Gyesirok

A good thriller that had the potential to become big.

The screenplay could have been written in such a manner that the film focuses on the tension and suspense rather than the approach taken in the film.

The film depicts themes like Perception and Apophenia, Religious Zeal vs Trauma, Broken Morality and Belief as a coping mechanism.

The film explores pareidolia where a person perceives divine messages or patterns in randomness indicating Pastor Sung's visions. Sung's self-justified violence in the name of God contrasts with Yeon-hui's vendetta fueled by grief. The film also questions if our actions are our own or are they fueled by faith, prejudice and past trauma. Belief - Each character in the film relies on belief to justify pain. Be it divine, procedural or personal

The acting performances were top-notch. Ryu Jun-yeol, Shin Hyun-been and Shin Min-jae were magnificent.

A 5 min 30 second long take in the climax was an absolute masterclass. Outstanding execution. The emotions expressed in that moment was peak.

Unmoored angles and visual tricks express the psychic states of Sung and Yeon-hui.

Kudos to the cinematographer Byun Bong-Sun. The camera work was gave superb elevation to the film. The visual approach worked so well for me. The editing was outstanding too.

The film was great. It just fell low in its screenplay part a bit. The one-eyed monster reveal was amazing.

A 3.5/5 film.

Again, outstanding cinematography. Magnificent visual technique.

Being a fan of Korean movies, I was thrilled to see what this movie is going to bring. I must say it isn't a masterpiece south korean thrillers out there but it's definitely worth watching.

The acting, the dialogue and the direction was all in sync with the story. What fascinated me to watch this movie is the way how one can be deceived from what they believe.

I felt the last 15 minutes could have been more polished in terms of writing to justify the whole process and to keep the audience engaged as I felt that the end didn't leave an impact on me but nevertheless it has it's good moments.

A decent watch!

7/10 for this one.

This is the latest Netflix Korean offering, which stands up against several other similar movies.

So the basis of the plot revolves around a kidnapper and a Pastor, but the story takes may twists and turns and lines between good and bad are blurred, which if course is far more to how life actually is than most of Hollywoods superhero style movies.

It keeps you engaged throughout the whole movie, is she alive, is she not being a running theme throughout. Look, there are some flaws here, the storyline isn't anything groundbreaking + there's no big twist at the end, but it's thrilling enough to keep you entertained till the credits roll. Another downside is how the characters make some terrible choices; a detective goes to a suspected crime scene alone + the perpetrator not covering his tracks at all being two of the most notable. However these are mistakes many movies make and didn't ruin the suspense for me.

I also liked the way religion was explored heavily but never shown in a preachy way. Whether there was any divine interventions going on is left to the viewers imagination, which means neither Theists or Atheists should be offended, Lastly despite what another reviewer has said, the acting is superb, they put western actors to shame, i cried at the end. I think the other reviewer may just be racist.

All in all, i highly recommend it if you are a fan of the genre, if not, it may be a little slow for you.

Nice Korean thriller with a submessage: Take responsibility for your own actions and do not hide behind a God or devil.

The movie is not predictable and has some typical Korean-style twists. Starting of as a kidnap story, the movie quickly moves towards a story about guild and religion.

The protagonist is Min-Chan, a pastor who - at first hand - seems to not be capable of killing another human being. After a fatal 'accident' with the main antagonist, a sadistic killer obsessed by 'the one eyed monster', things quickly take a turn and Min-chan comes to believe God has given him a revelation. The third character storyline revolves around a traumatized police officer named Yeon Hui, who has to (literally) face her trauma's in order to get her own revelations, in another way as Min-Chan.

I really wanted more from this Yeon Sang-ho crime-thriller than what was offered. It has SUCH INTERESTING characters, a series of crimes that connect them, and the "revelations" that happen along the way. This either needed to be a full-blown character study or a seat-edge thriller. But Yeon Sang-ho decides to tread that fine line between both, leading to an okayish conclusion. The lead performances are solid, especially Ryu Jun-yeol who plays a pastor suffering from Apophenia.

The religious angle was always going to be the differentiator here, but I doubt it'll sit well with most viewers seeking a straightforward thriller sans theological references. The production quality is first-rate, and there's a spectacularly tense one-take sequence set in a derelict building. In fact, the film needed more such innovations in the thrills department to keep the plot progression from staggering. The current version is decent (for whatever Netflix offers), but Revelations won't be discussed as much as Train to Busan or some of Yeon-Sang-ho's earlier animated flicks.