Today I am coming with something that I have never reviewed before, a horror action genre. Though I watch this genre a lot, I just happen to never write reviews on them. I have to say that transhumanism is a topic that I am hugely interested in but as I grow older, I think there are many things that could go wrong with having lab-grown individuals. While there are many western series and movies about this topic, this time, I am taking you to look into a Korean film which delves into transhumanism.

The film is titled “ The Witch”. They have two parts; the first part The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion and the second one is The Witch: Part 2.: The Other One. I actually watched the series in reverse, I found it was recommended in my Viu account and so I watched Part 2 which runs about 120 minutes. Then, wanting to find some answer because of the big reveal in part 2, I decided to check out Part 1 which also runs 120 minutes. In this post, I’ll provide a review of the story line and share my thoughts on whether it is worth anticipating or watching.

The Witch Part 1 & 2 Main Story line

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The first and the second installment follows a similar storyline where a girl escapes from a lab. The girls were wearing lab gown and were covered in blood. However, later they managed to find civilians who nursed and helped them without knowing that they have superpower. In the first installment, the story fast forwarded to 10 years later when the girl has grown into a highschooler who lost her memory and thought that she was just an average highschooler. Meanwhile the second installment did not follow a similar storyline. The girl was already in her 18th or 17th. As they navigate their regular life, they are eventually found by the secret agents that are hunting these lab grown children. They think that these children possess a huge threat and therefore have to be eradicated. In their attempt to fight these lab grown children, they have another superpower army which are regular humans but injected with serum and therefore possessing some superhuman abilities. In the end, the girls in these two installments only want to find their “mother” which has not been revealed but hinted at in the second installment.

My Thoughts

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There are so many unanswered questions that this series has and even after watching the second installment, I think that they are going to have another installment, the third one where the two girls meet and eventually find their mother. However, it is revealed that the first girl from part 1 has a hidden agenda which potentially will be included in the third installment. Although after watching the two, I would be immensely disappointed if the plot follows the first and the second part.

When it comes to the cinematography itself, they are set in different eras and it makes sense that they look less sophisticated and were even darker than the second part. The first one is most likely set around the 90’s while the second part is around the 2000's with many references such as mukbang and youtube. However, the overall tone was similar, it’s dirty yellow and dark color.

Recommended or Nah?

It’s hard to say if I should recommend this to everyone. I think it can be interesting if you watch the first part then the second one. Or do it reverse like I did because you will be traveling back in time to learn about the big reveal of the second part and even explore the characters in the second part. However, do not expect to find the reason why they were grown and made. Although overall, I think the witch part 2 was more engaging due to its superior visual effects and intriguing characters, even though it had a dry sense of humor. The first installment was much more intense with better dialogue. So, if you enjoy more talk then go with the first one then the second part because the second part is more silent but visually intense and gore. If I were to score this, I have to give it 6/10 for both of them, so it’s definitely on the low side compared to many transhumanism films that I watched. Well, anyway you be the judge!