Apocalypse, a new mystery crime thriller, emerges from the minds of Yeon Sang-ho, the writer and director of Train to Busan, and his writing partner, Choi Gyu-seok. The project boasts Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Roma) as an executive producer and shares creative DNA with the team behind the Netflix hit series, Hellbound. Yeon Sang-ho is no stranger to Netflix, having previously worked on the 2023 film Jung_E and the 2024 series Parasyte: The Grey.
Unraveling the Mystery
Adapted from Yeon & Choi’s 2022 webtoon of the same name, the story plunges into a missing persons case investigated by Detective Lee Yun-hee (Shin Hyun-bin) and Pastor Sung Min-chan (Ryoo Joon-yeol), each driven by their own distinct motivations and beliefs.
A Pastor’s Pursuit and a Detective’s Demons
Pastor Sung’s encounter with a registered sex offender at his local church sets him on a path to tail the man, convinced that those around him are in grave danger. Detective Lee’s involvement is deeply personal; the same man was once arrested for kidnapping and torturing her sister, only to be released due to insanity. Following public support for his release, her sister tragically took her own life.
Intertwined Destinies
When a young woman from Pastor Sung’s church is believed to have been taken by the man, and the offender himself vanishes, Sung and Lee’s paths collide. Lee grapples with her guilt and a burning desire for revenge, while Sung, guided by what he believes are divine revelations, embarks on a dark quest to bring down the kidnapper.
Themes of Justification and Motivation
While religious imagery and potential divine intervention permeate the film, Apocalypse delves deeper into the justifications and motivations behind our actions. Guilt, signs from God, and the “one-eyed monster” all serve as mechanisms for coping with the inexplicable horrors of the universe, guiding us toward conclusions that satisfy our needs.
For Detective Lee, the ghost of her sister’s death haunts her, both literally and figuratively. She is consumed by despair and helplessness, unable to save her during and after the horrific ordeal. Pastor Sung needs to believe that his malice is divinely guided and sanctioned, purifying his world of evil and paving the way for his ascension as the spiritual leader of a grand new church being built in his territory. Kwon Liang-rae, on the other hand, believes in a monster that devours and takes his victims, a psychological break that allows him to escape the abuse of his stepfather and his own atrocities.
A Tense Procedural with Flaws
At its best, Apocalypse weaves these storylines into a tense procedural, revealing how we process the pain inflicted by sometimes tragic realities. Through intense confrontations, both emotional and physical, the film has a way of drawing you in and keeping you hooked until the next twist unfolds.
However, in its weaker moments, the story veers into exaggerated cartoonish villainy and soap operatic melodrama, pulling you away from potentially meaningful philosophical conflicts and plunging you more into possession than obsession or rationalization.
Final Verdict
While the bar has been set quite low this year, Apocalypse stands out as one of the better Netflix original movies of 2025 thus far. However, it still has a long way to go to reach the heights of Director Yeon’s previous works (excluding the dreadful Jung_E). The strongest aspect of this Korean crime thriller is that it has genuine moments of tension and emotional introspection.
Shin Min-jae as Kwon Liang-rae
When you’re asked to play the devil, you bring out the devil. That’s exactly what Shin Min-jae does with his portrayal of the smirking, sarcastic, strategic, and sometimes wide-eyed serial criminal. His goofy and clumsy demeanor lulls you into a false sense of security until he’s cornered. Covered in blood, tied up, with a gun to his face… Kwon always seems to know what to say to regain power. While he may not have that iconic something that makes him a legendary villain, you’re sure to remember his scarred, crooked face and vacant stare as he sings church hymns. As the kids say, Shin understood the assignment.
3/5 - Good
★★★☆☆
Director Yeon’s work thrives when genre elements are strong and there are meditations on morality and trauma, so while Apocalypse succeeds as a compelling yet flawed piece, it is filled with sorrow, faith, and the reasons we move forward on the paths we choose.