Lucid Dream (3/5)

Lucid Dream (Loosideu Deurim) uses an Inception style technique to solve an abduction case. The Korean sci-fi thriller is out on Netflix now!

The way the process is explained and executed makes sense.

There are none of the Hollywood flares. Instead, it’s a desperate man’s last attempt to find his son, so we focus on the end and not the means.

Lucid Dream wins with thrilling twists

If there’s one thing Korean movies do well it’s twists and turns. Well, that and allowing time for character portraits and raw emotion. In the case of Lucid Dream, the latter falters a bit while the twists work as well as ever.

The main protagonist, Dae-Ho, is an investigative journalist, whose son was abducted. It happened while they were at an amusement park and no ransom request ever came. However, being a journalist who exposes everyone’s secrets has created many enemies.

That’s why Dae-Ho continues doing what he does best; Investigating. Only this time he’s focused on the enemies he’s made and going after them one by one.

When nothing comes of this, he hears about lucid dreaming as a method to find more clues from the day of the abduction.

An American remake should happen

Lucid Dream has all the makings of being an international success. Of course, the real succes would come from a remake in English. Personally, I don’t mind reading subtitles, but in this case, I think the story could be improved on as well.

Hopefully, a remake would focus on this as well. If nothing else, maybe Netflix could create this themselves since they’ve already bought the rights for the original. Just sayin’.

As always, our usual resumé source IMDb comes up short when it comes to Korean movies. According to the database, it looks like this is Kim Joon-Sung debut as both director and screenwriter. Whether this is actually the case, I don’t know.

While the story and pace of Lucid Dream is tighter than what you’ll usually find with many Korean movies, it’s not without fault. There are great twists, but also things that seem a bit too corny.

And what I’m really lacking is actually the slower pace. Not in and of itself, but because it allows for us [the audience] to get to know the characters. I’m not that invested in these characters which would’ve made the story much more engaging.

Want suggestions for awesome Korean thrillers and horror movies? Check out our feature on them here >

Lucid Dream premiered in its native South Korea on February 22, 2017. It’s now out for the rest of the world to see on Netflix.

Details

Director: Kim Joon-Sung
Writer: Kim Joon-Sung
Cast: Ho-jin Chun, Soo Go, Suk-ho Jun

Plot

Investigative journalist, Dae-Ho, is searching for his son who was abducted three years ago. With the help of a detective and a psychiatrist friend, he retraces his memory of the incident through the use of lucid dreaming techniques.