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Hwayi: A Monster Boy

Original title: Hwai: Goimooleul samkin ai
  • 2013
  • Not Rated
  • 2h 6m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
5.8K
YOUR RATING
Hwayi: A Monster Boy (2013)
ActionThriller

A boy with five fathers who is attached to the criminal underworld. A sinister past is about to be revealed as he is forced to join the killing spree.A boy with five fathers who is attached to the criminal underworld. A sinister past is about to be revealed as he is forced to join the killing spree.A boy with five fathers who is attached to the criminal underworld. A sinister past is about to be revealed as he is forced to join the killing spree.

  • Director
    • Jang Joon-hwan
  • Writers
    • Park Joo-suk
    • Jang Joon-hwan
  • Stars
    • Kim Yoon-seok
    • Yeo Jin-goo
    • Cho Jin-woong
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.0/10
    5.8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Jang Joon-hwan
    • Writers
      • Park Joo-suk
      • Jang Joon-hwan
    • Stars
      • Kim Yoon-seok
      • Yeo Jin-goo
      • Cho Jin-woong
    • 27User reviews
    • 19Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 9 wins & 6 nominations total

    Photos31

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    Top cast30

    Edit
    Kim Yoon-seok
    Kim Yoon-seok
    • Seok Tae
    Yeo Jin-goo
    Yeo Jin-goo
    • Hwayi
    Cho Jin-woong
    Cho Jin-woong
    • Gi-tae
    Jang Hyun-sung
    Jang Hyun-sung
    • Jin Seong
    Kim Sung Kyun
    Kim Sung Kyun
    • Dong-beom
    Park Hae-joon
    Park Hae-joon
    • Beom Soo
    Nam Ji-hyun
    Nam Ji-hyun
    • Yoo-kyung
    Lim Ji-eun
    • Yeong-joo
    Yoo Yeon-seok
    Yoo Yeon-seok
    • Park Ji Won
    Moon Sung-keun
    Moon Sung-keun
    • CEO Jin
    Lee Kyoung-young
    Lee Kyoung-young
    • Im Hyung Taek
    Min Bok-gi
    Min Bok-gi
    • Middle Aged Ex-Prosecutor
    Han Cheol-woo
    • Detective Kim
    Sung Do-hyun
    • Lime factory supporter
    Eom Ji-man
    • Detective
    Jang In-sub
    Jang In-sub
    • Detective Chang-ho
    Han Joo-wan
    • President Jeon's Attendant
    Woo Jung-kook
    • Blind Masseur
    • (as Jung-kook Woo)
    • Director
      • Jang Joon-hwan
    • Writers
      • Park Joo-suk
      • Jang Joon-hwan
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews27

    7.05.7K
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    Featured reviews

    10asamuhammet

    (One of) The best Korean movie I've ever seen!

    Since nobody has reviewed the movie yet, I thought I could share my impressions about this EXCELLENT movie.

    First of all, I must admit that it had been quite a long time since I hadn't seen a good Korean movie, thus I was a bit skeptical at first. Fortunately, I immediately got absorbed in the movie. The actors are perfectly chosen, especially Jin-gu Yeo (Hwayi) who makes me think of Byung hun lee.

    Now one of the few things I was afraid of was pointless conversations that don't add anything to the story except making it boring. But I'm glad to say there weren't any, and I enjoyed every single minutes of the movie from the beginning to the end. Moreover, I found the fighting scenes really well performed, it was so realistic that I jumped with fright a few times. As far as the story is concerned, it is thrilling, credible and touching.

    In short, if you haven't view it yet, I strongly advise you to watch it, you won't be disappointed! 10/10
    9azerjaban

    Great Acting, Great Movie

    I'm so glad I finally watched this. This movie was F****** AWESOME. Yes the language is warranted. The acting was spectacular from every character- especially Yeo Jin Goo,I was already impressed with this child actor since The Moon Embraces the Sun and I Miss You, but he literally BLEW ME AWAY here. He covered every single emotional beat, every scene with the veteran actors (who themselves were freaking amazing) perfectly. I can't rave enough about the acting here.

    The story was a lot more than I expected. I thought this would be like Coin Locker Girl when it turned vengeful and just become a bloodbath but damn- Hwayi was way smarter than I thought. Some twists I saw coming, others made me pause and rewind.

    The monster analogy was very well done, the part where he just stared it down gave me chills.

    The cops really got the short end of the stick here but aside from that I loved the ending. Amazing movie all around. Seriously in my top 10 K thrillers.
    komatanii

    How did I feel about this movie !

    Well last night I finally watched this movie ..I was so excited for it really . well first of all , I RECOMMEND this movie to everyone who wants to have a thriller filled ,dramatic,emotional movie ..so try this great movie . well in order for me not to spoil the movie for you ..I will just say little !! everything was epic and specially the fight scenes and cars races ..the Directer was a real GENIUS in drawing the best in the actors and specially "Yeo Jin gu" ,despite his young age but he was like possessed by the character to the point that you will not be able to tell if he is acting or he is the real Hwayi ,SERIOUSLY . well for me just few things stood out and remained mysterious even when the movie was finished ..I needed more answers for few things but they never made them clear ,specially some past events , but i think the need of the movie directer or even maybe the writer to show us things more than the others was the reason ! all the 5 "fathers" presented a unique character for each one of them ..with "Kim Yun seok" character I got the most chills cuz he was like super scary .. anyways ! If You are OK with BLOOD in movies ..cuz seriously you will see a great deal of blood and scary scenes but it all worth watching really ..so enjoy ^^
    7jasminn_tan

    No winners here

    The unluckiest one is Hwayi himself, my goodness. The thing about him seeing monsters seemed pretty irrelevant overall, instead the real monsters were his five 'fathers'. Amazing acting by the cast but I felt like there was something lacking about the story.
    6KineticSeoul

    Entertaining Korean flick for the most part

    I would have probably enjoyed this movie when I was in my early teens over now. Despite all the blood and gore in this. The acting is good, but couldn't really get immersed into the characters or the story. I guess they did the best they could with 2 hours and multiple different characters. The rising star Yeo Jin-goo is still rough around the edges but still good for such a young actor. I think his acting chops will continue to grow, plus he already beats out other Korean actors that are older when it comes to acting. Another actor that stood out is Kim Sung-Kyun but that is because he seemed to be impersonating the Joker. The plot is similar to something from a graphic novel which I thought was cool. Unfortunately most of the areas in the movie just seemed so darn underdeveloped and rushed at times. Making certain situations not as gripping or even to the point of not making much sense. The situations could have been more tense if there was more development in the story and characters. It's a good movie to boost Yeo Jin-goo as a rising star, but it's not a thriller that sticks with you like "The Chaser" 2008. The plot is passable and the action for the most part is realistic and good to great acting to go along with it. I give it a 6.5/10.

    6.5/10

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    Thriller

    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      Joon-Hwan Jang's first feature directorial movie since 2003 film Jigureul Jikyeora.

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    FAQ18

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 9, 2013 (South Korea)
    • Country of origin
      • South Korea
    • Official sites
      • Official site
      • Official site (Japan)
    • Language
      • Korean
    • Also known as
      • Hwayi: Cậu Bé Quái Vật
    • Production companies
      • Now Films
      • Pine House Film
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Gross worldwide
      • $16,437,802
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

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    • Runtime
      • 2h 6m(126 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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