I wasn't sure about watching this movie at first. Asian movies tend to have a higher rating in general. But I gave this movie a shot. The movie starts out as a cutesy family story. Then it turns into a mystery with the brother's kidnapping. Then it turns a little sinister horror-like with eerie sounds coming from the closed room. Then with the brother's return and strange ways, it gives it an action and crime drama twist. Then with the big reveal you discover it is actually a psychological thriller. You then notice that you have over half an hour more of the movie to go after what you think is the big reveal. And then when you start wondering what else is left to see in the movie, tragedy strikes and it is heartbreaking. Brilliant film making. Now I want to watch more South Korean movies!
289 Reviews
Much better than you think
Emerenciano13 January 2020
Maybe what you read about the plot is not enough to attract your attention. But as the minutes pass, what seemed to be a drama becomes much more. The plot has twists and we just can't stop watching. I highly recommend it!
Good psychological thriller and mystery
lilydavis-4613025 February 2018
I enjoyed this movie better than expected. You never know with Netflix movies if a movie will be good or bad. But this movie is worth watching for the performances and characters. The ending is emotionally gripping. I'll spoil it by saying anything more. It's best going into this movie not knowing anything.
Fantastic Unpredictable Thriller!
peruano921324 February 2018
Saw this on netflix. Saw the trailer and immediately watched it. After watching it. Wow. Did not expect this film to be this good. The film is tragic beyond words. It's hard to talk much without spoiling anything. Performances, writing, direction were all great! Definitely a must see!
An amazing thriller
fraudreizehn22 February 2018
Korean cinema in recent years has been ahead of many other countries on the continent, such as Japan, without giving us much time to assimilate it. "Forgotten" is one of the most recent examples of why this evolution has taken place and why many of us are delighted with this type of cinema.
The film focuses on the life of a boy who tries to discover the truth behind the kidnapping of his older brother, who returns as a different man after nineteen days of captivity, from which he claims to remember nothing.
A film that mixes the psychological thriller with touches of atmospheric terror and plays excellently with the shadows and paranoia of the younger brother during the days of the disappearance. Jang Hang-jun, responsible for the script and direction, knows how to make us feel the anguish of the situation at all times, making the disinformation that we have as a spectator is the same as our protagonist and creating a situation where interest increases every minute that passes.
I must also emphasize the excellent performance of both brothers, especially that of the older brother (Kim Mu-Yeol), because he manages to create an insecurity and concern that does not disappear throughout the film. What's happened to him? That is the question that will haunt us at all time, as the film progresses, because the closer we get to its end, the more disoriented and surprised we will find ourselves, making us goose bumps and hitting us with an unsuspected but tremendous outcome.
But not only in the script we can check quality, because if we focus on the more technical sections, we will realize that both the sound and photography sections are really well constructed, being vital in the development of many of the scenes and giving an intensity to the set that is well above average. The mastery of rhythm and the steady pulse behind the camera of the whole team make "Forgotten" not just a thriller, but an example of what modern cinema should be like.
With' Forgotten', the lovers of the best thriller are in congratulations and the South Korean country claims its good state of form, because in recent years we have seen many examples of great calibre as 'I Saw The Devil', ' New World' or 'The Wailing' among others. Those who look for a good mystery, disturbing settings and stories with ingenious plot twists, should not miss this film.
Great mystery thriller
Eiriksterminator6 March 2018
I would give this movie an 8 or 9, but since one reviewer here admitted to deliberately giving the movie a 1 instead of 5 or 6 because he wanted to lower the overall review score of the movie, I'm gonna counter that by giving this a 10, because unlike him I agree with most of the other people who reviewed this movie, and feel it deserves praise and a good score.
I'm not going to talk about the plot at all, because this is the kind of movie where the less you know going in, the better. So beware of spoilers in other places! Anyway, it is a great mystery, and a great thriller. It has a few very mild horror moments as well. The music and the ambience sets the mood perfectly. Acting was good. Watch this on an evening with the lights dimmed, and enjoy.
I'm not going to talk about the plot at all, because this is the kind of movie where the less you know going in, the better. So beware of spoilers in other places! Anyway, it is a great mystery, and a great thriller. It has a few very mild horror moments as well. The music and the ambience sets the mood perfectly. Acting was good. Watch this on an evening with the lights dimmed, and enjoy.
The movie does well to keep you on the edge but could've been much better.
abhyuday-tandon10 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
An intense gripping thriller no doubt. However the ending kinda ruined it for me. Crazy levels of effort is put in to get the killer to confess such as all the fake family, hiring actors etc. All of that just to kill himself in the end. Why?
Never forget
kosmasp22 December 2020
Netflix has quite some interesting movies/productions and this is one of them. Korean thrillers are quite good most of the time anyway (at least in my book). One may wonder where they come up with that stuff and ideas. But I'm happy they do and I happily watch them too.
Like this one, that keeps you guessing from the start to the finish. Certainly some decisions may feel akward or wrong that characters take, but that is just how things work. Also it will make sense (more or less) in the end. Keep guessing, keep trying to figure out where this goes - it's almost impossible I'd say. Unless you've read a synopsis and even then, it had to be quite thorough ... so I urge go in this without reading too much about it and enjoy the thriller you are being served ... and the enticing story with it ... I don't totally agree with the ending this chooses, but it makes sense with the sensibilities and the mood overall ...
Like this one, that keeps you guessing from the start to the finish. Certainly some decisions may feel akward or wrong that characters take, but that is just how things work. Also it will make sense (more or less) in the end. Keep guessing, keep trying to figure out where this goes - it's almost impossible I'd say. Unless you've read a synopsis and even then, it had to be quite thorough ... so I urge go in this without reading too much about it and enjoy the thriller you are being served ... and the enticing story with it ... I don't totally agree with the ending this chooses, but it makes sense with the sensibilities and the mood overall ...
Too many twists spoil the broth! - (6.5)
sujith789_reviews2 March 2020
- Watched this movie in Netflix.
- The movie starts of very good and remains good till the first half of the movie.
- After the first half, the writers introduced too many twists which spoiled the flow of movie. Some of those twists were unneccessary and didn't make much sense.
- Didn't understood the motive behind the action of one of the heroes in climax scene. (Not mentioning the 'action' because it might be a spoiler)
- Overall a one time watchable movie.
One of the most impactful Korean thrillers
LucaMR199119 March 2018
There's a South Korean psychological thriller on Netflix that deserves your attention: Forgotten.
I will keep this little review as short and vague as possible, since I really think you should go blind into Forgotten.
Visually stunning, well-paced, extremely uneasy, beautifully scored and fantastically acted, Forgotten is definitely among my favourite thriller films... ever!
Very simply put, it tells the story of a regular family moving to a new house, something feels odd from the very beginning and, as soon as the story starts to unfold, it's one twist after the other. Forgotten is unsettling, depressing, compelling and features awesome characters, all of the extremely well written by writer/director Hang-jun Zhang (whose last film came out 15 years ago!).
If you haven't seen it yet... just go on Netflix and watch it asap.
I will keep this little review as short and vague as possible, since I really think you should go blind into Forgotten.
Visually stunning, well-paced, extremely uneasy, beautifully scored and fantastically acted, Forgotten is definitely among my favourite thriller films... ever!
Very simply put, it tells the story of a regular family moving to a new house, something feels odd from the very beginning and, as soon as the story starts to unfold, it's one twist after the other. Forgotten is unsettling, depressing, compelling and features awesome characters, all of the extremely well written by writer/director Hang-jun Zhang (whose last film came out 15 years ago!).
If you haven't seen it yet... just go on Netflix and watch it asap.
One unpredictable movie - absorbing
phd_travel11 July 2020
There are some good points about this movie. It draws you in and keeps you interested. The plot is unpredictable with some twists that take you by surprise. When it seems there are just too many things to be explained, don't worry there is an explanation. It's far fetched but throrough - too elaborate a scheme to achieve the outcome. I was entertained but I wish the ending had been different. Kang Ha Neul acts well. He is a convincing actor unlike some of the newer generation.
The most unpredictable movie ever...
znk_faz13 April 2018
WASTED POTENTIAL!
contactvmiguel22 July 2020
The movie started out a solid 10/10. Great actors and good pacing that will keep you intrigued. But as soon as the first plot twist happens, it just started going downhill fast.
I feel like the director was trying to do so much for one movie that it went all over the place.
One of my main problems with the movie is also that some scenes didn't feel natural at all. Like one thing would just happen to keep the tension or to progress the story. It didn't give me an authentic feeling.
I feel like the director was trying to do so much for one movie that it went all over the place.
One of my main problems with the movie is also that some scenes didn't feel natural at all. Like one thing would just happen to keep the tension or to progress the story. It didn't give me an authentic feeling.
The Dumb Cancels Out the Good
DaliParton17 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
The movie starts out with what is an obviously unreliable narrator. But then there are a couple of points in the story where we find out that regardless of the narrator's problems, there is something more going on. So that makes for some pretty good suspense.
Midway through the movie there is a sort of race scene where one character has to get into a bedroom before the other one does in order to pretend to be asleep. It's a scene that's been done to death in a hundred other movies before and it was at that point that the movie starts to go downhill - instead of something innovative the writer went with an uninspired cliche.
Unfortunately the climax of the movie relies on a suspension of disbelief that is beyond anything even remotely plausible. Without getting into spoilers the actual murders are just too dumb to be believed. The first one alone relies on a character making the stupidest possible choice at every single turn. But then the second murder happens exactly the same way. Puh-lease! I just couldn't get past how lazy, dumb and contrived it was. It really drags the entire movie down.
And then the movie ends on a gratuitous flashback showing that the murderer met his victims in more innocent times. Its a cool idea but the execution was utterly lazy because the writer didn't bother to set up any explanation for it beyond pure coincidence, they just threw it in out of nowhere in order to be cute.
In the end, this movie is a disappointment. The best korean thrillers stand above the best from all other countries. But this one has too many flaws due to contrived and lazy writing. Its 2nd tier at best.
Midway through the movie there is a sort of race scene where one character has to get into a bedroom before the other one does in order to pretend to be asleep. It's a scene that's been done to death in a hundred other movies before and it was at that point that the movie starts to go downhill - instead of something innovative the writer went with an uninspired cliche.
Unfortunately the climax of the movie relies on a suspension of disbelief that is beyond anything even remotely plausible. Without getting into spoilers the actual murders are just too dumb to be believed. The first one alone relies on a character making the stupidest possible choice at every single turn. But then the second murder happens exactly the same way. Puh-lease! I just couldn't get past how lazy, dumb and contrived it was. It really drags the entire movie down.
And then the movie ends on a gratuitous flashback showing that the murderer met his victims in more innocent times. Its a cool idea but the execution was utterly lazy because the writer didn't bother to set up any explanation for it beyond pure coincidence, they just threw it in out of nowhere in order to be cute.
In the end, this movie is a disappointment. The best korean thrillers stand above the best from all other countries. But this one has too many flaws due to contrived and lazy writing. Its 2nd tier at best.
South Korea's Mastery Over Twisted Thrillers Continues
CinemaClown5 September 2021
Contrived at times yet narrated with such tenacity that the plot stays compelling throughout, Forgotten comes jam-packed with twists n turns and takes its viewers into unexpected alleys without giving away too much, thus making for a consistently engaging ride which keeps the tension & mystery alive for the most part before losing steam near the end and finishing on a sappy note.
Written & directed by Jang Hang-jun, the first act plays out like a haunted house horror with steady build-up, uneasy vibe & hints of supernatural before elements of mystery & paranoia take over the screen. The tone shifts around the halfway mark and the dots start to connect as new details surface & revelations pour in but the first half is much better & more effective than the next one.
What Jang does well here is keeping us intrigued & invested in where all of it is headed even when the film takes some wild detours. The twists however are a tad too many, which in turn hurt its credibility to an extent. Still, the characters are well-defined and the entire cast does a fabulous job in bringing their scripted roles to life. The ending is tragic & heartbreaking but also lacks that gut-punching quality.
Overall, Forgotten is competently crafted & confidently directed, and makes for a thoroughly gripping psychological horror. The narrative flow & momentum is disrupted by the exposition laden second half but the way its events unfold, the interest in the outcome is never lost. It may not end as strongly as it started but it is a solid example of its genre(s), and is yet another fine showcase of South Korea's mastery over twisted stories.
Written & directed by Jang Hang-jun, the first act plays out like a haunted house horror with steady build-up, uneasy vibe & hints of supernatural before elements of mystery & paranoia take over the screen. The tone shifts around the halfway mark and the dots start to connect as new details surface & revelations pour in but the first half is much better & more effective than the next one.
What Jang does well here is keeping us intrigued & invested in where all of it is headed even when the film takes some wild detours. The twists however are a tad too many, which in turn hurt its credibility to an extent. Still, the characters are well-defined and the entire cast does a fabulous job in bringing their scripted roles to life. The ending is tragic & heartbreaking but also lacks that gut-punching quality.
Overall, Forgotten is competently crafted & confidently directed, and makes for a thoroughly gripping psychological horror. The narrative flow & momentum is disrupted by the exposition laden second half but the way its events unfold, the interest in the outcome is never lost. It may not end as strongly as it started but it is a solid example of its genre(s), and is yet another fine showcase of South Korea's mastery over twisted stories.
Another korean masterpiece only for sensible people
jsaleem-897051 February 2020
Just want to say another korean masterpiece Direction,Script,Story Acting all was beyond amazing Twist was just perfect ,explained well at end & ending was soo satisfied but sad for the true Class cinema lovers not for stupid people those few people complaining not good movie these type people truly not have sense about good cinema.
An unpredictable psychological thriller that perpetually takes you deeper and deeper. If you liked 'Oldboy', you'll love this!
prabhunster23 February 2018
I don't want to spoil anything about this well-written movie so I'll be as indistinct as possible in this review.
I was lucky enough to find this gem when I blindly searched the word 'amnesia'. While this movie doesn't try to hide that it uses the construct of 'amnesia', it tactfully uses it as a stepping stone to something much bigger.
At its base, this movie is a fantastically paced mystery-thriller that never loses momentum and keeps you guessing until the very end. While the story as a whole holds its own, I think I especially liked this movie b/c I truly found myself experiencing all the emotions that the protagonist experiences. Yes, I know, (duh) that's the goal of every actor/director, right?
It's not easy but if you can get the audience emotionally invested in the characters, they will genuinely care what happens to them next, all you need is a good story to go along with it. I believe this movie encompasses just that.
If you like movies told in first-person POV narratives like 'Oldboy', you'll love this one!
I was lucky enough to find this gem when I blindly searched the word 'amnesia'. While this movie doesn't try to hide that it uses the construct of 'amnesia', it tactfully uses it as a stepping stone to something much bigger.
At its base, this movie is a fantastically paced mystery-thriller that never loses momentum and keeps you guessing until the very end. While the story as a whole holds its own, I think I especially liked this movie b/c I truly found myself experiencing all the emotions that the protagonist experiences. Yes, I know, (duh) that's the goal of every actor/director, right?
It's not easy but if you can get the audience emotionally invested in the characters, they will genuinely care what happens to them next, all you need is a good story to go along with it. I believe this movie encompasses just that.
If you like movies told in first-person POV narratives like 'Oldboy', you'll love this one!
Implausible storyline, but otherwise entertaining enough movie...
paul_haakonsen26 December 2018
I am a big fan of South Korean cinema, and I usually jump at any chance I get to sit down and watch a movie to make it out of South Korea. As I did when I got the chance to watch "Forgotten" (aka "Gi-eok-ui bam").
I must admit that I didn't know what the movie was about, nor did I know who starred it in or even what kind of genre it was. It was Asian and from South Korea, that was all the persuasion I needed.
The movie does start out great, and the events that take place in the movie really had me puzzled. I didn't figure out what was going on before it was revealed towards the end. So director and writer Hang-jun Jang managed to pull off a nice trick here, as I was kept in the dark throughout the course of the movie.
However, I must admit that somewhere along the midway of the movie, give or take, I did feel like the movie was starting to lose some of its appeal and my interest started to ebb. So there was somewhat of a slump there that had to be overcome.
The acting in the movie was quite good, and they had some nice actors and actresses on the cast list to perform these various different roles and characters.
The ending of the movie was very, very anti-climatic, and it just wholeheartedly sent an abrupt blockade on what would otherwise have been a very entertaining movie. And the ending is the reason why I am lowering my score to a 6 out of 10 stars, whereas it was otherwise set to get a 7 out of 10 stars.
While the events throughout the movie was somewhat confusing, but then started to make sense once you figure out what was going on, it just felt like the entire plot of the movie was so very implausible and just felt horribly staged and that also took away from the enjoyment of the movie.
All in all, "Forgotten" is an entertaining enough movie, if you enjoy a mystery thriller, with emphasis on mystery. But this is hardly among the top of the line in entertainment to make it out of South Korean cinema, not even by a long shot.
I must admit that I didn't know what the movie was about, nor did I know who starred it in or even what kind of genre it was. It was Asian and from South Korea, that was all the persuasion I needed.
The movie does start out great, and the events that take place in the movie really had me puzzled. I didn't figure out what was going on before it was revealed towards the end. So director and writer Hang-jun Jang managed to pull off a nice trick here, as I was kept in the dark throughout the course of the movie.
However, I must admit that somewhere along the midway of the movie, give or take, I did feel like the movie was starting to lose some of its appeal and my interest started to ebb. So there was somewhat of a slump there that had to be overcome.
The acting in the movie was quite good, and they had some nice actors and actresses on the cast list to perform these various different roles and characters.
The ending of the movie was very, very anti-climatic, and it just wholeheartedly sent an abrupt blockade on what would otherwise have been a very entertaining movie. And the ending is the reason why I am lowering my score to a 6 out of 10 stars, whereas it was otherwise set to get a 7 out of 10 stars.
While the events throughout the movie was somewhat confusing, but then started to make sense once you figure out what was going on, it just felt like the entire plot of the movie was so very implausible and just felt horribly staged and that also took away from the enjoyment of the movie.
All in all, "Forgotten" is an entertaining enough movie, if you enjoy a mystery thriller, with emphasis on mystery. But this is hardly among the top of the line in entertainment to make it out of South Korean cinema, not even by a long shot.
Excellent film...
RosanaBotafogo8 May 2021
Very good, South Korean cinema really has great works to be discovered, a dramatic and mysterious suspense, if it is not original, at least it is ingenious and well produced, it leaves us confused and intrigued, a lot of the time, we were trying to understand the enigma, the still yields some good scares, persecutions and anguish... Wonderful script, fantastic development, we are completely connected... The final scene was a little sad... Excellent film...
Full of twists
Sovik_Das17 August 2020
Good psychological.
punch8727 September 2020
Twisty Surprise
sellranger3 September 2020
Short and sweet; I love me my Korean thrillers. This was a good one. Great for the first hour, had no idea where it was going. The last hour became a little more convoluted than it needed to be. Common in these films to keep layering on the connected relationships but the last hour just wasn't as strong as the set-up. Def worth watching.
The most mind-bending movie
charafff20 March 2021
This is one of rare movies that deserves the fullest points. Through the whole movie, the plot takes about 30 turns and draws one perfect circle with no end and beginning. At the end you just stay speechless and very uncomfortable. The movie that made me make an account here and actually write a review. 10/10 must see!
A solid B-thriller.
toskomst13 February 2018
Warning: Spoilers
This is a nice little thriller with an intricate plot that's almost impossible to outline without spoiling something. I suppose that in itself is a spoiler. But anyway.
Kang Ha-neul plays a 20-something student, Jin-seok, who, along with his big brother and their parents, move into a new house. He's a hypersensitive guy, having nightmares and hearing strange sounds. One rainy night, his brother is shuffled into a van by unknown assailants, only to return 19 days later, having no memory of his disappearance. Jin-seok, however, begins to notice changes in his brother's behaviour. You know. Alarming ones. Enough for him to follow his brother out into the streets at night, and so on.
The plot unravels from there, with time-tried things like scenes where Jin-seok approaches a door, while we see his feet, his fingers reaching for the doorknob, etc. This dates all the way back to thrillers like Hitchcock's "Suspicion" (1941), when Joan Fontaine wondered if Cary Grant was a murderer. Or a little like David Fincher's "Gone Girl" (2014) for that matter.
The movie is well-made as a genre exercise with touches of horror. Korean productions usually have a very Korean flavour, steeped in Korean sentiments (for lack of a better word), but this movie should be more «accessible» to an international audience. I'm not surprised it was picked up by Netflix, with little and easy dialogue, and a focus on a strong plot. And even if you know that there will be twists and turns, there should be something unexpected along the way.
PS: The Korean title translates as something like "The Night to Remember" or "Remember the Night". It is definitely more fitting than the generic English title ("Forgotten").
PPS: A note on the touches of horror. One scene involves TV footage featuring US President Donald Trump (with Korean president Moon Jae-in). Sure looks like horror.
Kang Ha-neul plays a 20-something student, Jin-seok, who, along with his big brother and their parents, move into a new house. He's a hypersensitive guy, having nightmares and hearing strange sounds. One rainy night, his brother is shuffled into a van by unknown assailants, only to return 19 days later, having no memory of his disappearance. Jin-seok, however, begins to notice changes in his brother's behaviour. You know. Alarming ones. Enough for him to follow his brother out into the streets at night, and so on.
The plot unravels from there, with time-tried things like scenes where Jin-seok approaches a door, while we see his feet, his fingers reaching for the doorknob, etc. This dates all the way back to thrillers like Hitchcock's "Suspicion" (1941), when Joan Fontaine wondered if Cary Grant was a murderer. Or a little like David Fincher's "Gone Girl" (2014) for that matter.
The movie is well-made as a genre exercise with touches of horror. Korean productions usually have a very Korean flavour, steeped in Korean sentiments (for lack of a better word), but this movie should be more «accessible» to an international audience. I'm not surprised it was picked up by Netflix, with little and easy dialogue, and a focus on a strong plot. And even if you know that there will be twists and turns, there should be something unexpected along the way.
PS: The Korean title translates as something like "The Night to Remember" or "Remember the Night". It is definitely more fitting than the generic English title ("Forgotten").
PPS: A note on the touches of horror. One scene involves TV footage featuring US President Donald Trump (with Korean president Moon Jae-in). Sure looks like horror.
Trying to do too much
mobp24 March 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Since there are so many good korean thrillers it seems the director was trying to make this movie more wicked than all of them together. Unfortunately that's the downfall of this movie.
The movie starts rather solid and I was hoping I'm in for maybe even a great movie.
But as the movie moves on it get's more and more absurd. Too many dream sequences. You also can tell rather early that something is wrong with that "family".
There are just too many scenes that are unreliable and mistakes made that even a human with half a brain wouldn't make.
In my opinion the director was just trying to do too much which hurts this movie. He should have sticked to a more conservative script.
So overall this movie starts solid but as it moves on it's just all over the place.
I would call it an average movie.
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