[Film Review] Fantasia Film Festival 2021 - Midnight

When discussing foreign horror/thrillers, South Korea is almost instantly most genre-fans first thought. In the last 20 years, they have arguably produced some of the greatest, most memorable titles of all time. Films such as Train to Busan, Oldboy, The Wailing, and more recently Time to Hunt and the Oscar-winner Parasite, have made ‘best of’ lists everywhere, and there's a valid reason for that.

South Korean cinema has a special kind of heart, in which characters are introduced and explored in a way that has the viewer really caring for their plight, before dealing out an equally special kind of darkness in the way the thrills, twists, action and gore are delivered. Before you know it, you are teary-eyed, on the edge of your seat, gripping your cushion and praying your favourites make it out alive.  

Kwon Oh-Seung's directorial debut Midnight is no exception to this and promises 103 minutes of nail-biting tension from the word go. 

Midnight opens with a chilling but familiar scene – a young woman walks home alone at night, animatedly chatting to her boyfriend on the phone, unaware of the danger that awaits her. When she refuses a ride home from charming stranger Do-shik (Wi Ha-Joon – Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum), he responds violently – killing her in the back of his van and then calling the police to report the body he ‘found’. It’s instantly clear that this man is an intelligent and arrogant sociopath.

Cut to Kyung-mi (Jin Ki-joo – Little Forest), an instantly-likeable young deaf woman, as she deals with aggressive customers and an array of ignorant colleagues. Kyung-mi is charming and polite but doesn’t take any shit – using sign language to mock those around her without their knowledge. We soon learn that she lives with her mother, who is also deaf, and as they embark on a late-night drive to the shops whilst discussing an upcoming trip they plan to take together, we get a glimpse at their tight bond and begin to fall in love with both of them.

When we meet So Jung-eun (Kim Hye-Yoon – SKY Castle), she is arguing with her over-protective ex-marine of a big brother – Jong-tak (Park Hoon – Nobody Knows) - about her curfew and outfit choice for a date. Eventually she skips out of the door excitedly proclaiming, much to Jong-Taks annoyance, that she will be home by midnight. The back-and-forth between the siblings had me grinning from ear to ear with its sweetness and humour, but my stomach churned for what was to come.

Later, as So Jung-Eun walks home after her date, she is stalked by a disguised Do-shik and captured. As Kyung-Mi leaves her mother outside the store to park her car, she stumbles across So Jung-Eun's bloody and beaten body pleading for help. There’s just one problem – not only can Kyung-Mi not hear - she also cannot speak or call out for help.

Soon Kyung-Mi and her mother are thrown into a nightmare of epic proportions as they attempt to flee Do-shik, save So Jung-Eun and survive the night. Cue some epic chase scenes, perfectly executed fight choreography and a sound design that is as disorientating as it is extraordinary – everything about Midnight is a joy to watch. Switching between what we can hear and what Kyung Mi and her mother cannot, the silence becomes deafening and the tension ramps up to an almost unbearable level. 

What really makes Midnight such a success though, is the characters. Aside from how wonderful and endearing the relationships are within the two main families, Do Shik himself is a completely captivating and mesmerising killer. He effortlessly manipulates everyone around him to believe that he is just an innocent man hoping to help. His face goes from saccharine sweet to menacing sometimes second by second, and it is an absolutely stunning performance from Wi Ha-Joon. 

Going into Midnight the plot sounded very similar to Mike Flanagan's home-invasion thriller Hush, and to be completely honest I was okay with that – it’s a wonderful film – however this really does have something unique. Little things like the use of the SOS call points in the streets, the way the characters interact with and without speech, and the way the people around them – the police and the public - are used as a weapon by Do-shik, make it a nerve-wracking, intoxicating thrill of a film.

As Midnight reaches its emotional gut-punch of a conclusion, it's clear that no one is coming to help Kyung Mi, and that she cannot physically win against Do-shik. The only way that she is going to save herself, and those around her, is by outsmarting the man who believes he cannot be outsmarted.

With my knuckles still white, and my heart still racing, I can safely say I have a new favourite Horror-Heroine. 

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