[HanCinema's Film Review] "The 8th Night"

The opening of "The 8th Night" focuses on Buddhist mythology, describing the story of the red eye and the black eye, and how these demons were sealed away in different parts of the world. They were never to meet again, lest their combined power would open a gate to hell. Then a weird cult appeared to dig one of them up. The old monk Ha-jeong (played by Lee Eol) tasks his young, silent disciple Cheong-seok (played by Nam Da-reum) with informing the exorcist Jin-soo (played by Lee Sung-min) of the crisis.

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Nam Da-reum shows tremendous heart as the youthful Cheong-seok, a teenage boy with comical yet restrained enthusiasm for a world he's never seen before. And yet Jin-soo isn't quite as annoying as he sometimes suspects. Director Kim Tae-hyung-II wrings a lot of depth from the relationship between Cheong-seok and Jin-soo by dispensing with words and just letting them act with their faces. We only slowly learn just why it is that Jin-soo does not like being addressed as a monk, though he doesn't give Cheong-seok a suitable alternative.

The story of our taciturn monastic leads unfolds opposite that of detective Ho-tae (played by Park Hae-joon), who's attempting to solve murders in Daegu that leave the corpses in baffling condition. His role is likewise one of subtlety. We're led to believe that Ho-tae is a good cop who wants to do the right thing, and that's the whole problem. Jin-soo's mission isn't just difficult to believe. It's also one that involves unavoidable sacrifice.

The actual plot of "The 8th Night" is comparatively straightforward. Well, barring an infodump at the end explaining the exact mechanics of how the demonic soul possession works, which is necessary for the final showdown. "The 8th Night" is also quite literal, as we see the main characters one day at a time, traveling from town to town. Brief diverting anecdotes of the central characters' interactions build up to climactic days where they, and us, have to wonder how much they really like or trust each other.

"The 8th Night" is very reminiscent of "Svaha: The Sixth Finger" but with more of an emphasis on characterization than mysticism. It's not a particularly weird movie, although there's definite menace in the atmosphere. Cheong-seok is a fairly ignorant youth and is explicitly told there are some realities of the situation he's better off not knowing. I liked how Cheong-seok is portrayed as genuinely naive, yet neither endearing nor annoying.

Despite the demonic possession being the main hook, "The 8th Night" is also in many ways the story of how Cheong-seok grows up, and must seek his own path to Enlightenment. This is the context embodying the last few crucial scenes, where he follows up one decision to accept the counsel of his elder with another that seems to defy the spirit of it. In a way Cheong-seok and Jin-soo must both face their demons, and accept the detachment of death as the opposite of the attachment of life.

Review by William Schwartz

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"The 8th Night" is directed by Kim Tae-hyung-II, and features Lee Sung-min, Park Hae-joon, Kim You-jung, Nam Da-reum, Choi Jin-ho, Kim Dong-young. Release date in Korea: 2021/07/02.

 

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