Forgotten

Maybe what you read about the plot is not enough to attract your attention. But as the minutes pass, what seemed to be a drama becomes much more. The plot has twists and we just can't stop watching. I highly recommend it!

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.

Korean cinema in recent years has been ahead of many other countries on the continent, such as Japan, without giving us much time to assimilate it. "Forgotten" is one of the most recent examples of why this evolution has taken place and why many of us are delighted with this type of cinema. The film focuses on the life of a boy who tries to discover the truth behind the kidnapping of his older brother, who returns as a different man after nineteen days of captivity, from which he claims to remember nothing. A film that mixes the psychological thriller with touches of atmospheric terror and plays excellently with the shadows and paranoia of the younger brother during the days of the disappearance. Jang Hang-jun, responsible for the script and direction, knows how to make us feel the anguish of the situation at all times, making the disinformation that we have as a spectator is the same as our protagonist and creating a situation where interest increases every minute that passes. I must also emphasize the excellent performance of both brothers, especially that of the older brother (Kim Mu-Yeol), because he manages to create an insecurity and concern that does not disappear throughout the film. What's happened to him? That is the question that will haunt us at all time, as the film progresses, because the closer we get to its end, the more disoriented and surprised we will find ourselves, making us goose bumps and hitting us with an unsuspected but tremendous outcome. But not only in the script we can check quality, because if we focus on the more technical sections, we will realize that both the sound and photography sections are really well constructed, being vital in the development of many of the scenes and giving an intensity to the set that is well above average. The mastery of rhythm and the steady pulse behind the camera of the whole team make "Forgotten" not just a thriller, but an example of what modern cinema should be like. With' Forgotten', the lovers of the best thriller are in congratulations and the South Korean country claims its good state of form, because in recent years we have seen many examples of great calibre as 'I Saw The Devil', ' New World' or 'The Wailing' among others. Those who look for a good mystery, disturbing settings and stories with ingenious plot twists, should not miss this film.

Netflix has quite some interesting movies/productions and this is one of them. Korean thrillers are quite good most of the time anyway (at least in my book). One may wonder where they come up with that stuff and ideas. But I'm happy they do and I happily watch them too.

Like this one, that keeps you guessing from the start to the finish. Certainly some decisions may feel akward or wrong that characters take, but that is just how things work. Also it will make sense (more or less) in the end. Keep guessing, keep trying to figure out where this goes - it's almost impossible I'd say. Unless you've read a synopsis and even then, it had to be quite thorough ... so I urge go in this without reading too much about it and enjoy the thriller you are being served ... and the enticing story with it ... I don't totally agree with the ending this chooses, but it makes sense with the sensibilities and the mood overall ...