Loner is a 2008 South Korean film. The debut feature by director Park Jae-sik, Loner is a horror film

K-Horror

Korean horror, sometimes referred to as K-Horror, is the term given to horror films made as part of the cinema of Korea. Korean horror features many of the same motifs, themes, and imagery as Japanese horror. Korean horror has been around since the early years of Korean cinema; however, it wasn't...

 about hikikomori

Hikikomori

is a Japanese term to refer to the phenomenon of reclusive people who have chosen to withdraw from social life, often seeking extreme degrees of isolation and confinement because of various personal and social factors in their lives...

, the phenomenon of reclusive individuals who have chosen to withdraw from social life.

Plot

Soo-na, a 17 year-old student who lives in a huge mansion with her uncle and grandmother, is driven over the edge after the suicide of her best friend. She locks herself in her room, talks to someone that nobody else can see, and tries to kill herself in front of her family. Her uncle, Se-jin, enlists the help of his fiancée, Yoon-mi, a psychiatrist who specialises in hikikomori. Yoon-mi suspects that Soo-na's condition is related to some hidden family history.

Cast

• Ko Eun-ah ... Jeong Soo-na
• Jeong Yoo-seok ... Jeong Se-jin
• Chae Min-seo ... Choi Yoon-mi
• Jeong Yeong-sook ... Grandmother
• Lim Dae-ho ... Gwan Ri-in
• Lee Da-in ... Lee Ha-jeong
• Lee Yeon-soo ... Han Song-i
• Lee Eun ... Lee Eun-hee
• Jeong Da-hye ... Teacher
• Song Min-jeong ... Kim Mi-jeong

Production

The set of the mansion cost $

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

300,000 to build, and took a month to construct.

Release

Loner was released in South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

 on 18 September 2008, and on its opening weekend was ranked seventh at the box office with 45,710 admissions. As of 5 October, the film had received a total of 74,753 admissions, and as of 12 October had grossed a total of $

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

412,300.

Critical response

James Mudge of BeyondHollywood described Loner as "one of the better and more thoughtful films of its type for some time", and said, "The film features some skilfully sustained tension and a palpable sense of dread, as well as an overbearing sense that things are unlikely to work out well for any of the characters, even for those who manage to make it through to the end credits. Whilst there are a few death scenes and some good use of special effects, the film is generally quite low key, and is arguably all the better for it, as this ensures that the psychological chills remain at the fore."