Recalled Movie Review (2021)

Some movie reveals can take a long time to happen. You get curious along the ride, but when everything suddenly comes together, like in Recalled, you can’t stop thinking about it afterwards.

I love a good thriller. When the energy builds and you aren’t completely sure what is happening, you’re just along for the ride and it’s so much fun. That was definitely the case here.

Recalled is the story of Soo-Jin, a woman who has been hospitalized after an accident and has completely lost her memory. Cared for by her husband, Ji-hoon, Soo-Jin begins to have hallucinations that lead her to question her reality. Not sure what to believe, she slowly untangles some threads that provide the answers she’s looking for.

This Korean mystery/thriller started slowly. I enjoyed the first half of the movie – Soo-Jin is very likeable and sweet, but you are learning about her in the same way that she is learning about herself. She gets reminders and information from her husband, but I can only imagine how difficult it would be when you have no memory of whether you can swim or what you like to eat.

As the film begins to build, it gets more and more interesting. But when you reach the last third of the movie and things start to become clearer for both you and Soo-Jin, it’s magnificent. The reveals are surprising, the journey that you’ve been on is suddenly laid out in a way that you didn’t expect, and you find emotions that you didn’t see coming. At least, I didn’t.

Recalled is not a horror film, although you may see it described as such on Amazon or in other write-ups. (As a total sidenote, the description on Amazon is also wrong, so just ignore everything it says and believe what I’m telling you. I don’t know what happened there.) This is truly a mystery/thriller, and while there are moments that involve blood and violence, it’s nothing that you haven’t seen in various other action films.

Also, Seo Ye Ji, the actress who plays Soo-Jin, is exceptional at being scared. I thought about this multiple times during the film and honestly, I didn’t want to look away from her.

I don’t want to say too much about this movie because most of the fun is not knowing anything and letting it play out as it does for Soo-Jin. With a fairly small cast, some insight into how a fictional Korean police duo investigate, and a story that will take you on a heck of a journey, I highly recommend it. It packs a punch.

Runtime: 99 minutes

Motion Picture Rating: R

Languages Spoken In The Film: Korean with English subtitles

Should You Watch It? Yes, it was great

Did I Cry? Nope

My Rating: 4.25/5 Stars

Available: Free on Prime Video and Tubi or may be available for free on other streaming platforms