‘The Old Woman With The Knife’ review: Hyeyoung Lee packs a punch as an elite assassin

Dir: Min Kyu-dong. South Korea. 2025. 131mins

Hornclaw (Hyeyoung Lee), a veteran murderer in her mid-sixties, is a legend; she is the most icily environment friendly operative in her organisation (a sort of moral homicide service, they describe themselves as “pest management”.) However there are indications that she is perhaps going smooth: her killing hand shouldn’t be as agency because it was once. And she or he has simply adopted a bedraggled senior rescue canine. However when a ruthless skilled killer with an agenda joins her organisation, Hornclaw realises that that is no time to be dropping her edge. There’s loads that’s acquainted on this extravagantly bloody motion image. However Lee is terrifyingly efficient in the function, and the battle sequences are impressively visceral.

Lee is terrifyingly efficient in the function

It’s a placing departure for Lee, who is probably finest generally known as certainly one of Hong Sang-soo’s common collaborators. She appeared in Hong’s current photos, together with A Traveller’s Wants and In Entrance Of Your Face, profitable a number of appearing prizes for the latter. Director Min Kyu-dong, whose wide-ranging CV consists of romantic comedies (All For Love, All About My Spouse), horror (the Horror Tales anthologies) and sci-fi (The Prayer), tackles the battle sequences with relish. Whereas the movie may do with having a few of the surplus expositional flab cleavered off, it’s – due to the pensionable badass protagonist – distinctive sufficient to catch the eye of specialist distributors and festivals in search of style titles for late-night slots.

Hornclaw – the identify makes her sound like a uncommon Pokemon, however she selected it herself after single-handedly slaughtering a complete warehouse stuffed with dangerous guys – lives for her work. She has no buddies (or no less than none that she wouldn’t kill if mandatory), no hobbies, no attachments that may get in the method of her potential to do the job. And it’s a job that she is uniquely well-equipped to carry out. She will be able to kick a person throughout a room, and what she lacks in muscle and bone density she makes up for with crafty. Plus, the previous lady is severely kitted out. Along with the knife talked about in the title, she has a collection of firearms hidden in her kimchi jars, a poison-tipped spike and a few sort of ceremonial gouging prong that she retains for particular events.

Maybe involved {that a} superannuated, steely-faced feminine killer won’t be a very sympathetic character, the movie goes heavy on scene-setting flashbacks establishing her depressing childhood, her first kill (self-defence, perpetrated on a violent, would-be rapist) and her strict(ish) ethical code of killing solely those that need to die. The movie fairly ties itself in knots on the subject of the justification of Hornclaw’s profession decisions, when the truth is what’s fascinating about the character shouldn’t be her preliminary victimhood, however the scientific, cold-blooded professionalism that makes her the absolute best at what she does.

Her canine isn’t any weak spot, both. She barely remembers to feed poor, unfortunately-named Braveheart. However when a success on a former colleague will get messy, she is sewn again collectively by Dr Kang, (Yeon Woo-jin), a saintly widowed vet who misplaced his spouse to medical malpractice at a hospital and who has an irrepressibly perky daughter. Her guard lowered by ache remedy, Hornclaw is disarmed by the relentless niceness of Kang and his child. Which makes them an apparent goal for anybody wishing hurt upon Hornclaw (a not inconsiderable checklist).

The movie is a curious mix of bruising motion (which works properly) and nostalgic padding (which is much less profitable). Thes core, a histrionic orchestral onslaught, is especially overbearing. However audiences for a movie titled The Previous Girl With The Knife shall be primarily involved with the high quality and inventiveness of the battle sequences. And on that stage, the image doesn’t disappoint. Hornclaw’s homicide wardrobe is each impressively stylish and sensible – the leather-based trench, bucket hat combo is a specific triumph. And of the motion set items, a frenzy of slaughtering in a derelict amusement park is a stand out.