Spoilers ahead
Demons and spirits conjure two emotions for movie lovers: it either piques their interest to watch or has them running away in fear. The opening credits of 2023’s Dr. Cheon and The Lost Talisman do just that with the cryptic quote, “Seoul Kyung is a talisman with spells and glyphs written on Hanji paper to threaten and capture spirits.” The thriller marks Kim Seon-Sik’s first directorial debut, having worked as an assistant director for several renowned filmmakers, including Bong Joon- Ho’s 2019 Parasite. What he’s learned over the years has been put into a fast-paced thriller with a run time of 98 minutes.
Dr. Cheon and The Lost Talisman kickstarts with Dr. Cheon (Gang Dong-Won), a fake shaman, and his ‘technical assistant’ Kang Do-Ryung, known as Inbae (Lee Dong-hwi), set up for another exorcism. Although heir to a family of shamans, Dr. Cheon doesn’t believe in ghosts and instead, is a conman who relies on special effects created to trick clients into thinking he’s solved the case. To attract more clientele, he and Inbae upload the events onto their YouTube channel titled ‘Heavenly Cheon TV.’ The pair are more like vloggers, ready with cameras, smoke machines, and special outfits to play the role the customers expect. Although Dr. Cheon and Inbae are chaotic with their approaches to their projects, they both have a warm and endearing friendship more akin to quarrelling siblings.
They set out to help a wealthy family tackle their supposedly possessed home due to a sacred cemetery totem used as a garden decoration. With the film set in modern-day South Korea, the opening scene highlights how we all rely on our phones and technology. Even exorcisms get the social media treatment, with the sceptical younger daughter who doesn’t take what’s happening seriously and proceeds to laugh while live-streaming the event on Instagram to her followers.
However, Dr. Cheon is more in touch with reality and realises the real issue for the family is a lack of communication. He acts more like a psychologist but uses the art of exorcism to scare them into listening. The problem lies in the parent’s worry about their teenage daughter growing up and the wife’s frustration over her husband’s reckless spending on unknown items.
Once back in their office, the mood quickly turns when a young lady named Yoo-Kyung (Esom) walks in to ask for help to save her possessed younger sister, to which Dr. Cheon declines. That is until she unloads a suitcase with 50,000 won as an incentive. From there, the story unfolds, and what started as seemingly bright, amusing, and uplifting in the first scene descends into the dark thriller it’s labelled out to be.
On arrival in her hometown, a thick fog begins to appear around the car, creating the first suspenseful part of the film. As they drive, they pass many people gathered in mourning attire, and the use of wind chimes playing in the background adds an eeriness to the village. When Dr. Cheon meets Yoo-Kyung’s younger sister Yoonmin (Park So-yi), he’s surprised when he realises that the supernatural realm exists and a real possession has taken place. During this scene, the first element of horror arises, with the use of CGI morphing the innocent-looking child into a demon and breaking free from her confined room. Once outside the house, she’s captured by an evil cult run by Beom-Cheon (Huh Joon-Ho), known for terrorising the villagers by possessing souls.
In order to save Yoonmin, the group seeks help from a famous fairy shaman (Park Jeong-min) to find out about the master and the lost talisman. To help him, he summons a traditional Korean fairy (Blackpink’s Jisoo) to tell the story. Her role is predominantly visual, as she has one line and uses his body as a host. They discover that the possession is due to the reanimated spirit of a mystical being labelled The Master, also known as Beom-Cheon. It turns out that The Master was involved in the death of Dr. Cheon’s grandfather, another famous village shaman.
They begin to hatch a plan to beat the entity, and at this point in the film, it feels as if it’s rushing towards the final ending. The scenes are fast and furious, full of car chases and kidnappings, all accompanied by an intense instrumental soundtrack. For the most part it works, and with the last scene in the depths of a cave, the music echoes action movies such as 1984’s Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom.
In the quest to find the master, Dr. Cheon is also out to save the now-captured Yoo-Kung and Yoonmin who are ready to be sacrificed. Leading up to the finale, Dr. Cheon and The Master meet and descend into an explosive martial arts fight surrounded by pyrotechnics. The scene is well choreographed, resulting in the evil being defeated and a concluding cliche with everyone living happily ever after. But what Dr. Cheon and The Lost Talisman gets right is that it doesn’t feature Hollywood cliches with predictable jump scares and over-the-top CGI. The special effects were of high quality, and though the plot was dark, the script was funny and met with comedic timing nicely wedged in between serious moments. Although demons were involved, there were no horror scenes, but some gruesome moments were featured due to the brutal rituals involving the amputation of hands and the removal of tongues.
The one issue with the short run duration is that it leaves no time to learn the characters’ backstories, and it’s never explained how Yoo-kung obtained her powers by seeing the dead, including her mother’s spirit. Having seen a small part of Dr. Cheon’s past and not believing in ghosts, we never discover why he chose to work in this profession. However, the end credits feature a scene that hints at the possibility of a sequel, and it could go on its way to becoming a well-loved franchise due to the strong cast, action, and suspense.
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Written by Kirsty Bright
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