The 8th Night
The 8th Night | |
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![]() Official release poster | |
Hangul | 제8일의 밤 |
Revised Romanization | Je8ileui Bam |
Directed by | Kim Tae-hyoung |
Screenplay by | Kim Tae-hyoung |
Produced by | Hyun Kwang Seo |
Starring | Lee Sung-min Park Hae-joon Kim Yoo-jung Nam Da-reum |
Cinematography | Choo Kyeong-yeob |
Edited by | Kim Sun-min |
Music by | Shim Hyun-jung |
Production companies | Gom Pictures Gogo Studio |
Distributed by | Netflix Little Big Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 115 minutes |
Country | South Korea |
Language | Korean |
The 8th Night (Korean: 제8일의 밤; RR: Je8ileui Bam) is a 2021 South Korean mystery-thriller film directed by Kim Tae-hyoung for Gom Pictures. Starring Lee Sung-min, Park Hae-joon, Kim Yoo-jung, and Nam Da-reum,[1] the film depicts the struggle of exorcist to stop the resurrection of the two mysterious beings that tormented humans and were locked up in 2 caskets for 2500 years. It was released on Netflix and made available for streaming in 190 countries on July 2, 2021.[2][3]
Synopsis[]
A man, who was once an exorcist, suffers until he faces a demon that is freed. The night exists between real and unreal, their struggle to stop the resurrection of the demon has begun![4]
About two and half millennium ago, a monster roamed free that had planned to create eternal suffering. Unable to kill it, the Buddha ultimately stopped the monster by ripping out its eyes (one black, one red). The red eye, however, wasn't captured without a fight. It followed seven "stepping stones" i.e. humans that it used as a bridge to reach humanity, the last being the Virgin Shaman. When the Buddha was able to stop the red eye, he placed it along with the black one in a different Śarīra casket. He buried one eye in the mountains of the Far East, and the other eye he buried in the deserts of the Far West, ensuring they would never reunite and rebirth the monster.
However, after a few centuries, a disgraced professor (Choi Jin-ho) vows to find and reawaken the monster's red eye, and prove the Buddish myth real. Monk Ha-jung (Lee Eol), the protector of one of the caskets, realizes the red eye has reawakened. He asks monk Chung-seok (Nam Da-reum) to seek Park Jin-soo (Lee Sung-min), a construction worker and banished monk who was born to stop the eyes' reunification. The two, along with Detective Kim Ho-tae (Park Hae-joon) who is working the case of the unusual corpses the red eye leaves in its wake, begin the hunt to find the Virgin Shaman, and stop the eye from entering her as the last stepping stone, and awakening the monster to cause havoc on the earth.
Cast[]
- Lee Sung-min as Park Jin-soo, the guardian[5]
- Park Hae-joon as Kim Ho-tae, homicide detective[6]
- Kim Yoo-jung as Ae-ran, a girl with a secret[7]
- Nam Da-reum as Cheong-seok[8]
- Choi Jin-ho as Professor Kim Joon-cheol
- Lee Eol as Ha-jeong
- Kim Han-sol as delivery man
- Park Se-hyun as a high school girl
Production[]
Casting[]
In May 2019, Lee Seong-min, Park Hae-joon,[9] Kim Yoo-jung,[10] and Nam Da-reum were confirmed to appear in the film.[11] Later, Lee Eul[12] and Choi Jin-ho joined the cast.[13]
Filming[]
Filming began on May 19, 2019 and was wrapped up on September 26, 2019.[4] The film was shot in Suwon, Incheon, Paju, Daejeon, Daegu, Yeongyang-gun and Kazakhstan.[14] It was set to release in 2020 but was postponed due to COVID-19.[15]
Reception[]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, which categorizes reviews only as positive or negative, 63% of 8 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.60/10. [16]
Roger Moore reviewing the film rated it with 1.5 out of 5 stars, and wrote that telling plot and not showing the horrifying attacks of monster took away the suspense from film. He praised the climax for its scenic effect, he opined, "And the effects [finale] can be chilling in that neck-cracking, beady-eyed grin sort of way."[17]
Sarah Musnicky, writing in Nightmarish Conjurings, rated it with 4.5 out of 5 stars and wrote that the screenplay is 'incredibly thoughtful' as it kept the audience guessing. She opined, "The writing helps to elevate the story beyond a typical “save the day” scenario." Musnicky also praised the performances of the cast because in her opinion that really helped the development of characters. Praising the FX makeup and the VFX, she penned, "And its in that simplicity that I think the Makeup and VFX teams really shone." Concluding the review Musnicky expressed, "Altogether, The 8th Night is a strong contender for one of my favorite films of 2021."[18]
Johnny Loftus, writing for Decider, praised Nam Da-reum's performance. He opined that The 8th Night, was a well-made film which may lacked in 'big scares' and 'jump scenes' still it was creepy. Ending his write-up, he wrote, "A different film might fling the door to Hell open with a little more flair, but The 8th Night still drives at its central conceit with subtle notes of character and spirit world mystery."[19]
For JumpCut Online, Nguyen Le said the film has "the style, the startles and the sight to certify deeper currents" despite an overly rapid pacing and average English subtitling work that can cause details to be lost. He ended his 3.5 out of 5 review by saying this is a film "you should, at least once, give the time of day to."[20]
Writing for Culture Mix, Carla Hay opined that The 8th Night has innovative cinematography and visual effects making the film an above average horror film. Hay wrote that the film with solid plot overcame decoration over content scenes, and suspenseful and surprising twists made up for the film’s messy climax. Ending the review Hay said, "The 8th Night has enough captivating mystery and horror that viewers, confused or not, shouldn’t get easily bored from watching this movie."[21]
References[]
- ^ "The 8th Night (Korean Movie – 2021) – 제8일의 밤". HanCinema. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
- ^ Jo Ji-young (July 2, 2021). "#한국형 오컬트 #얽히고설킨 관계 #깨달음…'제8일의 밤' 오늘(2일) 공개" [#Korean Occult #Tangled Relationships #Enlightenment… 'Night of the 8th' released today (2nd)]. Sports Chosun (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ Kwak Yeon-soo (May 27, 2021). "Occult thriller 'The 8th Night' to debut on Netflix in July". The Korean Times.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "[Photos] New Character Stills Added for the Upcoming Korean Movie "The 8th Night"". Hancinema. May 26, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ Pierce Conran (March 1, 2019). "LEE Sung-min Enters THE NIGHT OF THE 8TH DAY". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ Kim Ji-eun (May 26, 2021). "넷플릭스, 김태형 감독 '제8일의 밤' 7월2일 전세계 공개" [Netflix, director Kim Tae-hyung's'Night of the 8th' released worldwide on July 2nd]. Newsis (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ "Kim Yoo-jung Starring in "The Night of the 8th Day"". Hancinema. May 22, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ "Nam Da-reum Joins Lee Sung-min in "The Night of the 8th Day"". Hancinema. May 29, 2019.
- ^ Kim Chae-hyun (May 22, 2019). "[공식] 제8일의 밤, 출연진만으로 기대감 가득 '미스터리 스릴러'" [[Official] Night of the 8th,'Mystery Thriller' full of anticipation with only the cast]. Seoul Newspaper EN (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ Hong Se-young (May 22, 2019). "김유정, 영화 '제8일의 밤' 출연확정… 촬영 시작" [Kim Yoo-jeong confirmed to appear in the movie 'The 8th Night'... Start shooting]. Dong-A (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ Jo Yoo-kyung (May 29, 2019). "남다름, '제8일의 밤' 출연 확정 "새로운 장르에 과감히 도전" [공식입장]" [Nam Da-reum, confirmed to appear in'Night of the 8th']. Dong-A (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ Yoon Seong-yeol (August 9, 2019). "이얼 '제8일의 밤' 캐스팅..이성민X남다름과 호흡" [Eul'The 8th Night' Casting...]. Star News (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ Han Hyun-jung (August 20, 2019). "최진호, 영화 '제8일의 밤' 캐스팅…이성민·김유정과 호흡" [Choi Jin-ho casts the movie 'The 8th Night Seong min Lee and Yoo jung Kim and Breath]. Daily Economic Daily Star (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ Park Ah-reum (October 4, 2019). "'제8일의 밤' 크랭크업, 김유정 "내 자신을 돌아보게 해주는 영화"" ['The 8th Night' Crank-up, Kim Yoo-jeong “A movie that makes me look back on myself”]. Newsen (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ Yang So-young (May 17, 2021). "'제8일의 밤' 측 "넷플릭스 공개? 정해진 바 없다"" ["Night of the 8th" side "Netflix public? No fixed"]. The Daily Economy Star (in Korean). Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ "The 8th Night (2021)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
- ^ Roger Moore (July 2, 2021). "Netflixable? Korean thriller "The 8th Night" only seems that long". Movie Nation. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ Sarah Musnicky (July 2, 2021). "[Movie Review] THE 8TH NIGHT (제8일의 밤)". Nightmarish Conjurings. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ^ Johnny Loftus (July 2, 2021). "Stream It Or Skip It: 'The 8th Night' on Netflix, A Korean Tale Of Monsters And Exorcisms". Decider. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
- ^ Le, Nguyen (July 7, 2021). "REVIEW: The 8th Night (2021)". JumpCut Online. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
- ^ Carla Hay (July 11, 2021). "REVIEW: 'THE 8TH NIGHT,' STARRING LEE SUNG-MIN, NAM DA-REU, PARK HAE-JOON, KIM DONG-YOUNG, LEE EOL AND KIM YOO-JEONG". Culture Mix. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
External links[]
- The 8th Night at HanCinema
- The 8th Night at Daum (in Korean)
- The 8th Night at the Korean Movie Database
- The 8th Night at Naver (in Korean)
- The 8th Night on Netflix
- 2021 films
- Korean-language films
- South Korean films
- South Korean mystery films
- Korean-language Netflix original films
- Films not released in theaters due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- 2020s South Korean films
- South Korean thriller films
- Films shot in Kazakhstan
- 2021 horror films