Forgotten

Short and sweet; I love me my Korean thrillers. This was a good one. Great for the first hour, had no idea where it was going. The last hour became a little more convoluted than it needed to be. Common in these films to keep layering on the connected relationships but the last hour just wasn't as strong as the set-up. Def worth watching.

There are some good points about this movie. It draws you in and keeps you interested. The plot is unpredictable with some twists that take you by surprise. When it seems there are just too many things to be explained, don't worry there is an explanation. It's far fetched but throrough - too elaborate a scheme to achieve the outcome. I was entertained but I wish the ending had been different. Kang Ha Neul acts well. He is a convincing actor unlike some of the newer generation.

There's a South Korean psychological thriller on Netflix that deserves your attention: Forgotten.

I will keep this little review as short and vague as possible, since I really think you should go blind into Forgotten.

Visually stunning, well-paced, extremely uneasy, beautifully scored and fantastically acted, Forgotten is definitely among my favourite thriller films... ever!

Very simply put, it tells the story of a regular family moving to a new house, something feels odd from the very beginning and, as soon as the story starts to unfold, it's one twist after the other. Forgotten is unsettling, depressing, compelling and features awesome characters, all of the extremely well written by writer/director Hang-jun Zhang (whose last film came out 15 years ago!).

If you haven't seen it yet... just go on Netflix and watch it asap.

Contrived at times yet narrated with such tenacity that the plot stays compelling throughout, Forgotten comes jam-packed with twists n turns and takes its viewers into unexpected alleys without giving away too much, thus making for a consistently engaging ride which keeps the tension & mystery alive for the most part before losing steam near the end and finishing on a sappy note.

Written & directed by Jang Hang-jun, the first act plays out like a haunted house horror with steady build-up, uneasy vibe & hints of supernatural before elements of mystery & paranoia take over the screen. The tone shifts around the halfway mark and the dots start to connect as new details surface & revelations pour in but the first half is much better & more effective than the next one.

What Jang does well here is keeping us intrigued & invested in where all of it is headed even when the film takes some wild detours. The twists however are a tad too many, which in turn hurt its credibility to an extent. Still, the characters are well-defined and the entire cast does a fabulous job in bringing their scripted roles to life. The ending is tragic & heartbreaking but also lacks that gut-punching quality.

Overall, Forgotten is competently crafted & confidently directed, and makes for a thoroughly gripping psychological horror. The narrative flow & momentum is disrupted by the exposition laden second half but the way its events unfold, the interest in the outcome is never lost. It may not end as strongly as it started but it is a solid example of its genre(s), and is yet another fine showcase of South Korea's mastery over twisted stories.