SEIRE is a new South Korean thriller that just screened at Fantasia 2022. It has exactly the slow-burn storyline and character-driven focus, we’ve come to expect from genre films out of South Korea. Read our full Seire movie review here!

SEIRE is a new thriller from South Korea that also have quite a few moments of pure horror. Especially for those who are new parents. The timeline is a bit jumbled as is the mind of the main character. In other words, it makes as much sense to us as it does to the main character.

Pretty quickly, he’s very tormented and so are we. But in all the right ways, fortunately. I did feel this movie ran a bit too long, but I understand why this style and approach were used for the story.

Continue reading our Seire movie review below. We caught the movie during Fantasia 2022.

The concept of “seire” is perfect for a horror movie

The new South Korean thriller has all the trademarks of genre films fra South Korea. We get very character-driven stories that are built on certain experiences of the main character. Also, supporting characters tend to be entertaining or memorable to serve the purpose intended.

Then there is the slow-burn plot development which is both tormenting and necessary. Especially in a movie like Seire.

Because the main character is a man, who just became a father, and his new son is his whole world. Also, there is the added element of his wife being very superstitious. She follows the “seire” very strictly, which is essentially a set of rules that you need to follow for the first 21 days of the newborn child’s life.

If you don’t follow these rules, you endanger the life of the child. Basically, the ideal premise for a horror-thriller.

Seire – Review | South Korean Thriller | Fantasia

Mind games and parallels

Let’s just say that our main character is not superstitious and does not follow the rules. This, along with lack of sleep and other things happening in his life, leads to him having constant nightmares.

He never knows what’s real and what’s either a dream or himself mixing up his current relationship with his previous one. You see, he has only been with his wife for a year, so the relationship is quite new despite them having a newborn.

And I won’t say more about this, to make sure I avoid spoilers. Just know that you will be confused and terrified right alongside him.

Check out Seire when you can!

Kang Park is the writer and director of Seire which is his feature film debut. This definitely promises more good productions from him in the future. Hopefully, Fantasia will be ready to introduce his future movies in the years to come. This film festival is usually good at doing this, so the odds are good that this will happen.

MORE ASIAN MOVIES FROM FANTASIA 2022

Be sure to check out the amazing Japanese/South Korean co-production Missing >

Seire is definitely a movie, you will want to check out if you’re a fan of South Korean thrillers and horror movies. We caught it at Fantasia 2022 for its North American premiere, but with the success of South Korean genre films these years, someone is bound to snatch it up for wider release.

While this movie doesn’t rely on jump scares to keep things exciting, you should still expect to feel horror and dread deep in your soul at times. Consider yourself warned… and make sure you check out Seire.

Seire screened at Fantasia 2022, which is where we watched it. It will be released on DVD on August 15, 2023.

Details

Director: Park Kang
Writer: Park Kang
Cast: Seo Hyun-woo, Ryu Sun-young

Plot

An old belief from Korean folklore dictates that family members should never venture down a potentially taboo path when their child is born, as this could lead to a curse called Seire, involving evil spirits. To Woo-jin, this is all nonsense and he doesn’t care, despite his wife’s reluctance. He decides to attend the funeral of a former love, Se-young. When he arrives, he meets Ye-young, the twin of the deceased, who strangely enough he did not know existed. She tells him that her sister had a hard time getting over their break-up and that something seems to have broken inside her. When he returns, Woo-jin and the people around him start experiencing strange paranormal manifestations. Things quickly escalate to the outright terrifying. Perhaps the solution lies in Woo-jin’s past…

I usually keep up-to-date with all the horror news, and make sure Heaven of Horror share the best and latest trailers for upcoming horror movies. I love all kinds of horror. My love affair started when I watched 'Poltergeist' alone around the age of 10. I slept like a baby that night and I haven't stopped watching horror movies since. The crazy slasher stuff isn't really for me, but hey, to each their own. I guess I just like to be scared and get jump scares, more than being disgusted and laughing at the grotesque. Also, Korean and Spanish horror movies made within the past 10-15 years are among my absolute favorites.
Nadja "HorrorDiva" Houmoller
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