[First Reactions to the Press Screening] Cineplay Journalists’ Star Ratings for “Salmokji”

Even while using familiar formulas, it didn’t leave me feeling totally flat thanks to that lingering sense of unease. It brings out “that delicious feeling of wanting to be fooled even though you know better” with a 360-degree camera, underwater filming, motion detectors, and more. I like how it keeps the narrative to a minimum and immerses you using only a bleak kind of energy. A realistic, closely observed horror film that’s faithful to its craft.

A fresh set of images created using a filming method that distorts the subject shows the nerve of a director who just made his feature debut. It triggers fear through point-of-view shots that suggest the presence of things you mostly can’t see, clever editing, and jump scares. Still, this approach isn’t that fresh. The impression is that even the mid-to-late sequences are predictable—like a mini-version of John Carpenter 〈Madness〉. But why is that? Overall it feels ordinary, yet the success rate is high.