‘Night In Paradise’ Is A Pitch Black K-Thriller From The Director Of ‘The Witch’
by Tito W. James
Night in Paradise follows a gang member who must lay low on Jeju Island after attacking a rival gang leader. The film is directed by Park Hoon-jung known for the brutally brilliant Witch: Subversion films. With The Witch, Hoon-jung proved he could do slow burn films with a massive payoff. Night in Paradise isn’t supernatural but it also has twists and turns and surprisingly emotional moments.
One minute you’re in a gripping interpersonal drama, the next an unflinching crime thriller. Night in Paradise delivers an extremely dark story without resorting to gratuitous violence. The film is dark in a more fatalistic way, where no character is innocent or safe. I commend Night in Paradise and other Korean films like it, for stripping the power fantasy away from crime fiction to reveal the beating human heart at its core.
Night in Paradise is now streaming on Netflix.
