The Vanished (2018 film) explained

The Vanished
Native Name:
Hangul:사라진 밤
Rr:Sarajin Bam
Lk:Vanished Night
Director:Lee Chang-hee
Producer:Kim Young-min
Kim You-kyung
Screenplay:Lee Hee-chan
Lee Chang-hee
Starring:Kim Sang-kyung
Kim Kang-woo
Kim Hee-ae
Music:Park Weil
Cinematography:Lee Jong-yeol
Editing:Kim Woo-il
Studio:Sidus Corporation
MCMC
Double & Joy Pictures
Distributor:Kidari Ent
Runtime:101 minutes
Country:South Korea
Language:Korean
Gross:[1]

The Vanished is a 2018 South Korean psychological thriller film directed by Lee Chang-hee, starring Kim Sang-kyung, Kim Kang-woo and Kim Hee-ae. It is a remake of the 2012 Spanish film The Body, directed by Oriol Paulo.[2] [3] [4] [5]

Plot

Yoon Seol-hee, a famous married chaebol, recently died. On the day of her funeral, her body was mysteriously stolen. Detective Jung-sik investigated the case and requested the presence of Seol-hee's husband, professor Park Jin-han. Before the meet up with Jin-han, it turned out that Jin-han had had a secret affair with a student, whom he rushed to right after the funeral to find comfort.

At the police station, a series of bizarre events led Jin-han to believe that his wife was still alive. It was revealed that Jin-han, a long time ago, had spent time to study a new form of drug, which later turned out to be toxic to the body. This drug could paralyse the nervous system and cause death leaving no evidence behind. Jin-han, discussed with his mistress Hye -jin, attempted to poison Seol-hee so they could be together. There was one small hole in his plot, to which Jin-han trusted that it led to the failure of the plan, was the effect of the toxic could be blocked by the use of illicit drugs.

Afraid that his might-still-be-alive wife could harm Hye-jin, Jin-han spit out the truth of his relationship with Hye-jin. However, more and more evidence shows the connection of Jin-han to his wife's death, which led detective Jung-sik to believe that Jin-han poisoned his wife and stole the body to interfere with the examination of the body. Despite the furious Chief, Jin-Han persisted to search for the missing body. More questions led back to the so-called lying Jin-han, as the police found the place which he claimed to be the house of his mistress Hye-jin and found nothing but an empty house. They assumed Jin-han was buying more time around so he could get rid of the body. Meanwhile, Jin-han got more nervous as he knew what his wife could do.

Jin-han kept getting messages from the number of dead Seol-hee, telling him to go to the place where they "had their secret" together. After being released from the police station, Jin-han rushed to an isolated house of his possess and made his way into the forest nearby. He then bumped into detective Jung-sik who had been following him. From this point, mysteries started to be unfolded.

Years ago, detective Jung-sik was soon to be a married man. However, his wife died in a car accident and her body had disappeared since. Her little sister remembered nothing but a logo from the car, which Jung-sik could use to trace back to the company which Jin-han and his wife owned. From there, Jung-sik began to plot his revenge with the help of Hye-jin, who turned out to be his girlfriend's sister. Jung-sik himself stole the body of Seol-hee and left hints behind to which Jin-han, out of guilt, imaginarily matched them with the doing of Seol-hee. At the end, Jung-sik achieved his purpose: Finding the body of his late girlfriend and successfully framed Jin-han into murdering and stealing Seol-hee's body. The film ended with Jung-sik and Hye- jin driving far away.

Cast

Production

Principal photography began on June 12, 2017.[6]

Reception

Released on March 7, 2018, The Vanished opened in first place in South Korea, earning $411,278 from 696 screens.[7] Over the next four days, the film continued to top the local box office, where it made from 654,000 admissions in its first weekend.[8]

During the second weekend since the film was released, it attracted 251,824 moviegoers and was placed second at the weekend box office, accumulating the total audiences to 1.11 million.[9] [10]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Vanished (2018). Korean Film Biz Zone.
  2. Web site: 사라진 밤 (가제). 24 June 2017.
  3. Web site: 영화 [사라진 밤 (가제)] 상세정보]. 24 June 2017.
  4. Web site: In 'Vanished,' search for a corpse takes a turn. Korea JoongAng Daily.
  5. Web site: [Herald Review] Chasing phantoms of one's guilt]. The Korea. Herald. 4 March 2018. koreaherald.com.
  6. Web site: [인사이드] 이창희 감독 <사라진 밤>(가제), 6월 12일 크랭크인 外]. 씨네21. 24 June 2017.
  7. Web site: [M+박스오피스] '사라진 밤', 개봉 첫날 1위…'궁합' 제쳤다]. mk.co.kr. ko.
  8. Web site: Kil. Sonia. Korea Box Office: 'Vanished' Beats 'Tomb Raider'. Variety. 12 March 2018.
  9. News: Domestic romantic drama leads box office in first weekend. Yonhap News Agency. March 19, 2018. 2018-03-20. Shim Sun-ah.
  10. News: Domestic romantic drama leads box office in first weekend. Korea Joongang Daily. March 20, 2018. 2018-03-20. Kim Mi-ji.