Netflix debuted the crime thriller Revelations from acclaimed South Korean director Yeon Sang-ho, marking his latest collaboration with writer Choi Gyu-seok following their successful series Hellbound.
Unlike their previous projects that explored supernatural elements, Revelations presents a grounded narrative focused on a detective investigating a missing-person case and a pastor convinced of his divine mandate to punish those responsible.
“The story centers on the character psychologies of [Pastor] Sung Min-chan and [Detective] Lee Yeon-hui, who resemble one another, but make very different choices,” director Yeon told Tudum in an interview prior to the film’s release.
“I wanted to create a story about a lead character with egocentric views, someone who sees and believes only what he wants to. I was thinking of such a character through whom I could create a story within the genre, and Sung Min-chan, a pastor of a new church, was born.”
Ryu Jun-yeol (A Taxi Driver) stars as Pastor Sung Min-chan with Shin Hyun-been (Hospital Playlist) portraying Detective Lee Yeon-hui.
The film represents a departure from Yeon’s internationally recognized work on the 2016 zombie thriller Train to Busan, which helped establish South Korean cinema’s growing global presence.
Critical reception has been mixed, echoing responses to Yeon’s 2023 film Jung-E. IndieWire noted that while the two main characters serve as compelling rivals, the film “has great difficulty threading a basic detective story into the fabric of the operatic moral thriller that Yeon weaves around it.”
RogerEbert.com added that the “melodramatic action undoes” the performances of the the lead actors.
The film adapts another webtoon collaboration between Yeon and Choi, continuing their creative partnership that has produced distinctive genre content for international streaming platforms.
Fans of Yeon’s previous work, particularly Train to Busan or Hellbound, may find the director’s signature atmospheric tension and moral complexity present in this crime thriller.
Revelations is now streaming on Netflix.
