After being unemployed for several years, a man devises a unique plan to secure a new job: eliminate his competition.

Korean cinema in specific, but foreign movies in general, have a unique freedom of not being tied to the same tropes that we, as an American audience, are so bored by. Co-written and directed by Park Chan-wook who stunned international cinephiles with his works like Oldboy and The Handmaiden has crafted a pitch-black comedy about an out-of-work paper salesman who develops a new plan to help him in his career – kill anyone that might be competing for the same job. As someone currently looking for my next gig, I could appreciate the catharsis.

Man-su (Lee Byung-hun) is not cold and calculating, though. He’s just a father and husband that is at the end of his rope. He sees his kids suffering, he has to rehome his dogs and can’t figure out any way forward. While Man-su is smart, ingenious in some cases, he’s also nervous and tentative, which is where the comedy develops. It’s not necessarily laugh out loud funny, though there are moments, but it is a fun and entertaining, despite a longer 2+ hour runtime.

Some moments are cringe-worthy in the best ways, the directing is impressive and filled with tension, and it’s a gut punch indictment on capitalism and the evolving chasm between the workers and organizational leaders. It’s one of the better holdovers from 2025 still in theaters.

Jonathan’s grade – B+