IR Film Review: THE 8TH NIGHT [Netflix]
The aspect of South Korean horror usually reflects in a texture of myths while integrating a search for self. The perspective of "The 8th Night" uses the element of the "seeing eye" as an ancient curse but one where two sides of the same coin were separated by thousands of miles and millennia to prevent them from coming together again. The only aspect of the idea not explained is what happens when it does? That is the major faux pas of the movie because the stakes of what will happen don't seems overwhelmingly shown which prevents the ending from having the impact it could have had. This is not too say the film doesn't have its bright spots but it takes a minute to adjust to what it actually is. Watched in the original Korean with subtitles, the film follows the discovery of one of the eyes and the almost self flagellation of its discoverer who eventually lets loose a demon because of his own hubris.
From there it is only a sect of monks and a chosen one by proxy that can save the world. What is interesting (because the film is not overtly slick like some in the genre) is that most of the film takes place in the back alleys of what looks like a smaller town in Korea (not Seoul) before retreating to thee countryside. It gives the film a different feel where it is more like following normal people who got stuck in something they didn't quite understand. The best part of the film is the sort of mentor/protégé (or not quite) between the rather messy chosen one: Park Jin-soo (played by Lee Sung-min) and a would-be monk: Cheong-seok (played by Nam Da-reum). The young monk, who tries to take a vow of silence is a mess, has the best intentions but shoddy delivery (not in acting but in the design of the character).
This leads the character to make stupid decisions that are sometimes humorous while Park simply thinks he is an idiot. These scenes play beautifully. But as a certain point on the cusp of the 3rd act, most of the humor drains away. There is not so much dread as there is a change of tone and the eventual reason which includes Park losing his family and the perspective of Cheong-seok is flimsy at best. While the epilogue does serve to address specific elements, especially to a specific shaman, its meaning in terms of the greater mythology is fairly vague. That said, "The 8th Night" which refers to the 8 people in 8 days the demon has to move from body-to- body to be reunited with its other half, does have the makings of a classic South Korean horror movie if a bit more of the details (and a bit more dread) had been intact. C
By Tim Wassberg
