Jung Huh’s excellent, unsettling thriller Hide and Seek (available now on VOD) is a solid and very well made first film that offers up some surprising twists and turns that sweep the film into a few genres during its tidy 107 minute running time. At first, it seems as if it’s just one more Asian horror flick with an urban legend come to life, an opening murder that seems to go unresolved and some strange hallucinatory moments that will give easily frightened viewers a nice case of the chills. But as the film progresses, things take a turn into the unexpected action thriller genre that may disappoint those looking for another Ring or Grudge-like clone. On the other hand, Huh’s assured direction keeps you on the edge of your seat as the film whips your expectations about on its wild ride to the finish…

After opening with the murder of a young woman living in a run-down apartment building, the film switches to Sung-soo (Sun Hyeon-ju), a well-off man living with his wife (Jung-Hee Moon) and two children in a gorgeous, modern apartment complex. He’s suffering from sort of mental or other illness that among other things, gives him a cleaning OCD (he runs a small successful coffee shop) and despite medication, leaves him prone to strange visions. His brother has gone missing and yes, there’s a link to that run-down apartment building that comes into play. It’s hard not to sympathize with Hyeon-ju’s layered portrayal of a man coping with his sickness who has it under control (mostly), but as noted, this is a film that has some tricks to spare up its sleeve.

The film plays with the audience by introducing a few perils early on such as an odd man who traps Sung-soo’s children in their car with his wife screaming at the man until she’s aided by a frightened woman who also lives in that run-down building. This new character, played by Jeon Mi-seon becomes a key to the film on a few fronts, and like Sung-soo, you’ll want to watch and listen carefully as the movie edges forward and the tone shifts. In the meantime, Sung-soo discovers a strange penciled code near each door in the old building that he deciphers fairly quickly and becomes part of the plot as events move a wee bit too close to home. His wife and kids get caught up in the madness and before long, things go off the deep end as it all comes to a head.

Without spoiling things, that first big twist should do an fantastic job at knocking the wind out of some viewers’ sails, but the film isn’t done with its shocking reveals quite yet. The action-heavy final portion is a fairly packed mix of dramatic tension, last-minute escapes, some more violence and a few too-cliché (but mostly well handled) moments you’ve definitely seen in other films. While not a “horror” movie per se, there is some blood on display, children in danger a few times, a few dead bodies tucked away in spots and some nicely done fight scenes that certainly look pretty painful. The good thing is the film doesn’t rely on gore, jump scares galore or overdone CG effects to hold your interest. You’ll come for the story and stick around until the end just to see things wrapped up exactly where they need to be (meaning I think there may be a sequel, but there doesn’t have to be… you’ll see).

Huh’s more than capable camerawork and the film’s solid pacing never fail to hold interest and it’s pretty much a given that this South Korean director has quite a future in store for him. I wouldn’t be surprised if this one gets a major Hollywood or indie studio remake at some point soon (and if it does, Huh better be picked as the director). But I say see this one first and take notes on all the great moments that work in case someone else gets the job and mangles what’s here. As noted, this one’s available on VOD now (but not coming to DVD, Netflix and Amazon until April 8, 2014), so if you’re in the mood for a moody near perfect genre-blending thriller, go check out Hide and Seek. If you’re looking under your bed and in the closets before you go to sleep afterwards, that means this one has done exactly what it’s supposed to.

Score: A- (SEE IT!)