2019/08/31
Joong-soo (played by Bae Sung-woo) is a Catholic priest and exorcist. In the cold open to "Metamorphosis" we see an exorcism gone horribly wrong, less because of anything Joong-soo himself did incorrectly, and more because the demonic spirit managed to successfully imitate the person it was possessing at a critical moment. Further events create the disturbing impression that the demonic spirit's actual goal was just to get into Joong-soo's head, although cryptic warnings about a horrible fate to befall Joong-soo's family are, well, the actual plot of the movie.
The sheer tension in "Metamorphosis" is absolutely superb. Before we get any clear hint as to shapeshifting shenanigans there's this great scene where Joong-soo's brother Kang-goo (played by Sung Dong-il) is just exploring an eminently disturbing house in a predictably futile effort to ask the owner to, maybe, stop killing small animals and hanging them out to die outside. The imagery is disturbing yet distinctly the work of a mortal hand, which makes it all the creepier.
When the whole transformation aspect of the plot does come into play, we get to see the very unnerved family slowly coming to grips with the fact that it's not any one person who's strange. Someone or something just transforms into a distorted, violent, socially unaware version of a family member. One particularly disturbing plot twist suggests that that part of the reason why the demon can't normally successfully replicate a human's responses is because the only humans they have regular contact with are exorcists.
Terrifying as the base story may be for Kang-soo, his wife, and children, "Metamorphosis" also makes the smart decision to portray the spirit as a fairly mundane problem which exorcists deal with the same way a plumber might deal with a clogged pipe. One amusing moment of comic relief involves senior exorcists arguing over whether they're dealing with a regular demon or Satan itself. The stilted English in that scene may or may not have been intentional, but it works.
The main criticism that can be levied against "Metamorphosis" is that the movie is not particularly original. The movie is not on a fundamental level that different from "The Priests" and either ripped off or was inspired by that film, depending on how sympathetically you want to view the practice of cultural appropriation. I imagine that to someone with a better understanding of current American exorcist films than myself, the movie may come of as even more derivative.
But "Metamorphosis" is not a movie that inspires particularly picky viewing habits. Director Kim Hong-seon promises us a horrifying glimpse into the unknown, where monstrous spectres inhabit the shell of our loved ones and try to convince us we're crazy. The sheer mortality of the characters and the way this inspires performances is a huge strong point, Kang-goo and his family are just a bunch of normal people who can't do much more than trust the family priest. And Joong-soo, too, is all too limited, and filled with self-doubt. His sacrifices are of resignation, not heroism.
Review by William Schwartz
___________
"Metamorphosis" is directed by Kim Hong-seon, and features Bae Sung-woo, Sung Dong-il, Jang Young-nam, Kim Hye-jun, Cho Yi-hyun, Kim Kang-hoon. Release date in Korea: 2019/08/21.
Staff writer. Has been writing articles for HanCinema since 2012, having lived in South Korea since 2011. Started out in Gyeongju, then to Daegu, then to Ansan, then to Yeongju, then to Seoul, lived on the road for HanCinema's travel diaries series in the summer of 2016, and is currently settled in Anyang. Has good tips for utilizing South Korea's public bus system. William Schwartz can be contacted via william@hancinema.net. He also has a substack at williamschwartz.substack.com where he discusses the South Korean film industry in broader terms and takes suggestions for future movies to review.
"[HanCinema's Film Review] "Metamorphosis""
by HanCinema is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
Related movies/dramas
You're reading the news with potential spoilers, make them spoiler free, dismiss
[HanCinema's Film Review] "Hello, My Cat"
2019/08/31
In the first story of the "Hello, My Cat" omnibus the cat talks. He talks a lot. It actually get t,...More
[Hancinema Film Review] "Abyss: The Girl's Eyes"
2019/08/31
Using the supernatural to make social comments (through metaphor or not) is a tactic that has been,...More
[Photos] New Posters Added for the Korean Movie "Metamorphosis"
2019/08/31 (Source)
New posters added for the Korean movie "Metamorphosis",...More
Subscribe to HanCinema Pure to remove ads from the website (not for episode and movie videos) for US$0.99 monthly or US$7.99 yearly (you can cancel anytime).
The first step is to be a member, please click here : Sign up, then a subscribe button will show up.
HanCinema's Official Facebook group will keep you updated on the latest in Korean movies and dramas!
Today's birthdays
2021/01/27