Lede

I had to be in Seoul to watch a 2025 Korean thriller on a proper big screen, because UK cinema booking still treats subtitles like a health warning.

Hermit Off Script

This is the bit that winds me up – I had to be in Seoul to watch “The Old Woman with the Knife” on a proper big screen because the UK cinema circuit still treats Korean films like a secret menu item. I wanted to see it when it was officially released in South Korea, but in the UK it might as well have been released on the Moon. Then I land in Seoul and, luckily, it is still available, and there I am, finally, doing the normal human thing: buying a ticket and watching a film in a cinema. Meanwhile, back west, everyone is busy mainlining K-drama on streaming, screaming lyrics at K-pop shows, and pretending kimchi is a personality – but Korean cinema, the one thing that consistently competes with Hollywood on quality, creativity, and sheer output, gets rationed like it is contraband. Yes, Bollywood is a powerhouse too, and you can see that properly represented in places like Birmingham Five Ways Cineworld. I can only dream Korean cinema gets the same shelf space, but that means the audience has to grow fast, loud, and unapologetic. So if you are in Seoul and it is still playing, stop scrolling and go watch it.

THE OLD WOMAN WITH THE KNIFE Trailer (2025) Action

The Old Woman with the Knife (2025): Roast movie synopsis

Hornclaw is a legendary contract killer in her sixties, still doing wet work for an organisation that markets murder like a “pest control” service for society’s so-called vermin. Age is finally collecting its debt, the agency starts treating her like yesterday’s tool, and a young, obsessive killer turns up eager to learn – or replace – her. Then Hornclaw realises someone wants her dead, and the job stops being “professional” and becomes personal, which is inconvenient when your knees are ageing, but your blade is still honest.
Bonus insult: depending on where you watch it, the film even has different cuts and runtimes, like the world cannot agree on how long it should allow this woman to exist on screen.

Cast and credits

Director: Min Kyu-dong
Writers: Min Kyu-dong, Kim Dong-wan (screenplay); based on the novel by Gu Byeong-mo
Main cast: Lee Hye-young, Kim Sung-cheol, Kim Mu-yeol, Yeon Woo-jin, Shin Si-ah
Composer: Kim Jun-seong
Production company: Soo Film
Runtime: listed as 120 to 124 minutes, depending on cut and venue
Release year and platform: 2025, theatrical

What does not make sense

• The UK happily imports K-drama, K-pop, and half the Korean corner shop – then acts surprised when people want Korean films in actual cinemas.
• A film can premiere at a major festival and still vanish from ordinary UK listings as if it owes someone money.
• The runtime changes depending on who is selling it, as if even the minutes need a distributor.
• Bollywood can be a regular fixture in UK multiplexes, but Korean cinema gets treated as a rare bird that must only migrate through festivals.

Sense check / The numbers

1. The film (Korean title “파과”, often romanised as “Pagwa”) is a 2025 South Korean action thriller directed by Min Kyu-dong, based on Gu Byeong-mo’s novel.
2. It premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2025 (Berlinale Special), then was released in South Korea on 30 April 2025.
3. Korea listing data shows a 122-minute runtime, a 15 rating, and 886 screens – which is not “niche”, it is a nationwide roll-out.
4. UK sightings lean festival-style: one listed screening context is “MAYHEM 2025” at Broadway, with a 124-minute listing and an 18 certificate.
5. Internationally, the US got a limited release on 16 May 2025 via Well Go USA, with a later home video date listed in 2025 – so the export machine works, just unevenly.

The sketch

Scene 1: The Gatekeeper
Panel: A UK cinema programmer behind a tiny ticket hatch labelled “Foreign Language Slot: Tuesdays, 11:40am”.
Dialogue: “We can squeeze it in – right after the fire alarm test.”
Scene 2: The Multiplex Menu
Panel: A giant screen flashes “Bollywood Night: 4 shows daily”. Next to it, a postage-stamp screen reads “Korean Film: maybe”.
Dialogue: “We love global cinema!”
Reply: “Do you, though?”
Scene 3: Seoul, Where Films Are Allowed To Exist
Panel: A packed Seoul cinema. A UK tourist, baffled, holds a passport and a popcorn bucket.
Dialogue: “So you just… show it?”
Reply: “Yes. Like a cinema.”

What to watch, not the show

• Distribution risk-aversion dressed up as “market demand”.
• The tyranny of screens – the same few studios and franchises swallowing slots.
• Subtitles as a fake barrier, used to justify lazy scheduling.
• Festival culture acting as a velvet rope instead of a bridge.

The Hermit take

Korean cinema is not the problem – UK access is.
If you can sell the wave, you can book the screen.

Keep or toss

Keep / Toss
Keep the film, the craft, the audacity.
Toss the UK habit of treating Korean cinema like a limited-edition snack.

Sources

• IMDb – title page and credits: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34509472/
• Wikipedia – film overview and festival premiere: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Old_Woman_with_the_Knife
• KOBIZ – Korean release date, runtime, rating, screens: https://kobiz.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20240398
• Broadway Cinema – MAYHEM listing (UK screening info): https://www.broadway.org.uk/whats-on/mayhem-2025-old-woman-knife
• The Numbers – international release notes: https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Old-Woman-With-The-Knife-The-%282024-South-Korea%29
• FilmDates – UK cinema release listing: https://m.filmdates.co.uk/films/1011780-the-old-woman-with-the-knife/