The Witch: Part 1 - The Subversion

Action 4.5/5 Drama 3/5 Plot 3.5/5 Suspens 3.5/5 Well entertainer

Wow just wow. I hadn't watched this movie because of the title - the Witch - thinking it must be a horror movie. And I don't watch that many horror movies nowadays since I moved out of my parents house. It gets a bit scary when you live alone.

I came upon it by chance today and looked it up here and saw reviews describing it as an action movie. And boy were they right. Its as action packed as I could hope for. The story takes its time to build, but its well worth the wait. When the action time kicks off in the later part, it keeps on escalating until you get that satisfying thrill down your spine. Bravo well done. Can't wait to see the sequels.

Koreans just know how to make intriguing movies and this is no exception. Sci-fi with gore and great action set pieces.

Make no mistake, this movie's theme is thriller, not horror. And as such, this movie was suspenseful with plenty of twists and turns to entice the audience. However, the most brilliant factor about this movie was the amazing acting from both the main protagonist (played by Da-Mi Kim) and her best friend (played by Min-Si Go). Although others shined in certain areas as well, these two actresses were absolutely phenomenal, especially considering the notion that Da-Mi Kim is still considered as a rookie who recently started her official career. This movie is only the first part of a series that is to come and may be one of the biggest hits in Korea yet.

I watched the movie first and realized later this was just the first part of a possible trilogy. The second movie has not come out yet. I do like to watch a series back to back if possible and I probably would have waited, especially because I have a backlog of movies to watch anyway. But there is a hype surrounding this and I was curious to see it.

Now I do understand if some people think and say that at least 2/3 of the movie feel slow to them. Because the movie is taking its time. You can see that as a bad thing or a good thing, that depends on your viewing habits and how you like your movies to be. The movie does end with quite a highlight though. And I have to admit, the ending itself works like it is. Sure now that I know there is more, I want to watch that as soon as possible - which is going to be some time.

Acting is good, twists are nice if predictable I reckon and there will be blood. If that all sounds good to you to you can either watch now or wait at least until the first sequel arrives and do a double bill