‘The Guest’ Checks In and Then Takes People Out

The 2024 version of the New York Asian Festival runs July twelfth to July twenty eighth. Comply with together with our protection here.

I’m not an excessively suspicious particular person, however I nonetheless apply frequent sense when encountering strangers or hanging out in unfamiliar locations. I clock the individuals, I clock the exits, and sure, once I’m staying in a single day in a sketchy motel, I completely examine the mirrors and vents for peepers or cameras. It’s not paranoia… it’s the signal of somebody who watches *lots* of style movies about unhealthy individuals doing unhealthy issues to harmless shlubs. The brand new South Korean effort, The Visitor, is one such movie, but it surely comes with an attention-grabbing twist earlier than shifting gears into an efficient little cat-n-mouse thriller.

Younger-gyu (Han Min) and Min-cheol (Lee Ju-seung) are unhealthy guys. They is probably not on the market bodily hurting others, however as proprietors of a seedy motel in a rural space, they make a dwelling recording the personal antics of their company. Intercourse, showers, the occasional little bit of violent abuse. They file all of it and go it alongside to a gangster who has them on a brief leash. The 2 mates owe him cash, and until they preserve paying with these movies, they could simply discover themselves on the backside of a river with a number of organs lacking. So, unhealthy guys with excuses. Issues flip one night time, although, when a visitor (Hyun Bong-sik) brutally murders a younger lady — and discovers that the 2 employees have the proof.

Director Yeon Je-gwang makes his characteristic debut with a good, albeit easy thriller, and whereas it gained’t essentially shake your soul, The Visitor delivers a darkly entertaining journey for everything of its seventy-seven minute working time. Whereas Yeon opens the movie with some textual content highlighting South Korea’s surveillance society among the many individuals — much less about authorities management, and extra about everybody having cameras on their telephones and of their homes — the movie isn’t actually involved in exploring the concept past that preliminary setup. That is much less social commentary and extra straight-up exploitation thriller, and Yeon understands the task.

Issues kick into gear in a short time after establishing the motel’s geography and sparsely populated setting, and it’s not lengthy earlier than the silent visitor is prowling the halls in quest of the 2 younger males. A short ethical dilemma arises even after the homicide, and it’s there have been we see the distinction between Younger-gyu and Min-cheol. Whereas the previous is completely happy handy the footage over to the mortgage shark, Min-cheol is greater than slightly hesitant. It’s his fault that they’re on this mess because the borrowed cash went to pay for his mom’s much-needed medical procedures, however he is aware of in his intestine that that is flawed. Clearly. Lee does good work with that stability between doing what’s proper and what’s far, far simpler, and it’s arguably sufficient to tip this unhealthy man into a personality we will root for.

That mentioned, Yeon retains the downtime to a minimal because the motel’s energy is reduce and the lethal recreation of cat and mice begins. Chase scenes, slender escapes, and sequences that may have you ever holding your breath make up the majority of The Visitor‘s the rest, however Yeon has one or two surprising story beats in retailer for viewers too. All of it builds to a much bigger set-piece outdoors of the motel itself earlier than ending considerably abruptly. Does it kill the vibe? Not likely, but it surely does really feel like there was nonetheless some gasoline within the tank that didn’t get totally exploited right here.

The Visitor is finally a easy, one-note thriller, however nobody ought to ever let you know that’s a foul factor when it’s executed effectively. It’s an attention-grabbing setup giving us unhealthy guys to root for as a result of they’re going up towards a worse man, particularly when these aren’t cool unhealthy guys or anti-heroes — they’re simply sleazy pricks spying on the unaware. That’s an attention-grabbing dynamic, and paired with some sturdy suspense scenes and a pair surprises, the result’s a imply little journey that does what it got here to do and never a rattling factor extra.

The 2024 version of the New York Asian Festival runs July twelfth to July twenty eighth. Comply with together with our protection here.

Associated Matters: Horror, NYAFF

Rob Hunter has been writing for Movie College Rejects since earlier than you have been born, which is bizarre seeing as he is so rattling younger. He is our Chief Movie Critic and Affiliate Editor and lists ‘Broadcast Information’ as his favourite movie of all time. Be happy to say hello for those who see him on Twitter @FakeRobHunter.