Someone once said that death is a punctuation mark in our lives we don’t control. (Unless we commit suicide.) Serial murderers and assassins insert it into other lives multiple times. (A bullet, knife, poison–they all insert the period.) I’ve never liked films or TV shows about hit men. I don’t find any humor or irony in the occupation and I refuse to watch them even in the case (like the recent TV show “Barry”) when they are supposedly well done. The fine 2023 film “The Killer” was a notable exception for me. The new Korean thriller “The Old Woman with a Knife” (“파과”) is another deviation to my rule I’ve made: it is a brutally effective, visually awesome, edge-of-your-seat, stone-cold action film masterpiece that doesn’t let up for a second about assassins who only kill bad people. It opens this Friday, May 16 in the New York Metro area and many other U.S. cities. Go here for show times and ticket information.

Adapted from Gu Byeong-mo’s 2013 novel “Damaged Fruit” (her 2024 novel “Apartment Women” was highly acclaimed), the film begins in South Korea in 1975. A 16-year-old girl (Shin Sia), abandoned by her parents, is taken in by a family who lets her live with them in turn for her working as a maid. She discovers that the father is part of a secret agency (Shinseong) who take on contracts to kill “insects,” people who are harming others and the world. The murder of his wife and child spur her to learn the skills of the killers who work for the agency and the film jumps to the present time. Now she is in her mid-60’s and has become a legendary assassin who goes by the code name Hornclaw (Lee Hye-young). 

Hornclaw is still a highly-talented killer but she is worried about her diminishing strength and also concerned that her agency is straying from its original altruistic mission to taking on murder for hire contracts. A kind veterinarian, Dr. Kang (Yeon Woo-jin), saves an old, ailing dog she rescues and later saves Hornclaw’s life too when he discovers her wounded after a botched job. The agency’s policy requires killing any witnesses but she resists this, much to the displeasure of her boss. Meanwhile, a young killer known as Bullfight (Kim Sung-cheo) joins the agency. He says he wants to meet “the legend” and Hornclaw becomes his reluctant mentor but a past connection to her reveals that he has other plans than a mere apprenticeship.

The cast are all excellent but the chemistry between Lee Hye-young and Kim Sung-cheo principally fuels the relentless tension of the film. Sung-cheo has the youthful, handsome looks of a K-Pop star (he began his career in musicals) yet infuses his role with a complex mix of cockiness, confused loyalty and painful memories (of the tragedy that set him on this path). Hye-young was one of the most famous South Korean actress of the 1980s; I last saw her in Hong Sang-soo’s excellent 2024 film “A Traveler’s Needs.” She is unforgettable here as an aging woman preparing for retirement and death in a rare action film lead by a woman in her sixties.

The fight scenes are choreographed to steely perfection, accompanied by a great soundtrack and punctuated by quickly moving story moments which never slow the film down as they do in so many action films. Metaphorical touches (bruised fruit tastes better than non-bruised fruit, an aging dog) never seem forced and the unexpected and rapid flashbacks work in a unique and novel fashion.

This is the first film I’ve seen by writer/director Min Kyu-dong. He has made films in multiple genres but his amazing work with this one makes me think he’ll be getting (or turning down) offers to direct huge Hollywood action franchises.