[Guest Review] "Doctor"

Starring Kim Chang-wan as Choi In-bom, a renowned plastic surgeon with a short fuse prone to fits of rage if his wishes aren't fulfilled, "Doctor" is an incredibly forced slasher film with a particular theme that could have been far more interesting if it dared to associate itself with anything other than the generic suspense it provides. The plot is essentially based on Dr Choi's Jekyll and Hyde type behaviour, which is instigated by him walking in on his young wife, Park Soon-jeong (Bae So-eun) having a secret affair with her personal trainer, a buff Kim Yeong-gwan (Seo Geon-woo). While at first not having the courage to exact revenge by killing his wife or the trainer, his homocidal tendencies are awakened when he discovers that his entire marriage was, in fact, a sham organised by his mother-in-law to setup her daughter's future security. Only then does he begin his killing spree.
 
Once Dr Choi dispatches with his first victim, he returns to work as if nothing had happened, only the head nurse suspects that something is awry in the "Doctor"'s especially courteous public demeanour. Once he starts dealing with patients in private, however, it's clear that anyone in close proximity is in danger as he enters, what looks to be, a trance. In this particular trance, he believes he sees his former wife, who his latest wife was modelled after, in every female that he comes across and proceeds to attempt to recreate perfection, i.e. severe mutilation resuting in death, in the next unassuming patient that enters his consulting room.
 
"Doctor" might be an interesting enough thriller while it establishes its elements, which are not groundbreaking by any stretch.

Advertisement

Continue reading at CliqueAsia