooms, the previous owner begged their father to let them put some stuff in that room so the brothers could share a room. Per the prior owner’s request, their father tells them never to enter the closed-off room at dinner that night.
While in bed that night, Jin-seok hears repeated slamming and dragging sounds coming from the room. Jin-seok thinks about opening the door, but Yu-seok stops him. Yu-seok doesn’t hear any sounds, so he takes Jin-seok outside for some air. Yu-seok gets a call from their dad and tells Jin-seok to hang out until his return. A group of men surrounds Yu-seok, knocking him out and dragging him into a car. Jin-seok runs after it, memorizing the license plate, but cannot catch up. That night, Jin-seok has the same nightmare, which we only see in jumbled images of surgical equipment and an axe over someone’s head.
Detectives come the following day to get Jin-seok’s story. He gives them the license plate number he memorized, but the detectives assure him it doesn’t exist. Days pass with no word. He has the same nightmare each night and still hears noises from the room. After nineteen days, Yu-seok returns, but he has no memory of what has happened to him over those nineteen days. All seems good, but Jin-seok feels like something is off with Yu-seok. For one, his limp has switched sides (who does he think he is, Dr. House?). He also lies about going out at night.
So, one night, Jin-seok follows Yu-seok. What happened to Yu-seok? What’s in the room? What is real, and what is in Jin-seok’s head?
The film uses classic tropes to signal that all is not what it seems. Jin-seok takes methylphenobarbital for anxiety and has for a long time, despite it having severe long-term consequences. He’s studying psychology, and we see him circle words like “hypnosis.” And, of course, his recurring nightmare, which is either a premonition or a buried memory. Oh, and if you expect sensitivity around mental health, good luck.
You can poke a million holes in this, but the filmmaking and pacing are solid, and the performances are big enough for the material. I might have been more into this if these sort of mindfuck psychological thrillers weren’t churned out by the dozens in the early 2000s. It’s clumsy and doesn’t earn its emotional moments, but it’s entertaining.
Dude, I want some jajangmyeon.