사진 확대

“What did the apartment do wrong? In the end, it's the people who are the problem.”

“The truth I risked my life to protect, that sincerity will change the world.”

“Don't tell me what to do. You bastards.”

All of their lines were heavy. The problem is that the execution is shallow and flimsy. It misses both reality and thrill, and the patterns feel outdated.

The moment of securing a home marks the beginning of a nightmare. While it brings in realistic themes like 'apartments' and 'floor noise', the excessive developments fail to deliver the expected thrill, leading to an unexpected fatigue. Compared to existing thrillers with similar themes, there are no particularly strong or innovative weapons. It's just an apartment where villains live, '84 Square Meters' (directed by Kim Tae-jun).

The setting is a standard 84 square meter apartment. The conflict begins with the 'floor noise', the source of which is unknown, and the real development starts when the unjustly suspected protagonist sets out to find the culprit. It captures the suspense between characters as they suspect each other.

The protagonist, Woo-sung (Kang Ha-neul), has finally succeeded in securing a home after gathering all his soul, but he has lost everything except for the house. He lives a frugal life, juggling falling house prices, stealing company supplies, and working a night delivery job. He endures like a zombie, but love has also left him.

The only thing he can do at home is sleep, but even that is constantly interrupted by 'floor noise'. Meanwhile, the neighbors below stick dozens of post-its at his door asking him to be quiet, driving him crazy. Unable to endure any longer, Woo-sung climbs up to the upper floors in search of the culprit and meets Eun-hwa (Yum Hye-ran), the representative of the residents living in the penthouse on the top floor.

However, she calms Woo-sung with cash, hoping that no noisy incidents will occur before the GTX opening. As this happens, the conflicts among residents deepen, and resentment towards Woo-sung grows. Feeling a life-threatening atmosphere, he struggles to find the 'source' and confronts a shocking truth.

사진 확대

The retro-themed opening designed to convey the message feels outdated from the start. While the megaphone's intention is understood, it seems not effectively implemented. The narrative and character of the protagonist Woo-sung are frustratingly beyond just being pitiful, and the process of finding the culprit follows the same formula seen in similar themes and genres. The way it reflects social issues like class problems and the tendencies of villains blinded by their own purposes feels clichéd.

Compared to the director's previous work 'I Just Dropped My Smartphone', this one falls short of satisfaction. In the previous work, there was at least the shocking transformation of the villain Im Si-wan, the acting appeal of Jeon Woo-hee, and a well-utilized realistic theme of 'smartphones' in the early to mid-part, along with an overall sophisticated atmosphere, but this work feels generally clichéd and old.

Kang Ha-neul always acts well, but having seen his various acting transformations through his 'prolific' work, there is no thrill beyond familiarity. The character itself lacks color beyond being a symbol of the home-seeking crowd. It is undoubtedly unappealing.

Above all, the use of villain characters and surrounding characters placed to create tension is all clichéd. The new character, who is obsessed with 'truth' as a differentiation strategy, is hidden but fails to engage due to overly extreme settings.

Like the previous work, the latter half, which should soar with thrilling pleasure and overwhelming tension, is excessive. It makes the easiest and most obvious choices. The most challenging task for the thriller genre, maintaining momentum through the latter half to the ending, has not been achieved, nor resolved. Even the acting skills of the renowned actors, who have always provided strong persuasion to any character, feel just ordinary.

The ending, which combines all of this, is disappointing. It wraps a facet of our era in a thriller, but what fills it are loud noises, violence, and fatigue. The illusion of the megaphone wanting to fill the empty core is clearly reflected. Unfortunately, the director's sincerity seems unable to change the viewers' tastes. Only the loud floor noise has been realistically implemented. P.S. What crime did the viewers commit? It's the creators who are the problem.

Released worldwide on July 18. Rated for ages 15 and up. Running time approximately 2 hours and 56 minutes.