At The Movies: Dr Cheon And The Lost Talisman offers laughs and spooky thrills

Dr Cheon And The Lost Talisman (PG13)

96 minutes, opens on Thursday
4 stars

The story: Dr Cheon (Gang Dong-won) is a medium. Or rather, he claims to be. In reality, he is a social media star who has made a fortune parting fools from their money. Eccentric young woman Yoo-kyung (Esom) hires him for a ghost-busting job, which he accepts, thinking she is one more fan of his YouTube channel primed to fall for his fakery.

It is interesting to think about how this movie – adapted from the South Korean webtoon Possessed – could have turned out if a lesser film-maker had taken on the project.

The story is a minefield of familiar elements easily reduced to cliches by a thoughtless director.

For example, there is the idea of the disillusioned main character who, after losing faith in his vocation, becomes a cynic willing to debase his gifts for profit.

There could be dozens of ways to illustrate Dr Cheon’s condition, such as them showing him hitting the bottle or indulging in some other typically cinematic form of self-destruction that sells the idea of a former believer who has sold out.

Instead, because this is a comedy – albeit with elements of horror and fantasy – South Korean director Kim Seong-sik surrounds the fake exorcist with supporting characters who bring up his pain-filled past in the manner of disappointed parents or friends tired of his nonsense.

These exchanges are funny and surprisingly poignant – these people care for him, even if he does not care about himself.

One would have to go back to The Mummy (1999) or, more recently, the tragically under-appreciated Dungeons And Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) to find a similar blend of action, comedy and horror-fantasy.

And there is actual horror, as the villain uses a form of human sacrifice to gain dark powers.

In his feature debut, Kim does not skimp on the martial arts either, as Dr Cheon And The Lost Talisman features several richly choreographed battles that mix realistic strikes with magical energy bolts.

It is not just the adroit tone-balancing that makes this one special. The story is also rooted in present-day South Korea.

The cultural references are precise and funny – shamans become branding experts and social media stars; the rich make profane use of sacred objects because they know nothing about Korean history. And the strain of trying to survive in hyper-capitalist South Korea, as the hero observes, is enough to make anyone see ghosts.

Hot take: The story of a fallen shaman given a chance at redemption is an entertaining ride that blends good jokes with action, horror and suspense.