Set in the fictional Hope Harbor in South Korea near the DMZ (demilitarized zone) line that divides North and South, “Hope” (2026) or “Hope Part 1” (consider yourself warned) is Hong-jin Na’s latest film after “The Wailing” (2016). When a group of hunters find a mutilated cow lying in the middle of the street, Sung-ki (Ins-sung Zo) brings his cousin, Bum-seok (Jung-min Hwang), the police chief, to investigate. They then take separate paths to investigate what caused it with the hunters heading into the mountainous, verdant moss-covered terrain and the chief heading into town. What they discover is unlike anything that anyone has ever encountered. Who did it, why and how will the people of the town survive? No movie needs to be two hours forty-two minutes and only be the first of God only knows how many movies. The first hour is an edge of your seat realistic ride of monstrous proportions. The second hour has numerous revelations but gradually loses momentum and becomes monotonous as different permutations of chase scenes reign supreme. “Hope” likely delivers Na’s own personal space Jesus. Take that, Ridley Scott.
Na likes to mix genres, religions and terrain bringing the sensational to the quotidian in ways unfamiliar to Western audiences though the visual language and wording of the dialogue may remind some of well-worn associations. Do not let your mind go down that road. Na zigs when you may expect a zag so kind of go with it. The first hour screams monster movie, and it feels shocking how much of the creatures of chaos are shown in the trailers so do yourself a favor and avoid them because half of the fun of “Hope” is trying to solve the puzzle of who is destroying it.
What kind of community it is? All of the men in South Korea are required to serve in the military, and signs throughout the town warn about landmines and spies presumably from North Korea, not refugees or defectors. While watching the hunters, and ordinary civilians turning up with massive weapons, it felt American, and not just any kind of American, but good old country boys. The hunters are really fisherman when they are on the clock, but they often look like cowboys with their horses, flannel and guns. Fishermen could be an allusion to Jesus’ disciples, but it is too early to say. South Korea is a very Christian place. The village mostly contains older people, but they are old, not cold. They are more ready than the chief when he hitches a ride with some, including an ahjumma loading bullets in cartridges. It feels as if they are old enough to remember the last conflict and ready to prove that they have not lost a step.
“Hope” is a laugh out loud riot because regardless of how much danger there is, people will take time to complain, bitch each other out, physically hit each other or talk mad shit even if they are dying. American audiences who do not consume a lot of South Korean media may be shocked at how much they talk about defecating. At regular intervals, even during inopportune times, people offer each other food or water, which is another way of expressing love, unlike our disaster films where bodily functions are rarely an issue.
The region is as much of a character as the people. Most South Korean movies use horror to reflect on historical conflicts and the effect that those conflicts had on the population. The more evil the monster, demon, etc., it is usually about the Japanese who colonized the region then terrorized it through World War II. “Hope” does not feel like it is about that, but the location, Namchang-ri, which means Southern warehouse and was literal because government stored goods there; thus, the broad streets to enable ease of movement. It is best known for several things: being a maritime stop for ships to rest; the Japanese Pirate Invasion thirty-seven years before the Japanese began to earnestly try and eventually fail to conquer the land; and an area where government infrastructure made life easier.
The older people complain about the government response, and South Korean media often ridicules cops for corruption, nepotism and predators. In “Hope,” people complain about the government being ineffective to criticize the chief, yet those broad roads enabled them to defend their community because the government invested in the infrastructure. The hunters rib the Chief with tales of a tiger, but there is a tiger in the form of a painting on the wall of the precinct. Tigers are symbolic of protective guardians, especially in mountainous regions in South Korea. There is a tiger, and the title may refer to the cops becoming symbols of such as they grow into their duties instead of abusing them. Sung-ae Yim (Hoyeon) sets that stage, and the Chief uses her courage to get in touch with his empathy at the least likely moment but signals the direction that the budding franchise wants to go.
Na wants to have his cake and eat it too. He wants a simple action movie, but he also teases that there are deeper themes necessary to interrogate the assumptions of well-worn tropes of conflicts. The human beings are not only victims. The second hour asks the question, “Wait, how many creatures of chaos are there?” While South Korean media is often better than their American counterpart, their one flaw is having the worst Western actors ever. Na said, “Not on my watch,” proceeded to hire some of the best Western actors ever then make them act as the creatures of chaos, who look as if H.R. Giger, Ridley Scott, the Na’vi, Venom, werewolves, the fairies from “The Watchers” (2024), and The Abomination from “The Incredible Hulk” (2008) had a hand in their creation.
The CGI is uneven to good enough for government work saving the best for everything else but the antagonists. It is going to look dated soon, if not this instant. There is a point when “Hope” leaves realism in the dust for its human characters. Throwing a person into trees at high velocity repeatedly should at least put a hitch in their step. Once the stakes are lowered, and there are no real-world consequences, it is harder to stay invested in all the hurly burly.
Why are the creatures of chaos ripping the place to shreds? Na waits until the end of the movie to translate what they are saying complete with a not so thinly veiled reference to Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,” complete with giving your heart to Space Jesus and teasing of his resurrection. I love a good Christian reference, but boo, boo, tomato, tomato. When “Hope” drops in terms of story quality and attention grabbing, it plummets, and while it was mostly fun, it should know when to stop while it was ahead. Leave them wanting more.
