Hope (2026): our review

Intro

An isolated village, cut off from the world faces an unknown threat is spreading, and the residents have to deal with it on their own.

The monster you never see

You have to wait about an hour before you see the monster clearly. Before that, you're left wondering what it looks like, why it's there, what it wants. You see the damage it causes several times, but you keep missing it. It builds up the curiosity, and the suspense during the first third of the film is really well done.

Once you finally see it, the design won me over. The CGI is sometimes obvious, but it almost gives the film charm instead of hurting it.

Funnier than expected

After that, the film turns into a kind of cat-and-mouse game between the monster and the main character. There's a sad backdrop, but Na Hong-jin adds in several funny moments, sometimes through some pretty dumb situations from the main character, and it works well. There's actually a lot more humor than you'd expect going in.

Predictable, but it works

The story goes in a pretty obvious direction, with plot armor on the main character that ends up being ridiculously funny. It stays interesting to watch anyway, and it feels like a satire of American action movies.

The director lets loose

The further the film goes, the more you feel Na Hong-jin let loose and wanted to put everything he had in mind on screen. The first act is clearly the best part of the film, and the rest struggles to keep up with it. Toward the end, there are some completely unpredictable moments, plus a pretty clear setup for a sequel. The plot armor gets so ridiculous at that point that a good chunk of the room started laughing and aplaud.

What about the jump scares?

There are a few, but nothing too memorable. The suspense is really what's doing the work here.

Release

South Korea on July 15, 2026, US on September 9, 2026 (distributed by Neon). No date yet for Europe.

Our rating

3.5/5