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Helpless

Helpless

Mystery · Thriller · 2012

A woman suddenly disappears. Her fiance then sets out to find her and, in the process, uncovers layers of dark hidden secrets.

Movie details

Helpless

“Spread her wings only to fall deeper.”

2012 Mystery · Thriller 1h 57m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.1 / 10

Community rating

A woman suddenly disappears. Her fiance then sets out to find her and, in the process, uncovers layers of dark hidden secrets.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Helpless?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Following

Following

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Private Eye

Private Eye

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The story takes place in occupied Korea at the start of the 20th century, where a young student in medicine discovers the murdered body of the son of a government official. Being scared of being accused, he decides to hire Hong Jin-ho (a detective) to help him find the murderer before the police accuse him of the murder.

Ordinary People

Ordinary People

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A gym teacher and his female student look for her missing friend. But as they investigate, they find that her disappearance is a part of a larger conspiracy.

The Maltese Falcon

The Maltese Falcon

Mystery · 1941

A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a beautiful liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.

Evil Under the Sun

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Appointment with Death

Appointment with Death

Thriller · 1988

Emily Boynton, the stepmother to three children, blackmails the family lawyer into destroying a second will of her late husband that would have freed the children from her dominating influence. She takes herself, the children, and her daughter-in-law on holiday to Europe and the Holy Land. At a dig, Emily is found dead and Hercule Poirot investigates.

The Pelican Brief

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A law student's theory about the recent deaths of two Supreme Court justices embroils her in a far-reaching web of murder, corruption, and greed.

Deception

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Thriller · 2008

As a corporate auditor who works in a number of different offices, Jonathan McQuarry wanders without an anchor among New York's power brokers. A chance meeting with charismatic lawyer Wyatt Bose leads to Jonathan's introduction to The List, an underground sex club. Jonathan begins an affair with a woman known only as S, who introduces Jonathan to a world of treachery and murder.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Byun Young-joo

Written by

Byun Young-joo

Kim Min-hee

Kim Min-hee

Cha Kyeong-seon

Lee Sun-kyun

Lee Sun-kyun

Jang Moon-ho

Cho Seong-ha

Cho Seong-ha

Kim Jong-geun

Song Ha-yoon

Song Ha-yoon

Han-na

Choi Deok-moon

Choi Deok-moon

Ha Seong-sik

Lee Hee-jun

Lee Hee-jun

No Seung-joo

Kim Min-jae

Kim Min-jae

Moon-ho's Friend

Court is in session

Put Helpless on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Arthouse Gremlin

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.