Hide and Seek (2013 film)

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Hide and Seek
Korean name
Hangul
Revised RomanizationSumbakkokjil
McCune–ReischauerSumbakkokchil
Directed byHuh Jung
Written byHuh Jung
Produced byKim Eui-sung
Kim Mi-hee
Kim Mi-jin
StarringSon Hyun-joo
Moon Jung-hee
Jeon Mi-seon
CinematographyKim Il-yeon
Edited byKim Sang-bum
Kim Jae-bum
Music byJo Yeong-wook
Production
company
Studio Dream Capture
Distributed byNext Entertainment World
Release date
  • August 14, 2013 (2013-08-14)
Running time
107 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Budget₩2.5 billion
Box officeUS$35.5 million[1]

Hide and Seek (Korean숨바꼭질) is a 2013 South Korean horror-thriller film written and directed by Huh Jung in his feature directorial debut. It revolves around two families who believe strangers to be living and hiding in their homes, and struggle to fight back.[2]

There is a Chinese remake or adaptation of this movie with the same title.[3][4]

Plot[edit]

A woman named Eun-Hye is stalked by a stranger who murders her in her apartment.

Sung-soo is a successful businessman who lives with his wife Min-ji and two children, Ho-se and Soo-ha in a penthouse. Despite his good life, he's harboring a dark secret. He was adopted by a rich family and despises their biological son and older stepbrother, Baek Sung-Chul. He framed Sung-Chul for sexual assault out of disgust toward his skin rash. Since that day, he has constant nightmares about his brother and regularly takes drugs to overcome his guilt.

One day, Sung-soo receives a phone call that his estranged brother is missing and goes to his brother's apartment for the first time in decades to look for him. There, he finds strange symbols carved into every door and meets his brother's neighbor Joo-hee and her young daughter Pyeong-Hwa. When Sung-Soo tells her he went to visit his brother, she suddenly become hostile and kicks them out of her room. Sung-Soo decides to stay in his brother's room.

During his stay, he discovers a secret passage that connects his room and Eun-Hye's room, finding the latter's underwear in Sung-Chul's drawers. Meanwhile, Min-Ji and the children are attacked by the same stranger who killed Eun-Hye. They theorize that the murderer was Sung-Chul, who wanted to get revenge on Sung-Soo for ruining his life.

Sung-soo later figures out that the symbols on the doors are "hide and seek codes" that indicate the gender and numbers of people. In their penthouse, he finds similar symbols, deducing that the stranger knows about his home. Min-Ji tells him they must return to America.

Sung-Soo goes to confront his brother, only to be attacked by the man stalking him. He discovers that the man is Eun-Hye's boyfriend, who also thought Sung-chul is the one who killed his girlfriend. In Eun-Hye's room, Sung-Soo finds the girl's corpse in her wardrobe. The killer fatally stabs Eun-hye's boyfriend and attacks Sung-Soo. He takes refuge in Joo-hee's room and finds his brother's corpse in her wardrobe, realizing Joo-hee is the killer before she knocks him unconscious, steals his wallet, and flees with Pyeong-Hwa.

It's revealed that Joo-hee and her daughter are deranged kleptomaniacs whose modus operandi is killing residents of apartments and pretending to be residents themselves. She killed Sung-Chul in order to lure his brother to come investigate and take over their penthouse. Min-Ji is attacked by Joo-hee, who attempts to kill Ho-se and Soo-ha. When Sung-Soo arrives, Joo-he attacks him again and gains the upper hand, but stops due to Sung-Soo threatened to burn up their penthouse if she kills him and his family. He persuades her to spare them in exchange for the penthouse, but she refuses and starts choking him, claiming that the penthouse is "hers". She almost kills him when Soo-ha distracts her long enough to make Sung-Soo burn the kitchen. Horrified, she let go Sung-Soo and tries in vain to stop the fire, only to end up burned to death in process. The police manage to break in and secure the room while Sung-Soo cradles Min-Ji's unconscious body and their tearful children yells at her to wake up.

Some time later, Sung-Soo and his family visit his parent and Sung-Chul grave, finally making peace for his brother and free from his guilt before they travel back to America. Their penthouse is now empty and occupied by a new family. As the new residents settle in, the camera turns on the wardrobe in which Pyeong-Hwa still hides, looking at them, narrating the voiceover from the beginning.

Cast[edit]

Name Role
Son Hyun-joo --- Sung-soo[5]
Moon Jung-hee --- Joo-hee
Jeon Mi-seon --- Min-ji, Sung-soo's wife
Kim Ji-young --- Pyeong-hwa, Joo-hee's daughter
Jung Joon-won --- Ho-se, Sung-soo' son
Kim Su-an --- Soo-ha, Sung-soo's daughter
Kim Won-hae --- Sung-chul
Gi Ju-bong --- Sung-soo's stepfather
Kim Han-Jong --- man in hat
Jo Han-Chul --- Jung-nam
Jo Si-Nae --- Jung-nam's woman
Jung Min-Sung --- Jo Min-hoon
Lee Young-Suk --- homeless man
Lee Ho-Seong --- detective
Kim Bo-Ryoung --- policewoman
Noh Susanna --- Eun-hye
Lee Jun-hyeok --- Eun-hye's boyfriend
Joo Suk-Tae --- ex-detective
Sung Yu-bin --- Sung-chul (child)
Uhm Ji-Sung --- Sung-soo (child)
Ri Min --- head of apartment building management
Son Young-Soon --- Hyang Goo Apartment elderly woman
Kim Ja-Young --- Hyang Goo Apartment convenient store owner
Kim Hye-yoon --- Middle school girl

Box office[edit]

A low-budget (₩2.5 billion) thriller with no high-profile director or stars,[6][7] Hide and Seek was an unexpected hit upon its release on August 14, 2013. It topped the box office on its opening weekend with 1.35 million ticket sales.[8][9] As of December 22, 19 days after its release, the film has reached 5 million admissions.[10][11][12][13]

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year Award Category Recipient Result
2013 50th Grand Bell Awards Best Actress Moon Jung-hee Nominated
Best New Director Huh Jung Nominated
Best Music Jo Yeong-wook Nominated
34th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Actress Moon Jung-hee Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Jeon Mi-seon Nominated
Best New Director Huh Jung Nominated
Best Lighting Lee Sung-jae Nominated
Best Music Jo Yeong-wook Nominated
33rd Korean Association of Film Critics Awards Best New Director Huh Jung Won
21st Korean Culture and Entertainment Awards Excellence Award, Actress in Film Jeon Mi-seon Won
2014 19th Chunsa Film Art Awards Best New Director Huh Jung Nominated
50th Baeksang Arts Awards Best Actor Son Hyun-joo Nominated
Best Actress Moon Jung-hee Nominated
Best New Director Huh Jung Nominated
Best Screenplay Huh Jung Nominated
23rd Buil Film Awards[14] Best Actor Son Hyun-joo Nominated
Best New Director Huh Jung Nominated
Best Music Jo Yeong-wook Nominated
34th Golden Cinema Festival Best Supporting Actress Jeon Mi-seon Won
Special Jury Prize Moon Jung-hee Won

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Soombakkokjil (Hide and Seek) (2013)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  2. ^ Tae, Sang-joon (2 August 2013). "Hide and Seek: A Father's Life-and-Death Struggle To Protect His Family". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
  3. ^ " ‘Hide and Seek’ Chinese Movie is a Remake of the South Korean Horror Film ". yibada. Retrieved 1st January 2017
  4. ^ "Chinese ‘Hide And Seek’ Shoots for Village Roadshow Asia (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 1st January 2017
  5. ^ Jung, Ji-won (27 August 2013). "Veteran actor enjoying new success". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
  6. ^ "Drama actors promote new film Hide and Seek". Korea JoongAng Daily. 18 July 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
  7. ^ Lee, Sun-min (27 August 2013). "Hide and Seek stays No. 1 with surprising run". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
  8. ^ Lee, Sun-min (20 August 2013). "Hide and Seek pulls upset to lead box office". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
  9. ^ Kang, Jung-yeon (19 August 2013). "Korean Pic Hide and Seek Thrills the Country". TenAsia. Archived from the original on 22 September 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
  10. ^ "Korean Flicks Dominate Domestic Box Office This Summer". The Chosun Ilbo. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
  11. ^ "Hide and Seek Races to Box Office Glory". The Chosun Ilbo. 23 August 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
  12. ^ Conran, Pierce (26 August 2013). "4 Million Viewers Play HIDE AND SEEK". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
  13. ^ "Hide and Seek May Set Box Office Record for a Korean Thriller". The Chosun Ilbo. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
  14. ^ Kim, June (6 October 2014). "SHIM Eun-kyung, SONG Kang-ho, HONG Sangsoo and ROARING CURRENTS Win at 23rd Buil Film Awards". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2014-10-09.

External links[edit]