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.
Back to trending 
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.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.0 / 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?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe 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
Thriller · 2024
A realtor who loves sneaking into people's homes finds the dead body of a scamming social media influencer – can he find out who did it?
The Ugly
Mystery · 2025
One day while overseeing a documentary crew filming his blind father at work, Im Dong-hwan gets a phone call that his missing mother’s remains have been found after forty years. Determined to find the truth of her disappearance, Dong-hwan embarks on a twisted odyssey through his family’s traumatic past, uncovering dark secrets along the way.
Intruder
Mystery · 2020
Seo-jin is a widower still grieving his wife's death. Then he receives the news that his long-lost younger sister, Yoo-jin, who went missing 25 years ago, has turned up. Unlike the rest of his family, who welcome her into their arms, Seo-jin feels that Yoo-jin is a stranger.
Perfect Number
Thriller · 2012
A brilliant math teacher formulates the perfect cover-up after his neighbor murders her abusive ex-husband.
Bunny Lake Is Missing
Mystery · 1965
A woman reports that her young daughter is missing, but there seems to be no evidence that she ever existed.
Bluebeard
Thriller · 2017
A doctor finds himself in the middle of an unsolved serial murder case after discovering a secret from a sedated patient. When dismembered bodies show up close to home, he must solve the riddle before the killer realizes what he knows.
Obsession
Thriller · 1976
A wealthy New Orleans businessman becomes obsessed with a young woman who resembles his late wife.
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: How to Con A Con
Mystery · 2021
When Aida Teagarden's real estate client is found murdered, her sleuthing daughter Aurora sets out with her fiancé Nick and the Real Murders Club to solve the murder.
Force of Nature: The Dry 2
Mystery · 2024
When five women take part in a corporate hiking retreat and only four come out on the other side, Federal Agents Aaron Falk and Carmen Cooper head deep into the Victorian mountain ranges to investigate in the hopes of finding their whistle-blowing informant, Alice Russell, alive.
Footsteps in the Fog
Thriller · 1955
A Victorian-era murder mystery about a parlour maid who discovers that her employer may have killed his first wife.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Byun Young-joo
Written by
Byun Young-joo
Kim Min-hee
Cha Kyeong-seon
Lee Sun-kyun
Jang Moon-ho
Cho Seong-ha
Kim Jong-geun
Song Ha-yoon
Han-na
Choi Deok-moon
Ha Seong-sik
Lee Hee-jun
No Seung-joo
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 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.