‘Hope’ Review: A Korean Creature Horror That Shoots Up A Storm

There’s something in the woods in Hope Harbor. It’s monstrous and is attacking livestock and human beings as well. And it might soon be making its way to town. And maybe it already has. The first sign that something is well and truly wrong (and requires backup) comes roughly 15 minutes in. After getting his chain yanked by local hunters, police chief Bum-seok (Hwang Jung-min) heads back into town, partly convinced that it’s a tiger from the north that’s strayed into their remote bordertown.

And just like that, you’re bang in the middle of the story. No prologue, no former introductions. Things start slow and then escalate at a breakneck speed. You either keep up or become an NPC (non-playing character) in this game of cat-and-mouse. You see, this fictional place called Hope Harbor is supposed to exist near the southern border of DMZ (demilitarized zone) between North and South Korea. And quite frankly, anything could happen in these remote places. Might sound wildly implausible and could be true at the same time.

Related Stories

Theatrical Releases This Week: ‘Udta Teer,’ ‘Clayface,’ To ‘Hope’

Jung Ho-yeon Praises Aamir Khan’s ‘3 Idiots,’ Says Indian Films Are About Happiness: ‘I Want to Do Something That Brings People Joy’ (EXCLUSIVE)

The first visible sign of impending doom/catastrophe comes when Bum-seok drives back into town after purveying a dead, mauled cow left in the middle of the road. As mentioned earlier, he realizes they’re dealing with something massive and that he’s probably out of his depth. But is too proud to admit that he has no idea what he’s dealing with.

As he shoots his way around and nearly gets his bacon cooked, saved only by officer Sung-ae’s insanely good driving and her sharp-shooting, one-thing is clear. What’s made its way to them, isn’t local, from the North or even of Earth.

Meanwhile, bodies pile up, as does the number of times Bum-Seok “shibal”s and “tch”s his way through this film. There is some hyper-kinetic camerawork by Hong Kyung-pyo that keeps you at the edge of the seat, especially in the chase/escape sequences. At the same time, Kyung-pyo’s over-the-main-character’s shoulder shooting gives you an almost-FPS (first person shooter) feel that keeps you in the center of all the action.

Mostly elderly people populate this place and much like middle-of-nowhere America, are armed to the teeth. And just like middle America, law-and-order machinery is sparse and heavily relies on local young troublemakers. There’s only one officer on call, Yim Sung-ae (Jung Hoyeon), who also helps out in the local hospital. Hoyeon (formerly on “Squid Game”) is a badass as Officer Yim Sung-ae and she brings tons of sass to her role. The one standout is when she saves Bum-seok. Another performance to watch out for is Zo In-sung as Ko Sung-ki, a local hunter and Bum’s cousin, who really comes into his own in the second half. Lee Sang-hee as Ahn Nok-yeon brings the fire in the belly, far sooner. But it is Im Hyun Shik as Hae-Sul , a ginseng hunter, who is a scene-stealer in a small part as he recounts a story of him taking a shit (or at least, is trying to) to Yim in great detail, while hiding from the monsters. That account reminded this reviewer of an actual scene in “Welcome To Dongmakgol” (also set in another border town in Korea and has an open defecation scene after eating pork).

Director Na Hong-jin keeps his expositions to the minimum. You don’t know why the aliens have picked the place, what motives they have, why everyone in town is stockpiling guns, why are they left to their own devices, how are the aliens separated from each other.

This creature horror reins you in and keeps you hooked for a better part of the runtime. The film ends with more questions than answers, leaving you confused about this film’s intent. The open ending leaves you inferring that there will be a sequel. One can hope…