User reviews

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

The Witch starts off comfortably enough with a very Korean domestic teen vibe. I found it a little annoyingly sugary at times and overstated. That said, it does set the scene nicely for the stark contrast, that comes next.

This film is extraordinarily frenetic, action packed and violent. Certainly once it gets started its never ever boring but the mayhem can get a little exhausting at times. Its not one for the faint hearted but if you enjoyed films like the John Wick franchise, you will, I suspect, love this one.

What helps lift The Witch above a lot of other similar films is an intriguing and intricate story and in some cases, genuinely excellent acting.

A worthwhile watch. 7/10.

An often mesmerizing, occasionally kooky but thoroughly entertaining thriller.

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 started watching this movie convinced that it was a horror film. Although there is some gore and violence early on, it didn't really have a lot of tension and soon I realized this was more of an action movie with supernatural elements.

And it's fine at being that, I suppose. The action choreography is stylish and pretty well done, it reminded me mostly of the 2000 era movie 'Equilibrium' with Christian Bale. The plot is more substantial than just a reason to have these fights but the movie still is a lot more style than substance.

So, it's fine if you're looking for a decent action movie, but it's not much more than that.

6/10.

For those folks who says that this film took too much storytelling, so boring for an hour; blah,blah, blah- It is like you are reading a book! You need specific and concrete details to totally understand what story you are into.

Good job for the director!

Can't wait for the sequel...

As usual there's a huge number of 9 or 10 star reviews from single review accounts trying to boost the rating. Don't be fooled! Great ending but the rest is slow and derivative.

Very slow to build to anything. The first hour could be easily cut to 30 mins or less to improve pacing without losing anything and would definitely improve the story of the two school girls. It's quite tiresome and childish at times.

Reviewers seem to praise the action but there is very little action and the plot expositions near the end should have been the meat of the movie.

However...

The end action sequence is superbly put together, decently long, violent and entertaining. Action fans should watch it for this alone on a streaming service.

If there's ever a 'Part 2' and it carries on in the style of the ending it'd be a a truly great action film.

Excellent film. Thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. The cast may be rookies but damn .. they exceeded all my expectations.. better than some of the hollywood stars you see these days. I am really looing forward to part 2 of this series.

Wonderful! I write in this film but my thought and praise concerns all contemporary South Korean cinema. The mastery of the screenplay shown over the last 30 years is truly commendable and has given new life and freshness to this wonderful art, which in the rest of the planet was now fossilized. So good are the Asians who with great courage, moving away from the usual clichés, have managed to pull themselves out of a quagmire that has become vicious. This film is an example of it, like the countless masterpieces created and produced in these decades. The sensitivity of the writing in an action and violent film like this is the usual trademark of the Koreans who introduce and develop the characters, both good and bad, characterizing them in a sweet and often moving way, this in absolute their best value. After all, as usual, the film is intense, formidable rhythm, clean photography and well-constructed post-modern scenographies. In short, another South Korean film not to be missed!

I'm honestly looking forward to part 2. This was really a eye catching, I had moments that I didn't even blink because I didn't want to miss anything. Great Movie, Great Story!

Good movie to watch for the thrilling moments and also some little bit acting done but not all characters have done well but it is watchable.

This movie is highly underrated here! It is by far one of the best action movies I have watched in the last few years! The plot is masterfully written, keeps you on your toes the entire time and takes turns you never ever expected! I watched it on my flight and boy, oh boy i did not even take a bathroom break until I finished watching it, it was that good and full of suspense!

Give it a go and see for yourselves! Highly recommended!

Whoah!!! The opening scenes are very intense and intriqueing and set the tone, but the film then turns into a slow brewing story of the girls young upbringing and seemingly boring ,normal life...That is...till the middle comes with some scenes that are shocking and will set you back in your seat! I wont say what it is but the tone shifts completely and the movie begins its turn to the dark side..things get very interesting and from that point on, I cant image Anyone being bored with this insane action scifi thriller of Unimagineble Power Unleashed in this young girl..The action scenes and effects are beyond superbly done and more than once I was awed at how it was made to look so bloody convincing and terrifying.When the finale begins, be prepared for a ride to the dark side, as a growing sense of potential building and growing stronger is created..the atmosphere is Intense...And then a Critical mass is reached and she has come to her Full potential...And its Unleashed!!! just Wow!..I actually found myself saying OMG! out loud over and over...Mind blown...The acting in this movie was very good, not the typical asian silliness thats often a stereotype of asian film..this was acted well, with realness,and intensity..The 2 bad guys, the woman and her henchman were superb!! What can I say?, This is a slow starter that starts to explode middway and goes Supernova in the Finale! I loved it..Superb korean film and top notch scifi horror thriller!

I don't really know if Manyeo is translated as The Witch but after watching the movie I would have come up with a different title as there is no witchery whatsoever in this movie. That aside The Witch is entertaining to watch, a story with some mystery and suspense, a bit of action and overal good acting which is mostly the case with Korean movies. They don't tend to overact like other Asian countries do and that's probably why Koreans are the best in Asian film making. I wouldn't rate this movie as high as other reviewers that thought it deserved a ten, it's just entertaining but not that exciting. If there would be a sequel I would probably watch it but I'm not going to lose any sleep if there wasn't.

I saw Witch the subversion when it was released and have been waiting for the sequel that's already done or in post! This is a wild ride from K pop to...a witch(?) Hyper violent and we'll choreographed.

I have mixed feelings about this movie. It is way too long! The first half was ok, acting was good, story was quite interesting. The girl, who is the witch, evolves into a female John Wick; great action, top notch gun fights. She is a scary boogywoman.

Towards the half of the movie you get to see the villains. Villains in Korean movies are, mostly, very bad actors and actresses. They exaggerate their acting. Blow the villainous up towards psychotic characters what makes their performances not real. It becomes "Power Rangers" quality, and I am not talking about the movie.

Towards the end the girl transforms into an overconfident killer who copies the psychotic behaviour of her opponents by smiling all the time. I did not like that. It's like her personality she had in the beginning, suddenly wasn't good enough anymore. She transformed into a villain herself; bad acting and a not likeble person. So shy should I watch the sequel? For me, the witch died.

The movie looks great but I didn't like it at all. It's too wannabe American. Style over substance. The basic premise is a bit similar to X-Men, kids with special powers. But there is only so much disbelief you can suspend and young girls being super badass at gunplay and effortlessly killing multipe grown men is just tedious and dumb. There's also not really a character in there you can really sympathize with. Just a bunch of cartoonish bad guys and teenage psychopaths trying a little bit too hard to look cool, arrogant and aloof.

For what it is, it's excellent. You're not sure what genre to put it in till late in the movie, it has mystery, horror, sci-fi, great fight scenes and feels fresh. Don't get me wrong, you've seen bits and bobs in other films but what you do get is that they are all thought through. The acting, directing and score all work with mutualism and subsequently two hours feels like a very enjoyable hour.

This movie has soo many twist and turns with great fight sequence... A group of people create super power humans by using kids...then one of the girl kid came for them to defeat and get some medicines.. Must watchable...