Kim Haneul And Yoo Seungho Are An Outcast Duo In Straightforward Thriller Blind

While tackling some of the thriller classics of the past decade, we stumbled upon Blind starring two amazing actors Yoo Seungho and Kim Haneul and we bring you the review of this movie today.

When I finished watching Memorist, I wanted to see if Yoo Seungho has some movies which would interest me and I found out he has quite a few (hopefully the reviews for others will come soon as well). Blind is one of his older ones but when I saw that the movie has Kim Haneul as the female lead – I knew I had to watch it as she’s one of my favourites and such an expressive actress. Ironically, this is what I watched for New Year’s Eve believe it or not but I’ve rather enjoyed it as it has been a long time since I’ve seen such a direct and straightforward thriller. Let’s review it and open the k-drama/film reviewing season of 2023 together on the blog!

From MyDramaList: A missing person case involving a female university student and the victim in a hit and run case appears to be the same person. Detectives look for a witness. The witness, Min Soo Ah appears, but Min Soo Ah is also blind. She used to be a promising student at the police academy. With her acute senses, Min Soo Ah is able to reveal important clues on the hit and run case. Another witness, Kwon Ki Sub then appears. Ki Sub, who witnessed the case with his own eyes, gives contradictory statements to Min Soo Ah. The investigation then goes through many twists and turns, while Min Soo Ah finds herself up against the killer…

No major spoilers ahead but trigger warnings included – proceed freely:

Blind gets straight to the point and I haven’t experienced that in a while. I’m marking this as a non-spoiler review because the synopsis of the movie already tells you everything you need to know and there’s no beating around the bush here. You will also immediately find out why the movie is called Blind as our female protagonist Min Soo Ah (Kim Haneul) is exactly that as a result of a freaky and irresponsible accident. I have to say that Blind had a lot of tragic, heartbreaking moments which make you think – is there a point to all of this once it ends? But the story progresses quickly and once we are introduced to the main trio of Min Soo Ah, detective Jo (Jo Hee Bong) and Ki Sub (Yoo Seungho) Blind becomes… let’s say, exciting. I really liked the enemies to friends relationship between Soo Ah and Ki Sub because it brought a fun element to the story and lots of heartwarming ones as well.

I enjoyed both Kim Haneul’s and Yoo Seungho’s acting in Blind a lot. They’re both incredibly talented actors and very expressive ones as well – a lot of times they communicate the feelings with their eyes only and I love that. There’s not enough time in the movie for them to showcase more of their other sides but what we get is enough to enjoy it. Ki Sub is a loveable character from the start and you can tell he’s a good kid despite his tantrums. Even when he’s still trying to remain cool and mad, he doesn’t hesitate to protect those around him and get into danger himself with Soo Ah. I really loved their friendship and their bond, especially since both of them are somewhat outcasts and need their own found family.

Blind is full of suspense and you’re constantly on your toes trying to guess what’s going to happen next. The killer doesn’t seem to ever give up and so our main trio of characters keep getting pulled deeper and deeper into the black hole with him. The characters are being made alert at all times and trying to outsmart him and in the very end, trying to survive. I loved the way Soo Ah compensates for her blindness with her quick thinking and creative ways during the second half of the movie even when you can tell she’s on the verge of a mental breakdown. I think the movie also manages to portray her guilt over her accident well despite the lack of time to explore it deeply – some of those final scenes of Blind really tug on the heartstrings.

I do, however, want to warn you of certain things which could be triggering for you considering that they’re pretty graphic – Blind portrays animal abuse and death, death, attempted rape, sexual assault and stalking. There quite a lot of really sad scenes that had me wanting to turn away from my TV screen but I did like the conclusion to the movie a lot. Blind doesn’t really bring anything new to the table if you’re already a fan of thrillers and suspense films, but it’s a solid attempt with great cast and a straightforward plot. It was a good watch all in all, albeit a bit depressing at times. My final rating is 8.25/10 and a solid rewatch value if you don’t mind the triggers above.

Header Image Source: Next Entertainment World

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