by Joseph Perry
Normally here at “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict”, both Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. However, here and there they will be taking the reins in a solo outing. For this installment, it’s Joseph with a solo review of the South Korean thriller, Commission by writer/director Shin JaeMin.
Synopsis
DanKyung, a young aspiring comic artist, dreams of success in the webtoon world, especially since her older sister, JuKyung, is already a popular webtoon creator. Hoping to gain recognition, DanKyung impulsively visits the dark web and accepts her first commission.
The Good
Kim HyunSoo does a fine job portraying DanKyung’s descent from dreamer to sociopath. Shin effectively straddles the line between letting viewers know the disgusting desires of DanKyung’s customers and not giving into unnecessary luridness for the sake of shock value.
The Bad
The senior assistant character couldn’t have been written nor acted to be more worthy of viewer ire. It’s an over the top characterization that comes across as caricature. The “I’m not a pervert but check this out” coworker character isn’t far behind in the unlikability department. Some plot details come across as quite convenient to move things along. We’re really not given any characters for whom to root, with the legendary comic artist being the character who comes across as most sympathetic, although even one of his speeches can be interpreted as a lie, at least by DanKyung.
The Verdict
Commission ultimately feels like a horror thriller designed for fear-fare fanatics but tame enough regarding lack of gore — the most horrifying images are left to the imagination, and that is used quite effectively here — and shocking enough in content to also draw in casual viewers of horror as well as those who don’t usually watch the genre.
Commission
Directed By: Shin Jae-min
Written By: Shin Jae-min
Starring: Kim Hyeon-soo, Kim Yong-ji, Kim Jin-woo
Run Time: 1h 50m
Rating: NR
Release Date: 2024
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