The Cursed: Dead Man's Prey

After a brutal murder, police find the killer's body at the scene. It has been dead for three months. Reporter and author Im Jin-hee (Uhm Ji-won) runs an independent news channel called Urban Detective. A stranger calls and says he is the true culprit, and he announces more killings by the undead. Her husband, Detective Jeong Seong-jun (Jung Moon-sung), gathers officers to protect her.

The film is a sequel to Yeon Sang-ho's 2020 drama The Cursed, and he wrote it. It keeps that series' occult premise. A "jaechaui" is a corpse that has risen and can speak, and someone manipulates it. Jin-hee investigates alongside the shaman-like "methodist" Baek So-jin (Jung Ji-so). The cast also includes Kim In-kwon and Ko Kyu-pil.

Director Kim Yong-wan mixes a detective story with zombie-style action. The killer demands an apology from a company CEO and threatens to kill a senior executive every day. The film becomes a race to learn who is controlling the dead and why.

The film treats the supernatural as a vehicle for social accountability. The dead return because the living never answered for what they did. The Cine21 critic noted that the film's second half, which reveals a story of redemption, is sharp enough to show the bare face of Korean society. The curse is revenge, but it also stands for an apology that was withheld. Yeon Sang-ho's script suggests that institutions and powerful people who bury their wrongs will eventually face them in physical form.

The film can be read as a supernatural revenge story or as a social allegory. In the allegory, the "curse" is the return of a corporate cover-up. Some viewers treat it as a straightforward zombie-action film and focus on the set pieces over the message.

The film belongs to the Yeon Sang-ho universe of Korean genre storytelling, alongside Train to Busan. It extends a Studio Dragon drama onto the big screen. It was released during the COVID period and earned a modest box office of about US$1.31 million. Critics such as Cine21's Kim Seong-hoon praised its pursuit and killing set pieces. SCMP gave it 3/5 and praised one of 2021's best action scenes. It is also remembered as Kim Mi-soo's last film.

Reviews were mixed to positive. Viewers praised the CGI, the horror elements and the strong female lead and villain characters. Critics singled out the action set pieces. Common criticisms were that the story is repetitive and predictable, and some viewers on IMDb found it uninvolving. A third reviewer called it entertaining but predictable. The overall verdict is a competent, action-forward genre sequel, rated 3/5 by SCMP.