Byeonshin

It could've been a great movie, If only it's written just a bit smarter.

This is a solid exorcism horror film. Yes, it's in Korean (still unclear on why so many people refuse to watch movies with subtitles), but it is very good. Even twists the plot on your standard exorcism tropes in a way I don't believe I've seen done before. Really don't want to give away spoilers on that so that's all I'm saying. Good acting, creepy as hell with a few cringey gore scenes. I, myself, adore horror films. Total junkie so I've seen an obscene amount and this is definitely worth a watch. Especially if you like your exorcism/possession films.

Byeonshin, internationally known as Metamorphosis, is a supernatural horror movie from South Korea. The movie starts with a scene where a priest tries an excorcism on a girl who is possessed by an evil spirit. The exorcism ends in a disaster and the reclusive priest thinks about moving abroad to take some distance from those horrible events. Around the same time, his brother's family moves to a new city. Even though the house looks amazing, the peace is quickly disturbed by a creepy neighbour who seems to be performing rituals with dead animals in the middle of the night. Even though the police starts investigating, they can't find any proofs for such rituals. Every single day, strange things start occuring in the neighbourhood and especially in the family. The mother has an emotional breakdown during breakfast. The father sneaks into his daughter's bedroom in the middle of the night but can't recall it the next day. As things slowly spiral out of control, the family asks the priest to intervene on his last day before moving abroad. The exorcist doesn't realize however that he has already been targeted by a menacing supernatural force as well.

This horror movie convinces with a steadily increasing gloomy atmosphere rather than with predictable jump scares. The acting performances add a lot to the atmosphere as one constantly tries to figure out who is acting normally and who might be possessed. The locations have been chosen with care and especially the opening exorcism, the neighbour's creepy house and the car accident scene will leave lasting impressions. The light and sound effects are employed with care rather than with exaggeration and complement the story appropriately.

In the end, Byeonshin or Metamorphosis, is a supernatural horror movie for those who have gotten sick of Hollywood's predictable sequels of jump-scare horror flicks. This movie goes back to the roots of classic horror cinema of the seventies as it values atmosphere over shock effects. This film doesn't include much gore but rather focuses on psychological horror elements. What we have here is a slow burn that starts with a bang and then slows down to gradually unfold its bleak vibes until a dramatic finale. This film doesn't quite rival some other excellent South Korean horror movies of recent memory such as The Wailing, Rampant and Train to Busan but it proves once again that South Korean cinema is currently the best in the world in my opinion.

A shapeshifting demon has attached itself to the family of a catholic priest struggling with a failed exorcism and a loss of faith.

This is an interesting take on the possession idea as the focus is very much on the demon rather than the victim. Without giving too much away we are never sure precisely who is the demon as it moves from person to person.

As with most modern Korean cinema this is is a great piece of visual story telling. We are constantly guessing who and how the demon is possessing. The way the evil unfolds around the family as it turns them against each other is dramatically portrayed.

But the story kind of lets itself down in the end. Throughout this film there are reminders of the physical artifice of the church but despite the evidence of demonic possession, the impotence is ultimately frustrating.

The confrontation with evil is left down to the single younger brother but it's not really clear why. For me a little bit too much is left unsaid and implied meaning doesn't balance out the constant sense of foreboding well enough. In the end we are left with a romantic sacrifice and some rather unconvincing ghostbusters style special effects.

This film has a lot going for it and while it leaves us with many unanswered questions the performances are convincing.

It is okay to watch and enjoyable but nothing standout really. The story just go with the flow and the ending feels empty, I think the movie wouldn't be lame if there's more plot and twist like more effort on explaining what is actually happening.