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Parents' Guide to

The 8th Night

By Brian Costello, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Violence and demonic imagery in Korean horror movie.

Movie NR 2021 115 minutes
The 8th Night Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

  • The 8th Night Movie: Scene One
  • The 8th Night Movie: Scene Two
  • The 8th Night Movie: Scene Three

Community Reviews

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age 17+

Based on 1 parent review

Lyd10
Lyd10 Adult
November 3, 2021
age 17+

Excellent Legend Type Movie

I have 35 minutes left in this Film. The actors are ALL Perfect for the parts they are playing. Pay attention to the introduction, if you do not quite understand d rewind and start again. The first 6 minutes explains how this Legend Progresses in the 8 days. If you do not grasp this first few minutes,, then you will not like the Film. I adore Korean Movies, Not the usual graphic death scenes. So for a 12 th grader on up,I would say this Movie is Best for. To each his own, I want children to remain as innocent as possible they see way too many ugliness already. I recommend this Movie if you like a slow-burn type Movie I give this Movie 4 stars, I think it could have made it's mark in 90 minutes instead of 2 hours.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

In THE 8TH NIGHT, 2500 years ago, Buddha stopped a demon from unleashing hell by burying its red eye in the desert and its black eye on the opposite end of the earth in Korea. In October 2005, an archeologist seeking to prove that this myth is real unearths the box containing the red eye. While he's derided as a fraud when he presents his discovery, an elderly exorcist monk named Hajeong senses that the demon is starting to awaken. It only needs to possess seven humans in order to come back to life and resume its intent to unleash hell. Too frail to leave the monastery, Hajeong calls on Cheongseok, a young monk who has taken a vow of silence, to go to the city and find Seonhwha, a solitary middle-aged man working as a construction worker and trying to forget his past as a monk. Despite the difficulties inherent in taking a vow of silence, Cheongseok finds Seonhwa, and must convince him that he has been sent by Hajeong for good reason. Reluctantly, Seonhwa begins to work with Cheongseok, who quickly becomes annoying when his vow of silence is lifted. Meanwhile, cynical detective Ho-Tae is trying to make sense of bizarre and bloody killings seemingly involved with a cultish group, and refuses to take seriously his partner's theories of mysticism and demonic possession as the reason behind these murders. As the demon gets ever closer to possessing the number of humans needed to unleash hell, Cheongseok, Seonhwha, and Ho-Tae must find a way to stop the demon before it's too late.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (1 ):

This movie is derivative at times, original at other times. The 8th Night is a Korean horror movie combining The Exorcist's story of demonic possession with The Conjuring's creepy zombie neck jolts, all filtered through a Buddhist lens. There are prophecies fulfilled, demons unleashed, skeptical cops, sage monks. It can be hard to follow at times, with its dual narratives of the monks in pursuit of the demon on one side, and a detective in pursuit of a murderer that he's disinclined to believe has demonic powers, but it mostly stays on track, and it's enough to know that once a certain number of humans are possessed within a certain timeframe (the title is a not-so-subtle hint in that regard), the Earth becomes a hellscape.

What's most surprising about The 8th Night is its occasional flashes of humor. Mystical movies like these tend to make M. Night Shamalayan movies look like Jerry Lewis slapstick, but there are actually some laugh-out-loud moments. For instance, not to spoil anything, but the detective says something hilarious while on a bloody crime scene and asked about the victim's "current occupation." The movie also makes full use of the "opposite character" trope, between the young and naive monk who has just been freed from both the monastery and his vow of silence and the middle-aged beaten-down-by-life monk trying to move on from his past. These are moments of refreshing levity in a genre that's usually so dour and dreary in themes, dialogue, and even the movie's colors. That said, the originality is, more often than not, overshadowed by horror tropes we've all seen so many times before.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about horror movies like The 8th Night. How is this similar to and different from other horror movies you've seen?

  • How does this movie offer a unique twist on the "opposite characters" story -- stories in which two characters with different personalities are paired together?

  • Why are movies about demonic possession so popular? What are some other movies with the same theme?

Movie Details

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