The Old Woman with the Knife movie review

Not only in the “Expendables” series and feels like all films with Liam Neeson are the focus of aged action heroes in the center, also in “John Wick”, “Knox goes away” and “Nobody”, which has actually been going on, which have actually been working for a long time ago have hung their nail and still suddenly have to measure themselves again with (mostly younger). But the concrete power fantasy that the unstoppable physical decay can only be kept with experience (more than) has mostly been a specific male. The South Korean author Gu Byeong-Mo has published in 2013 and also internationally available in 2013 “The Old Woman with the Knife” However, a woman focused on who is actually ripe for the pension and still committed murder.

Her 65-year-old protagonist suffers from the physical restrictions that age brings with her, but still runs up to top form when she suddenly sees herself confronted with a young competitor who not only threatens her, but also from it very obvious reasons also refrained from personally. The director Kyu-Dong Min, which is known for the horror film “Memento Mori”, among other things, relies entirely on the fascination of his protagonist and his leading actress. In the action drama, quiet melancholy meets sudden excessive violence. However, the film brakes its actual story with too numerous flashbacks and an unnecessary distance to the characters again and again.

Hornclaw (Hye-Yeong Lee) describes her job euphemistically as “eliminating vermin”. For almost 40 years she has only killed “bad” people who are assigned to her by a mysterious agency for elimination. However, she has recently suspected that the agency boss prefers to spare some target persons who actually deserve death in order to accept jobs instead that bring in more money. In addition to her advancing age, the experienced killer is particularly concerned about the latest Killer access:

The young bullfight (sung-cheol kim) not only has a psychopathic desire for killing that makes him unpredictable, he also shows a striking interest in his experienced colleague. When Hornclaw begins, for her previously unknown feelings of empathy for an old dog and the family of the veterinarian Dr. Developing Kang (Woo-Jin Yeon), reveals a weak point that knows how to use Bullfight. Because it follows his very own plan …

A contract killer shortly before the pension

With the “Old Woman” already outlined in the title, the traditional role models of the action cinema are skilfully broken. This fresh perspective is that makes Kyu-Dong Mins action drama so interesting at the beginning. It hardly hides that there are also numerous and extensive genre clichés: of course the protagonist lives in complete seclusion and isolation-only a street dog, which is reminiscent of itself, breaks through the hard shell. And the mysterious killer organization, of course, has long since established itself as a go-to-genre trope.

This premise is used again and again for good action scenes, even if the special feature of the main figure in these is very rare. Of course, her age leads to it is underestimated or stayed under the radar, but in the end she is primarily a fighting machine in the footsteps of John Wick and Co., who knows how to switch off with every weapon that was still improvised. The Kills, which are still selected, culminate in a rapid finale, in which Hornclaw has to butcher twice at different locations due to a supposed superiority.

A souvenir mosaic reveals the whole story

At the first confrontation starting in a club, she even consciously accepts that it is actually without a chance. The fact that this inferiority turns out to be part of a sophisticated plan is already strongly strained by the claim to logic. But you could readily accept that in the entertainment cinema if the narrative itself was only exciting enough. But that is precisely what succeeds in “The Old Woman with the Knife”, just not consistently.

It is not always director Kyu-Dong Min to combine the thriller and action elements with the melancholic story about the life of Hornclaw and finally also from Bullfight. The fact that both have a common past indicates early. Gradually, the prehistory is made up of flashbacks. But the memories are subjective and turn out to be completely completely. So you need further flashbacks to complete the souvenir mosaic. This approach, which focuses on a slowly resulting overall picture, is far too complicated for the actually very simple and early resolution.

Taling the pace and a heroine who remains at a distance

The actual action is slowly slowed down by these flashbacks – and they contribute too little to the development of figures. Although the action drama with a prologue playing in 1975 enters directly with a dramatic history for Hornclaw, which is later intensified by the narrative of its very first killing, the figure remains strangely cold and distant. Despite these moments, their emotional depth is not really developed, which makes it difficult to establish a connection. In the end, when she risks her old life to save a young, it remains with an admiration for action and hard kills made. However, you don't really feel involved in the action.

Conclusion: “The Old Woman with the Knife” begins with a fascinating premise and offers some impressive action scenes, but is lost too often in overloaded flashbacks and an emotionally distant narrative. Hye-Yeong Lee convinces in the leading role, but the connection between her figure and the audience remains fragile. Despite the strong moments, the still remarkable pensioner in “John Wick” does not unfold their full potential.

We saw “The Old Woman with the Knife” as part of the Berlinale in 2025, where he celebrated his world premiere in the Berlinale Special series.