After a summer of blockbuster action movies and dramas over the Chuseok weekend, the Korean box office is opening its fall-winter lineup with a healthy dose of thrillers. Three Korean films are poised to open in the last two weeks of October and keep you on the edge of your seat, each with a different kind of story and vibe.


Action thriller: “The Phone”
Opening Oct. 22

Presented by new director Kim Bong-joo, time-travel suspense flick “The Phone” offers a cast with excellent thriller credentials in this year alone. 

Lead actor Son Hyun-ju (“Chronicles of Evil”) plays Ko Dong-ho, a corporate lawyer who decides to leave his job because of the constant death threats -- only to have his wife Yeon-su (Uhm Ji-won of “The Silenced”) murdered on his last day, with no clues leading to the murderer. 

The movie speeds forward one year to the anniversary of Yeon-su’s death. Dong-ho is struggling to cope with his loss and still obsessed with the unsolved crime. Then, he suddenly gets a call from his wife -- who is still alive and well, one year ago. 

Dong-ho begins his mission to find a way to save his wife by speaking to her on the phone, which connects them although they are in worlds a year apart. But soon, he finds himself being chased down by Do Jae-hyun (Bae Sung-woo, “Office”), who hunts Yeon-su in 2014 while hunting Dong-ho in 2015.

Fast-paced and smartly cut, “The Phone” can be a bit difficult to follow at times because the story takes place simultaneously in two time settings. But Son Hyun-ju and Bae Sung-woo prove to be apt adversaries who keep the plot a fair fight until the film’s end, and the movie moves along quickly enough to spare the audience the need to understand every plot detail.



Satirical thriller: “The Exclusive: Beat the Devil’s Tattoo”
Opening Oct. 22

Roh Deok’s “The Exclusive” is a mystery thriller with black comedy elements commenting on the difficulty of separating facts from rumors in today’s world. 

Heo Moo-hyuk (Jo Jung-suk) is a TV reporter who was suspended for writing a piece reflecting badly on a powerful conglomerate. He sees his chance for a triumphant return to the newsroom when he stumbles upon a handwritten note that seems to have been written by a wanted serial killer. 

His bureau director Baek (Lee Mi-sook) agrees to run the story, but things take a twist when a detective named Oh (Bae Sung-woo, who also appears in “The Phone”) shows up, asking questions about how Heo obtained the piece of evidence.

While the newsroom faces off against the police, Heo’s story spreads uncontrollably like wildfire, spawning rumors, spin-offs and more misinformation. Heo clings dearly to his job, reputation and personal life while trying desperately to get to the bottom of his tangled situation.



Arthouse thriller: “Fatal Intuition”
Opening Oct. 28

Yoon Joon-hyung’s new thriller brings together two of the most trusted contemporary actors in Korea: Joo Won, who showed his ability to convincingly portray unusual, passionate characters through TV dramas like the recent “Yong-pal,” and Yoo Hae-jin, who has been a frequent face on the big screen this year through “Veteran,” “The Classified File” and many other films.

Joo Won plays Jang-woo, a young man taking care of his younger sister Eun-ji in a small village. Jang-woo, who had hoped to save enough money to move to Seoul with his sister, finds his world shattered when his sister is murdered, with the police unable to track down the killer.

Jang-woo starts to investigate on his own, and together with a girl who is haunted by supernatural visions, he becomes certain that the killer is a pharmacist named Min (Yoo Hae-jin). No one believes him, and he has no proof, but Jang-woo begins stalking Min, determined to prove that he was the one who killed his sister.

Laced with traditional shamanistic rituals and supernatural elements, “Fatal Intuition” is a psychological thriller that maintains eerie suspense until the very end.


By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)