There is a moment in Hope when you realize Na Hong-jin has no intention of giving you the movie you thought you were watching. That is either thrilling or infuriating, depending on how much patience you have for a director deliberately pulling the floor out from under his audience. The film begins like a grimy…
Warning: Major spoilers for Hope (2026) below. There are movies that leave you thinking about the story on the drive home. Then there are movies like Hope, which leave you wondering whether you watched the same film as everyone sitting around you. Na Hong-jin’s Hope starts out looking like a grimy rural monster thriller. A…
There are movies you casually put on your watchlist, and then there are movies like Hope (2026), where the question isn’t really whether you’re going to watch it. It’s when. Na Hong-jin’s latest film has been one of the more intriguing cinematic stories of 2026. The director behind The Chaser, The Yellow Sea, and The…
There are movies you can casually throw on at home while scrolling through your phone, and then there are movies that practically demand a giant screen, loud speakers, and your full attention. Na Hong-jin’s Hope looks very firmly like the second kind. The Korean filmmaker behind The Chaser and The Wailing is returning with something…
There are movies you casually put on your watchlist, and then there are movies that make you start checking theater listings months ahead of time. Hope (2026) is firmly in the second category for me. Na Hong-jin returning with a giant-scale science fiction horror movie already sounds like a dangerous amount of fun. Add Hwang…
There are movie comebacks, and then there is Na Hong-jin returning to feature filmmaking after nine years with one of the most expensive Korean productions ever attempted. That alone would be enough to make Hope a major cinematic event. Add Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Hoyeon, Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, and Taylor Russell to the cast,…
There are movies you watch, think about for a few hours, and then move on. Hope (2026) does not seem interested in being one of those movies. Na Hong-jin, the filmmaker behind The Chaser and The Wailing, has returned with something that feels almost deliberately designed to start arguments. Instead of another grim psychological thriller…