Director: Lim Dae-hee
Year: 2025
Country: South Korea
Alternate Titles: Georokhan: Demun Heonteoseu
Genre: Exorcism
Plot:
After a series of strange encounters, a team of paranormal experts are brought together to investigate claims of a pact made with a Satanic demon to acquire superhuman strength to carry out their orders on Earth, and must put their skills to the test to stop the deadly forces.
Review:
This was a rather fun one-sided genre effort. Most of the fun here stems from the enormously entertaining and over-the-top set pieces in play that try to infuse an action film aesthetic into a supernatural demon possession film. With the setup establishing the use of high-energy exploits to determine the cause of possession affecting the various individuals in their care as the full extent of the cult comes to fruition, the series of encounters that come about here, letting that play out, have a dynamic quality to them. From hard-hitting brawls knocking out nameless cultists to the actual exorcism tactics that are employed to try releasing the demonic figures holding the victim captive, these scenes work incredibly well at letting the hard-hitting choreography shine in the way it should. When this is mixed together with more traditional genre elements showing the supernatural and inhuman powers of the possessed, trying to prevent their rescue attempts in grand stunt-filled setpieces, there’s quite a lot of fun to be had here.
Beyond that, the film stumbles somewhat in terms of its story. A lot of this is due to the frantic pacing that renders this with little time necessary to delve into matters more fully, so that there’s a greater understanding of what’s at stake. The entire purpose of the society and how the team operates, even who most of them are, are just flat-out ignored to the point of getting their names and point of being involved with each other are causally dropped at random intervals if they’re not inferred from the interactions they have with the possessed or their minions. That leaves the film to feel as though it’s missing a prequel that sets everything in motion, or highlights why the cult is starting the process, it is so this all goes by so quickly for the sake of a rushed and cramped storyline. That would also explain how the over-the-top finale works with the high-concept demon slaying, body-hopping, and general confusion generated here seems to provide no answers, even though it relies on fervent demonic imagery to carry itself out, which is the main issue to be had with this one.
Overview: ***.5/5
A strong and overall effective Action/Horror hybrid, this one relies a lot on its action to overcome the flaws in its storytelling that hold it back. Those interested in the type of story presented here, are curious about this brand of Asian horror efforts, or are fans of the creative crew will have a lot to like here while most others might want to heed caution.
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