Recap Korean Movie "The Witch: Part 2 The Other One"

Jun 28, 2022

Considering the success of the first part, a sequel of what is about to be a trilogy (at least) was bound to happen, with the long awaited "The Witch : Part 2. The Other One' finally being released this year, and Park Hoon-jung not disappointing at all, once more.

Despite the fact that the movie begins in similar style with the first one, namely a bloody scene inside an Ark lab that ends up with a sole girl emerging as a survivor, the film actually moves away from Ja-joon's story, essentially focusing on another Witch, which, this time, remains nameless. Eventually, she ends up in the car of a group of thugs who have kidnapped a young woman, Kyeong-hee, whose land they are trying to seize. The gangsters realize their mistake soon enough, but this does not mean that Yong-doo, their leader, is about to let it go. A bit later Kyeong-hee brings the girl to the house she lives in with her younger brother, Dae-gil but it is soon revealed that Kyung-hee is not the only one who is after The Girl. The duo of Jo-hyeon and her Western partner, who specialize in killing Witches, and another group of Witches, are also on the hunt for her, while both are connected to Dr Baek, who seems to be behind the whole Witch Program.

Allow me to start with the most evident negative aspect of the movie. The story does not make much sense from the beginning, with the editing of scenes of different time frames and the fact that the villains do not get a particularly concise back story, not helping in that regard at all. At the same time, this approach makes it a bit difficult to connect with them, even if the aforementioned duo are the main source of comedy in the film, and thus, quite likeable.

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Here, though, is also where the best asset of Park Hoon-jung's direction also emerges, as despite the overall disconnection that characterizes the story, the whole thing ends up making perfect sense, as the action binds all elements together in the end, resulting in a truly entertaining spectacle. Particularly the way the action "develops" as the story progresses is truly great, with the minor sequences of the beginning giving their stead to more intricate and more violent ones as time passes, while essentially hinting at a truly grand finale, which is delivered in astonishing fashion.

Furthermore, the mystery that derives from the question regarding the powers of The Girl is also embedded excellently in the narrative, adding a sense of agony to the story that works quite well here. Also of note is the way Park uses humor, to lighten up the mood a bit, particularly through the duo of mercenaries and the brother-sister interactions, which also move towards dramatic paths eventually, however. On a much subtler level, just through a phrase here and there, Park also makes some pointy comments about the US and Netflix, in an aspect that adds both to the comedy and the overall context.

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Even if everything went wrong in the movie, "The Witch : Part 2. The Other One" would still be worth a watch for the final part alone. The way the four opposing factions come together for a showdown where everyone is an enemy to the other is truly astonishing, with the action choreography that includes martial arts, guns and knives, and the use of supernatural powers being a wonder to watch. The fact that a twist also emerges while some of the protagonists find their end in the finale also adds to the impact of this part, through a note of drama, with the same applying to the decision to have the whole thing unfold during the night.

"The Witch : Part 2. The Other One" is a great and quite unique for Korean cinema action film, and a movie that all fans of blockbusters will enjoy.

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