THE WITCH: PART 1. THE SUBVERSION

The film opens in the middle of a bloodbath in a secret medical clinic. Under the supervision of a woman, men beat a group of children to death, covered by a white canvas. A young girl manages to escape. Exhausted, she falls asleep in the meadow near a farm. The next morning, she is discovered by a farmer and taken in by the old couple, but she never forgets what has happened to her. Ten years later, she’s a curious, beautiful, and skeptical girl who does everything to help her adoptive parents on the brink of bankruptcy. When she participates in a talent show contest to win a large sum of money, she accidentally shows her peculiar abilities on live television. Before she knows it, she’s hunted down by the woman and her associates… Park Hoon-jung, the screenwriter of the nail-biting thriller I SAW THE DEVIL, delivers an impeccable film. He takes his time to unravel the story but after an hour it explodes in clean fight scenes and a merciless ending. The film hovers somewhere between the BOURNE films and the X MEN series but easily surpasses them both. Newcomer Kim Da-mi embodies the young girl. With her big innocent eyes and tomboy-like appearance, she expertly portrays her character’s evolution from timid school girl to vengeful power woman. Needless to say, she’s been awarded the Best Actress prize at Fantasia Film Festival. This female-lead action movie is a must-see!