Door Lock (3/5) – Fantasia 2019 Review

DOOR LOCK is a new horror thriller from South Korea. However, it’s actually a remake of the Spanish movie Sleep Tight. Fortunately, it has been updated in some very interesting ways which makes this remake very valid. Screened at Fantasia 2019. Full Door Lock review below.

Door Lock is a new horror thriller from South Korea. The movie just screened at Fantasia 2019 and it’s definitely a movie with international appeal.

Of course, this makes perfect sense since it’s a remake of a Spanish horror movie. One that we loved.

Read why this is a remake worth watching in the rest of our Door Lock review.

Korean remake of Sleep Tight

One of the best horror thrilllers from Spain (and in the world, actually), is the Spanish horror thriller Sleep Tight. Its original title is Mientras duermes and it was directed by Jaume Balagueró who also co-directed and co-wrote the [REC] franchise.

The script for Sleep Tight was written by Alberto Marini (co-writer of Your Son), who also gets credit for Door Lock, since its screnplay was adapted from his.

In many ways, Door Lock managed to keep the creepy vibe from Sleep Tight which is everything we hoped for. However, it does also update the story in a few ways. The role of the actual door lock being just one of them.

Interestingly, this is the second time in recent years that a Spanish hit movie has been remade in South Korea. The Vanished was a previous example of this – read our review of The Vanished here > 

The ending of Door Lock

Don’t worry, I won’t be spoiling the ending of Door Lock here. However, I have to mention the ending since it does let down the movie. For a long time, there may be a few things you find irritating, but it’s nothing you can’t deal with.

Towards the ending of Door Lock, this goes too far and you begin to get very irritated. The otherwise intelligent and brave young woman fails to act (or simply react) in situations.

It’s not that the end of Door Lock ruins the entire movie. But it does mean that you will end on a lower note than you should. The movie is much better during the first 80 percent. We had this movie at a solid four stars but the ending alone dragged this down to three stars.

Door Lock is a solid South Korean horror thriller

Even if we didn’t enjoy the ending as much as expected, this is still a solid horror thriller that most fans of the genre will enjoy. The director and co-wroter is Kwon Lee who has worked on both TV and film productions in the past.

The co-writer of the script is Park Jung-Hee and this is only his second writing credit. Before writing the script for this movie, he worked on a TV mini series back in 2014.

Door Lock (org. title Do-eo-lak) just screened at Fantasia 2019 but the movie premiered in South Korea back in December 2019.

Details

Director: Lee Kwon
Writers: Park Jeong-hee, Lee Kwon
Stars: Kong Hyo-jin, Kim Sung-oh, Kim Ye-won

Plot

Kyung-min lives a quiet life, seemingly content with the routine her job provides and the safety of her busy apartment complex, until one day, when she begins to suspect that someone tried to break into her home. Given the mounting evidence and an imminent threat to her life, Kyung-min repeatedly seeks help only to be rebuffed at every turn. As the situation turns deadly, she finds she has no choice but to take matters into her own hands.