The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion
2018 · Directed by Park Hoon-jung
Original language: Korean
- action
- drama
- science fiction
The story
Ja-yoon is a high school student who struggles with memory loss after she endured some unknown trauma during her childhood. While trying to uncover the truth, she is unwittingly dragged into a world of crime and finds herself on a journey that will awaken many secrets hidden deep within.
What it’s like
Cold, polished digital images with a glassy sheen: sterile white laboratory corridors, cramped rooms washed in sickly fluorescent green and blue, and night streets smeared with wet neon reflections. The camera favours tight, controlled framing and sudden, kinetic action sequences that cut hard against stretches of clinical stillness. The score pulses with dissonant synth and low drones, and silence is used as a held breath before violence erupts. The mood is clammy and paranoid, with a sense of being watched and of identity fraying at the edges. Its pacing is taut and escalating, with long unsettling passages punctuated by abrupt, brutal set pieces. Intensity is high: frequent gun violence and extreme, bloody combat, plus scenes of experimental cruelty and disturbing psychological pressure, though not gratuitous gore for its own sake. The emotional register is cold and tense, following a young woman piecing together a stolen past while the people around her may not be who they seem. It suits viewers who want sharp genre filmmaking, supernatural intrigue and a bleak, stylised thriller, and is not suited to anyone seeking something gentle.
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