Lovely Death

Three friends arrive at a guesthouse for a getaway. Their purpose, however, is death. Just as they each hang themselves in separate rooms, “Death” appears and refuses to let them die. If they wish to leave this world, they must first complete a mission: find the culprit behind a guesthouse murder case in which six guests were killed. Based on the webtoon of the same title by Ieon, Lee Wonsuk’s Lovely Death is a film that resists easy genre definition—and is all the more intriguing for it. What begins with a light, brisk touch soon turns into a story about death; just when it seems to be turning into a comedy, elements of crime begin to enter the picture. With the arrival of a survivor and the guesthouse owner, the film becomes a formidable puzzle, while the tension between the freedom to die and the will to live becomes this film’s driving force. The film also stands out for the wit with which it fills the vertical frame of the short-form format. Shim Ja-yoon of STAYC takes on the role of the protagonist, Yeon, in her acting debut.