Silly title aside, The Witch 2: The Other One, is a fairly compelling and often gnarly sci-fi action picture that draws more from western genre fare than one would initially expect. The film is a follow-up to Park Hoon-jung’s The Witch: Part 1: The Subversion, a slow burn thriller about a girl with a mysterious past being hunted down, which felt drawn from the likes of X-Men, Firestarter, and the slightest dash of Stranger Things as well, or really any genre property about secret government labs and people with powers, especially with its bloody and explosive finale. It’s pretty good, and the sequel ramps things up quite a bit as they so often do.
This film follows another mysterious girl (Shin Si-ah), hence “the other one,” who wakes up as the lone survivor of an absolute bloodbath in a laboratory. She leaves the facility, only to stumble into a kidnapping already in progress. Of course, the Girl has powers and strength beyond any normal human, so she saves herself and the kidnapped woman, Kyung-hee (Park Eun-bin), who takes the girl home to stay with her and her younger brother, Dae-gil (Sung Yoo-bin). The three form a bond, but that bond is put through the wringer as the girl continues to be hunted by multiple forces with their own agenda.
If there’s one thing the first film has over this, it’s mostly in the structuring of the story. It is more focused, more concise in how it slowly reveals information, whereas this sequel expands things to such a degree that things come across as a bit unwieldy at times. There’s so many moving pieces and new characters thrown into the mix, and at times it does become hard to fully grasp how it all comes into play, and how it all connects until it’s clearly spelled out for you, which thankfully, it does eventually do.
The strengths of the film lie in both the action and in the characters. Some of my favorite moments involve the bits where the Girl is getting to know Kyung-hee and Dae-gil, experiencing a sense of normalcy for the first time in her life. It’s sweet and really gets you invested. However, I was also thoroughly delighted by the dynamic between these two mismatched and quirky mercenaries, Jo-hyeon (Seo Eun-soo) and Tom (Justin John Harvey). Every scene with them is fun to watch, and the two share great chemistry. In fact, all the performances across the board are fairly strong.
The action is as gnarly as ever, and the effects certainly take a stronger hold on the actions visual language. There are multiple characters with superhuman powers, and CG is utilized to display incredible feats of strength and speed. It does give the action a visceral quality, and the effects are mostly very well done. Of course, when things do settle in a more grounded fashion, the use of practical blood and make-up does help sell the digital effects. The action is more present than the first, but it never overwhelms or pulls away from the story that is being told.
The Witch 2: The Other One does close off in a way that sets things up for a sequel, maybe one with an even more amusing title. And honestly, I’m very much on board with this, it’s definitely a solid recommendation from me, the first one is available on most VOD platforms, so give that a go, and check this one out after. The sequel takes a bigger and more action-packed approach compared to the first, and while it can be a bit overwhelming at first with all the plates being spun, it does end up working rather effectively. Park Hoon-jung clearly puts a lot of care into this world and the characters, and even when things get clunky, that passion shines through. I wouldn’t call it his best work by any means, but there’s still a lot to like here from the characters to the action set-pieces to the intrigue behind the mysterious forces at play. It’s cool to see all the pieces fall into place, and set up into something even bigger to come. I for one can’t wait to see where this all goes.
The Witch 2: The Other One is now out in select theaters.