Honsoom

The main character hosts an online show which investigates supernatural, paranormal mysteries. I was engaged throughout because of his performance. Excellent actor, and well written script.

I had never heard about the 2016 South Korean horror movie "Honsoom" (aka "Hide and Never Seek") prior to sitting down here in 2023 to watch it. And with it being an Asian horror movie, of course I had to watch it.

Now, had I known that the storyline was centered around a social media influencer, then I simply wouldn't have given the movie the time of day, as I have absolutely zero interest in the laughable phenomena of social media influencers. But still, as I had opted to watch the movie, I carried on with it and sat through all 88 minutes of it.

Director Doo-Hwan Lee didn't deliver a particularly enjoyable movie. And not only because of the social media influencer aspect of the movie. But simply also because the movie left with a gaping sense of 'was that really it?'. There was no proper conclusion to the story, and the whole storyline itself was too simplistic.

The characters in the movie, for the majority of the character gallery, were characters that you don't care about and invest nothing in. So whatever befalls the characters on the screen, you just simply shrug it off and move on.

For a horror movie then "Honsoom" was a swing and a miss. There was nothing scary about the movie, and for a horror veteran such as myself, then the movie was simply not cutting it. Sure, if you are a newcomer to Asian horror cinema then there might be something worthwhile to be had here.

And I am not overly much a fan of movies that are filmed in a way that makes you think I could do better with my own digital video camera. "Honsoom" had a lot of that type of camera work to it, so that didn't exactly win me over.

"Honsoom" is not a movie that I will recommend for fans of the Asian horror cinema to rush out and get to watch. It just simply was not worth it, and the storyline was just way too bland.

My rating of "Honsoom" lands on a three out of ten stars.

Hide and Never Seek is a pleasant little movie that managed to bring a good plot, excellent acting and a different point of view. Finally someone that won't take any Asian legend for granted and has the courage to go and investigate.

It won't scare you or anything, it delivers far more humor than it does tension, but you do go along for the ride because it's an interesting one that keeps you guessing. I had fun with it and I think it was a bold and successful way of showing something different.

For fans of Asia horror cinema, I will recommend it because it brings something different to the table. For those seeking jump scares, this is not for you.

Cheers!