Korean film 'Unlocked' charts high but receives mixed reviews

The Korean movie Unlocked recently came out on Netflix and went on to become the highest charting film on February 20th. It is based on the book by the same name by author Akira Teshigawara.

Despite charting high, the critic and audience reviews don’t rate the movie very high. According to Koreaboo, reviewers believe that while the performances were quite good, the movie loses out on an opportunity to present a social commentary on people’s dependence on technology and their misguided trust in security software. Instead it seems the movie went down the route of presenting overdone clichés and tropes.

The movie follows actor Im Si Wan as a serial killer who gets his hands on Lee Na Mi’s phone and turns her whole life upside down. Meanwhile, a detective who is played by Kim Hee Won is looking for a serial killer and begins to suspect it may be his son.

Some reviewers claimed that the serial killer’s presence doesn’t seem to fit the intensity of his crimes because of the way Im Si Wan played him. What’s on Netflix claimed that he portrayed the character with a “flat effect.”