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 
Nocturnal
Mystery · Thriller · 2025
Min-tae, a once-notorious gangster who now leads a peaceful retired life, discovers the bloody corpse of his only next of kin: his younger brother Seok-tae. With his brother’s missing wife Moon-young as the prime suspect, Min-tae uncovers a suspicious last phone call between her and a mysterious novelist, sparking a vicious hunt for the truth despite his seemingly deceitful former crime syndicate and the police in hot pursuit.
Movie details
Nocturnal
“No mercy, no escape, just vengeance.”
2025 Mystery · Thriller 1h 40m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.3 / 10
Community rating
Min-tae, a once-notorious gangster who now leads a peaceful retired life, discovers the bloody corpse of his only next of kin: his younger brother Seok-tae. With his brother’s missing wife Moon-young as the prime suspect, Min-tae uncovers a suspicious last phone call between her and a mysterious novelist, sparking a vicious hunt for the truth despite his seemingly deceitful former crime syndicate and the police in hot pursuit.
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 Nocturnal?
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.
Recalled
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A pastor who believes in divine revelation and a detective haunted by visions pursue a missing person case — exposing their own demons in the process.
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Kyung-min lives alone in a one-room apartment. One day, she finds traces of a stranger breaking into her room and soon a mysterious murder case begins to unravel.
Mr. Arkadin
Mystery · 1955
Claiming that he doesn't know his own past, a rich man enlists an ex-con with an odd bit of detective work. Gregory Arkadin says he can't remember anything before the late 1920s, and convict Guy Van Stratten is happy to take the job of exploring his new acquaintance's life story. Guy's research turns up stunning details about his employer's past, and as his work seems linked to untimely deaths, the mystery surrounding Mr. Arkadin deepens.
Cult Killer
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A private investigator is forced into a dangerous alliance with a killer in order to uncover a quiet town’s grisly criminal underbelly and clear the name of her mentor, who is implicated in the crimes.
Missing You
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A girl who lost her father to a serial killer, a detective and a killer are intertwined in a chaotic relationship and are met with an unprecedented series of events.
The Mean Season
Mystery · 1985
A routine investigation of a shocking murder takes a bizarre twist when the killer contacts the reporter and appoints him his personal spokesman. As the killer's calls and clues increase, the reporter is lured into a deadly trap.
Verity
Mystery · 2026
Lowen Ashleigh, hired to ghostwrite for best-selling author Verity Crawford, uncovers Verity's autobiographical notes, and becomes involved in what may prove to be a lethal conspiracy.
Dead Man's Folly
Crime · 1986
During a murder hunt game at a country house, to which Hercule Poirot is invited as an "expert", a real murder occurs.
All the Devils Are Here
Crime · 2025
After a heist, four criminals lay low in a remote safehouse, waiting for orders. As paranoia builds, one thing becomes clear — the real threat may not be outside, but among them.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Kim Jin-hwang
Written by
Kim Jin-hwang
Ha Jung-woo
Bae Min-tae
Kim Nam-gil
Kang Ho-ryeong
Yoo Da-in
Moon-young
Jeong Man-sik
Chang-mo
Im Sung-jae
Byung-gyu
Heo Sung-tae
Detective Park
Lee Seol
Detective Min
Court is in session
Put Nocturnal 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.