The 8th Night

Beautiful cinematography, some really endearing and funny moments, mystery, a supernatural doomsday setting. A lot to love here. The only horror movie that really beats this movie that came out in 2021 is A Quiet Place Part 2. (Sorry The Conjuring 3, you really did miss the magic Wann touch!)

I read some complaints about CGI by other reviewers. I don't share their complaints. Had a really good time with this movie.

I really liked the origin story-very intriguing and creepy! It successfully set the tone for the entire movie. The countdown made me feel all the tension even if there were no jumpscares. Not a lot of gore, either. But there are very scary people here alright. Good twist at the end, too!

The fact that the most helpful review right now describes this as one of the best horror movies of 2021 right between A Quiet Place 2 and The Conjuring 3 should pretty much let you know what you're in for here.

I don't see the appeal myself. Just a lot of filler and drawn out melodrama with characters I don't care about one bit, all set to overdramatic music that does more to tell you how you're supposed to be feeling about each scene than anything actually happening before your eyes does.

Hooray it's on NetFlix for "free" though so 9/10! (Just kidding this is a 4 or 5 at best).

Oh man, such a good story, such a good original material and then...this. The director doesn't look interested in doing something great here, so why should we care? The film is boring, with a vulgar direction, bad editing, bad score (basically the most generic you can find for each situation) and with serious pace issues.

The cinematography is good, at least. The plot...Well it could have been great, but it's confusing and a mess due to they way the story was told. Good acting from most tho.

Some good imagery, the girl was really creepy (much more before any effect), but nothing here will stay with me for long.

The Good: I love the incorporation of Buddhist mythology and theology in the plot; maybe it's just me, but given the overwhelming depiction of Christianity in ghost and horror movies (even in South Korea), it's refreshing. The characters are generally very fun, particularly the dynamic between young, naive monk Cheonseok and grizzled veteran Jin Woo.

Also, the visuals are trippy and grotesque enough to be compelling, even if the plot is a bit convoluted at times. I love the "eye" and how it moves and acts.

The Bad: As I said before, the plot can be a bit convoluted and complicated, for no particularly good reason. We're still learning things during the film's final act, which is a bit of a problem.

The Ugly: the music. I don't know why, but the music in this one is really cheesy and took me out of the movie multiple times. For a film that lives and dies by its atmosphere, it's a bigger issue than you'd think.