METAMORPHOSIS (변신) (2019)

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Kim Hong-Sun
Cast: Bae Sung-Woo, Sung Dong-Il, Jang Young-Nam, Kim Hye-Joon, Cho Lee-Hyung, Kim Kang-Hoon
Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins
Rating: NC16 (Horror and Violence)
Released By: Clover Films
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 12 September 2019

Synopsis:  When a devil, which can morph into a human being, invades Kang-gu’s family and creates doubt and suspicion among them, his brother Joong-su, who is a pastor must come to their aid. But he’s reluctant to do so because of his failed exorcism in the past, which resulted in the death of a young girl. He has little choice to perform one last exorcism for the sake of his family…

Movie Review:

South Korea is really gunning for their own Exorcist hit. From TV titles like The Guest (2018) to movies like The Priests (2015), The Wailing (2016), House of the Disappeared (2017), and most recently, The Divine Fury (2019) and Netflix’s Svaha: The Sixth Finger (2019), it seems that the priest protagonist remains as enigmatic as it is elusive, in terms of success.

Next in line is Metamorphosis, where Bae Sung-woo is (yet again) a tortured priest, Joong-su, after a charge dies under his exorcism. The guilty psychological slant has long been a favoured mechanic to add some depth and complication to “final act” exorcisms, but the director Kim Hong-sun missed the mark here with this title.

Choosing instead to focus on a shapeshifting demon, Metamorphosis invests in the gimmick of a wily entity as its selling point, and with limited screen time, the emotional relationships of the characters themselves were sacrificed. Sadly, even the “is-it-or-isn’t-it” premise is not fully exploited in the film and becomes a bit of a letdown. 

The story follows Sung-woo’s brother Gang-goo (Sung Dong-il) and his wife Myung-joo (Jang Young-nam) as they relocate their family of five to a new neighbourhood. The cause? The family was harassed for the priest’s failed exorcism and causing the death of a young girl.

Eldest daughter Sun-woo (Kim Hye-jun) and youngest son Woo-jung (Kim Kang-hoon) takes it in their stride, but the middle child Hyun-joo (Cho Yi-hyun) joins her disgruntled mother in blaming her uncle. Gang-goo tries to keep the family together, but they soon face a threat of another sort. It seems that the demon Sung-woo failed to banish is now targeting his own kin.

At this point, the entity morphs into different family members to fire up distrust and anger, and when things become supernaturally clear, Gang-goo requests for aid from his brother.

While this premise does invite potentially entertaining scenes of cunning and guesswork, the execution doesn’t really keep the audience guessing. Let’s just say, this demon is really good at walking around being wide-eyed and evil. Maybe some script restraint or nuanced inflections in acting would have invoked a better sense of dread from the viewer?

If time was an issue, there are plenty of redundant scenes that could have made the cut. From the Filipino priests debating on the legitimacy of the demon being Satan himself, to the sneering neighbour who loves his home decor bloody, these acts bear no consequence and only adds extra disconnect.

Director Kim should have focused more on the family dynamics and showed their stress, instead of expositional script that leaves no emotional impact when they undergo their trials. When the final moments come together, the rhythm feels harried and discordant, while the sacrifices evoke little sympathy.

It’s a little bit creepy and there’s some small scares, but I’m not particularly obsessed.

Movie Rating:

(A guesswork premise with a twisted entity screams potential, but is sadly dealt with little finesse and makes this film lack emotional commitment)

Review by Morgan Awyong