Face

Face is a Korean film that tries to mix crime, mystery, and horror, but it never commits to any of them. I went in expecting a tense thriller about a man who rebuilds faces from skulls to solve murders. That idea alone could have made a unique movie. But the story keeps jumping between genres until it becomes confusing and uneven.

The film follows Hyun-min, a facial reconstruction expert who quits his job after his wife dies and his daughter needs a heart transplant. He wants to spend more time with her, but his peace doesn’t last. A young woman named Sun-young shows up asking for help on a murder case.

A serial killer is burning his victims’ faces with acid, leaving only bones. Hyun-min reluctantly starts working on a skull she brings him, but strange things begin happening. His sick daughter sees a ghostly woman, and Hyun-min starts having frightening dreams and visions.

At first, it moves like a crime mystery. Then ghosts, love, and revenge get thrown in. The movie hints that the haunting might be tied to the skull, the killer, or even the heart keeping his daughter alive. By the time the truth comes out, it feels forced and messy. The big twist tries to be shocking but ends up confusing and illogical. The more I thought about it, the less sense it made.

What really hurts the film is that it never commits to one idea. It’s not scary enough to be horror, not clever enough to be a mystery, and not emotional enough to be a drama. The ghost only shows up to push the story forward when it gets stuck, and even the killer’s motive feels weak and random. There are moments that could have been chilling, like the eerie skulls and the lonely little girl, but they never come together into something meaningful.

The acting is fine, but the characters are dull. Shin Hyeon-jun plays Hyun-min as sad and tired with little emotion beyond worry. Song Yun-ah as Sun-young is pleasant but forgettable. Their relationship could have added heart to the film, but it’s underdeveloped and awkward. Visually, Face looks decent with dark lighting and some creepy images, but nothing stands out. Even the ghost scenes feel like copies of better Japanese horror films like Ringu.

In the end, Face is a film with an interesting idea that gets lost in its own confusion. It tries to mix science, mystery, love, and the supernatural but never focuses on what really matters. By the time it ended, I felt more tired than scared, more puzzled than moved. It’s not terrible, but it’s not one I’d watch again.