The 8th Night – Netflix Review (3/5)

THE 8TH NIGHT on Netflix is a new horror movie from South Korea. We’re dealing with an evil spirit possessing humans to unleash hell. Yeah, it’s dark stuff! While it is a bit too slow-paced, it does have really solid moments. Read our full The 8th Night movie review here!

THE 8TH NIGHT is a new Netflix horror movie from South Korea (org. title Je8ileui Bam). The story revolves around an evil spirit and Buddhist monks trying to save the world. During eight days, the ancient spirit possesses humans with the ultimate goal of unleashing actual hell on Earth.

This is a pretty dark movie in many ways and I expected to enjoy it much more than I did. Unfortunately, it becomes a bit too conventional in its scares and less about the good story and interesting characters. Also, it is definitely too slow for my liking. Still, it’s a solid horror movie as a whole – and should have moments that will make the heart of any horror fan happy.

Continue reading our The 8th Night movie review below.

A solid core plot

The core plot of The 8th Night (or Je8ileui Bam) involves the evil spirit jumping from one human body to the next. As the viewer, you don’t always get to see when this happens, so you have to be suspicious of everyone. This particular element reminded me of Lifechanger or the 1998 movie Fallen starring Denzel Washington. I love those two movies!

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Our review of the amazing thriller Lifechanger here >

This plot device is even used in an episode of the Hulu horror anthology Monsterland (review here). In The 8th Night, there’s a South Korean school girl possessed at one point. Her image has been used quite a bit to promote this movie and I can see why. She is absolutely brilliant with her unnerving and, quite frankly, terrifying smile.

The main character in this South Korean Netflix horror movie is a young monk and he is very likable. Like a puppy dog just trying to do the right thing but also easily distracted. He’s portrayed by Nam Da-Reum who has a very interesting and innocent face that works perfectly for this role. Another key character is played by Kim Yoo-Jeong (Lady Vengeance).

Watch The 8th Night on Netflix now!

Tae-Hyung Kim is the director of The 8th Night which is his only credit according to IMDb. As always, the data regarding Asian filmmakers and actors is grossly lacking so I have no idea if this is actually true. What I do know, is that while The 8th Night has quite a lot going for it, there is also much lacking.

Overall, this horror movie is nowhere near the level I expect from South Korean productions. Both in terms of actual production, but much more due to the story being a bit too shallow and one-dimensional. Sure, there are some twists, but you will probably have seen them coming a mile away. Usually, there are deeper elements to the story than we see in this movie.

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The awesome new South Korean horror-thriller series Beyond Evil on Netflix >

The 8th Night is entertaining and I would recommend it to horror fans – especially fans of Asian horror movies. Just don’t expect too much if you’re used to watching South Korean horror movies and thrillers. If you go in with low expectations, I think you’ll have fun with this. Even if it is too slow and a good 15-20 minutes longer than necessary.

The 8th Night is out on Netflix from July 2, 2021.

Details

Director: Tae-Hyung Kim
Stars: Sung-min Lee, Nam Da-Reum, Park Hae-Joon, Kim Yoo-Jeong