The defence The Arthouse Gremlin
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
Back to trending 
The Ugly
Mystery · Thriller · 2025
One day while overseeing a documentary crew filming his blind father at work, Im Dong-hwan gets a phone call that his missing mother’s remains have been found after forty years. Determined to find the truth of her disappearance, Dong-hwan embarks on a twisted odyssey through his family’s traumatic past, uncovering dark secrets along the way.
Movie details
The Ugly
“The barefaced truth comes out.”
2025 Mystery · Thriller 1h 42m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.9 / 10
Community rating
One day while overseeing a documentary crew filming his blind father at work, Im Dong-hwan gets a phone call that his missing mother’s remains have been found after forty years. Determined to find the truth of her disappearance, Dong-hwan embarks on a twisted odyssey through his family’s traumatic past, uncovering dark secrets along the way.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Ugly?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Helpless
Mystery · 2012
A woman suddenly disappears. Her fiance then sets out to find her and, in the process, uncovers layers of dark hidden secrets.
Following
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A realtor who loves sneaking into people's homes finds the dead body of a scamming social media influencer – can he find out who did it?
Intruder
Mystery · 2020
Seo-jin is a widower still grieving his wife's death. Then he receives the news that his long-lost younger sister, Yoo-jin, who went missing 25 years ago, has turned up. Unlike the rest of his family, who welcome her into their arms, Seo-jin feels that Yoo-jin is a stranger.
The Piper
Horror · 2015
Shortly after the Korean war, a father and a son are wandering through the country and make a stop in a remote village, where strange and dangerous happenings occur.
Bunny Lake Is Missing
Mystery · 1965
A woman reports that her young daughter is missing, but there seems to be no evidence that she ever existed.
The Red Shoes
Horror · 2005
A woman who finds a pair of pink high heels on a subway platform soon realizes that jealousy, greed, and death follow them wherever they go.
Remember
Drama · 2015
With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person responsible for the death of his family.
The Invisible
Fantasy · 2007
After an attack leaves him in limbo -- invisible to the living and also near death -- a teenager discovers the only person who might be able help him is his attacker.
Night Watch
Mystery · 1973
A woman recovering from a nervous breakdown tries to convince her husband and and the local London police that she has witnessed a murder in the abandoned house next door.
The Caveman's Valentine
Drama · 2001
Romulus, a misunderstood musician turned recluse hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave, finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tree. The authorities, including his police officer daughter, claim the death is accidental. Romulus is convinced the man was murdered by a prominent art photographer but how can he prove he's right when everyone thinks he's insane?
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Yeon Sang-ho
Written by
Yeon Sang-ho
Park Jeong-min
Young Yeong-gyu / Im Dong-hwan
Kwon Hae-hyo
Im Yeong-gyu
Han Ji-hyeon
Kim Su-jin
Im Sung-jae
Young Ju-sang
Shin Hyun-been
Jung Young-hee
Kim Jae-rok
Baek Ju-sang
Cha Mi-kyung
Lee Jin-suk
Court is in session
Put The Ugly on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.