Hwayi: A Monster Boy

A then 16-year-old Yeo Jin-goo (Hwa-yi) and one of my absolute favorite actors, Kim Yoon-seok (Seok-tae) lead a powerhouse cast in this heart wrenching, tragic drama. "Hwayi: A Monster Boy" left me speechless as the story unfolded. There is plenty of violence and a terrible twist that you will not see coming. Every performance in this film, in my opinion, deserved the highest accolades the industry has to offer and I was pleased to learn that the then 16 year old Yeo Jin-goo was recognized as "Best New Actor" in 2013 and 2014. GREAT MOVIE!!

Director Joon-Hwan Jang (''Save the Green Planet '') is characterized by two things: Excellent filmmaking and graphic violence. Hway is a drama/thriller , revolving about a boy raised by a gang of kidnappers/thieves/killers-in short: Not the most moral people of society. But it's not so simple- there is no black/white -only shades of grey. This is the cornerstone and what carries the film -complex characters and their relationship between each other. Brutality ,compassion , hate ,love , avengement, an so on. I won't go into detail here-see for yourself. All I can say is that this is korean filmmaking at its best- I almost shed a manly tear-isn't that proof enough-And I remind you: This is not some stereotypical sissy drama. Cinematography , acting , sound , action , plot- no shortcomings at all. Looking forward to more works of such an talented director 8/10 Would watch again

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

I really don't know what to say, it disturbing but at the same time you can't help to feel sad while watching it, for a 15 year the lead actor did an OUTSTANDING job, I mean he embodied the character. The movie has everything in it, from greed to court politics and cops and gangsters I mean it's get bloody and ppl die but what movie doesn't have that, the story is tied up well and they string you along very well I mean dang I literally sat in the same spot staring at my tv for ten plus minutes after it ended. Even the credits comic was nice with the way they tied it up in art. Really was not what I thought it would turn out to be but definitely did not absolutely disappoint me a fantastic movie and Yeo Jin-goo is a wonderful actor he really wears and embodies his character it's crazy I have a lot of fun watching him and he shows his emotions really really well throughout the whole thing you'll think you're going through them with him. It was just a really good movie omg.

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.