Death Name is directed by Réi (also known for Shutter Bird) and the cast includes Amy Keum, Kevin Woo, Vana Kim, Alice Bang, and Desirée Mee Jung.
My Thoughts on Death Name
Tubi original horror films are very hit and miss, more miss I find, like the recent Glamping, but I have really liked a couple of recent Tubi horror films, namely Lowlifes and Match, so decided to give Death Name a watch.
Sophie Park is a Korean American college student who transfers to a new school and immediately finds herself surrounded by other Korean students who seem eager to claim her as one of their own, but the problem is that Sophie doesn’t feel like she belongs anywhere in that space.
She doesn’t speak Korean, her family doesn’t talk about the past, and there’s a sense that something has been deliberately cut off, and Sophie has grown up in that gap without quite knowing why.
And it is that sense of distance that drives the movie far more than the horror elements at first, and the early sections don'’t rush to explain everything - just awkward conversations, half-answers, and the quiet pressure of people expecting her to understand a culture she was never taught. T
The family history, when it starts to surface, is treated carefully, and we find out Sophie’s grandmother is the key figure here, as we get a very clear sense that some doors were closed on purpose.
Once Sophie starts digging, the supernatural side of Death Name moves into place, where the curse itself is tied to Korean folklore, though the movie doesn’t drown you in explanations or mythology dumps, and the restraint the movie shows mostly works.
Amy Keum carries a lot of the film, and I thought she handles that responsibility well, as Sophie is not written as especially flashy or dramatic, which can be tricky for a lead role, but Keum plays her as observant, frustrated, and quietly stubborn.
Kevin Woo also shows up as Jun, a fellow student who becomes Sophie’s romantic interest and something of an anchor as things start to unravel, but used sparingly, and, I did think the character could have been pushed a bit further, as he's a little underwritten.
Death Name is just over 80 minutes, and it feels designed around that limitation, and scenes don’t wander, conversations end when they’ve made their point, but I did want more development in certain areas to make you a bit more interested in everything.
It all feels like it’s walking a line between being intimate and being minimal, and sometimes it leans a bit too far toward the latter, but I will say the direction by Réi Talas is pretty confident for a first feature, where there’s a clear sense of control over tone, and the film avoids flashy tricks it can’t support.
But, overall I wouldn’t say Death Name was that good, as it doesn't go as far as it needed it to I don't think, and don't be expecting much in terms of traditional scares, but it feels purposeful rather than careless, which already puts it ahead of a lot of free streaming horror. movies.
It understands its limits and works within them, but that is also part of the issue.