Spoilers are going to try the bar next door.

Anthologies are always a mixed bag, and if I’m honest for once, they rarely work for me. This is because I understand when several filmmakers’ craft are set up together the result is rarely cohesive, which can be both good and bad. Surprisingly enough, I found the running theme actually was prevalent in this feature creating a good chemistry despite the different approaches. All this to say, I had fun. So let’s see what we have.

The Killers (2024) is directed by Kim Jong-kwan, Roh Deok, Chang Hang-jun and Lee Myung-Se. There’s a recurrent appearance by Shim Eun-kyung in different roles.

  • Metamorphosis. A man stumbles out of a car. He’s bruised, beaten and knife stuck on his back. Seeking to hide from his pursuers, he comes upon a bar. The bartender will serve him a drink, an attitude and a mysterious smile that hides many, many secrets. His life is about to changed forever. A rather cheeky neo-noir thriller with a drop of fantasy horror mixed in for spice. Well worth as a starter.
  • The Contractors. A powerful rich woman arranges to have a wicked professor murdered for a high price. What she doesn’t know is that her job goes from the professional hitman to a common gangster, a street thug to three wannabe screwups who end up kidnapping the wrong person. A comedy of errors with a lot of situational humor that shows how the business of contract killing is also affected by the bad economy.
  • Everybody is Waiting for a Man. 1970s. A lone woman tends to a small deserted bar which opens late. A man walks in, an undercover cop who’s waiting for a serial killer whose face he doesn’t know. The only known details are a tattoo on the left shoulder and the midnight hour. Soon, a couple of big thugs enter the bar, looking for same man. Outside, the cop’s partner is waiting impatiently until a local constable on a bike wakes him up. When the clock hits midnight, all hell breaks loose. It’s a well done tense standoff with a bloody outcome.
  • Diaspora City. Two members of the secret police show up at a bar, expecting someone that will show up at six o’clock. The three quirky attendants are keen to have these police-killers leave the bar. A stylist concept piece full of absurdist comedy, expressionism and interpretative dance. This one is challenging to watch, as the narrative takes a backseat to the performance. I’d say this one is the odd one in the bunch, still on topic without much of a thrill to be had.

Highly recommended with reservations. It’s very much worth a watch, and you’d wish for more stories following this vein. Even the fourth one deserves a peek for the interested parties. The first three are pretty solid for very much almost all audiences, with a note that some killing and blood is to be expected. Please wait to be seated.

That will do for now.