This week, small Korean indie films are trying to get a head start at the box office before blockbuster-scale films like “The Himalayas” and “The Tiger” hit the screens. 

Three films -- a documentary, psychopath thriller and youth drama -- will each try to attract niche audience members when they open simultaneously on Dec. 10.  

The Korea Herald offers a brief guide for those looking for something a little different on the silver screen.

The Anxious Day Out
Documentary. Directed by Kim Cheol-min

“The Anxious Day Out,” a documentary that competed in the 2014 Busan International Film Festival’s “Wide Angle” section, tells the story of pro-unification activist Yoon Ki-jin. 

The film begins with Yoon’s release from prison after 10 years on the run, and an additional five-year sentence he received for voicing his views. He did not know then that his freedom would last only a year, because the letters he wrote from prison were deemed to violate the National Security Law once again. 

Director Kim Cheol-min is careful not to press Yoon’s views onto the audience, instead focusing on Yoon as a husband and father who is torn between his political views and spending more time with his family. More than an indictment, the film is an honest portrayal of the human side of political activism.

We Will Be OK
Youth drama. Directed by Baek Jae-ho

The feature-length debut from actor and director Baek Jae-ho has a semiautobiographical feel with its story about a group of friends who want to make a movie together on a nearly nonexistent budget. 

Also screened at last year’s Busan International Film Festival (New Currents), the film is notable in that it does not try to press upon the audience the difficulties of making a noncommercial film despite the staff’s passion and good intentions; instead, it shows realistically that the cast and staff themselves lose interest when they are faced with financial hardships. 

The desperation of the director (played by Baek himself) to create a film is amplified by the added touch of an imminent apocalypse, and his lead actor’s awkward romance lends warmth to the overall plot. 

Tattoo
Thriller. Directed by Lee Seo

“Tattoo” has been highly anticipated for casting Song Il-kook, who has shown his softer side as the father of triplets on a reality show, in the part of psychopathic killer Ji-sun. Ji-sun seeks out a tattooist named Su-na (Yoon Joo-hee) to give him a skin-stitched Medusa tattoo. 

To Su-na’s surprise, Ji-sun is the same man who assaulted her in her youth, and she plots revenge against him -- but things do not go as planned, and Ji-sun kidnaps Su-na, forcing her to watch his killing rituals. More gore than plot, “Tattoo” is recommended for those who have strong stomachs and a penchant for cruelly crafted murder scenes.

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