Spiritwalker (2020) 

A man keeps waking up in new bodies, bodies he only resides in for 12 hours before leaving them to be themselves again. As he searches for what is happening to him and why, he finds himself being chased by various people. 

Written and directed by Jae-geun Yoon, this sci-fi action film does not waste any time getting started, throwing the viewer directly in the heart of things from the very opening. At first, this may be a bit confusing, but it soon becomes less so and the film really gets its stride and becomes an engrossing one about a man looking for himself, literally and figuratively, and finding out more and more about how he ended up basically body-jumping every 12 hours.  

In the cases of ths film, it is a bit more difficult to talk about the cast as a multitude of actors play the same character. This is something that could have backfired, but here it works fantastically well. The lead, of sorts, the one actor who plays the lead character for the most time is Yoon Kyesang and his work is fantastic. He grounds the character of Kang I-an and gives him roots in the story and with other characters. He’s the one who gets the most screentime as him and he is also given the most to do, well sort of. This one is, as mentioned before, a tough one to talk about the acting. Playing a main supporting character is Ji-Yeon Lim as Jin-ah, a character that quickly becomes quite import to the lead and to the story. Her way of working here is just lovely and fantastic. She gives a strong performance and kicks much behind at times. She is one to look for in the future for sure and this performance makes sure that she is noticed in the crowd of characters. 

The film is one that gains from its cinematography and great editing. The way the film portrays the change of body is eye-catching and it helps set a tone for the story and for the look of the film. Here, nothing is left unplanned, everything has a point to it. The film has careful planning of its story, its look, and its editing. This planning shows that the film is no accident and that great care was put into every element of it. 

Spiritwalker is a fun, entertaining, scifi action film with some really good ideas that work more than well here. The action starts early on and doesn’t really let up and the viewer will need a bit of time to catch up with everything. This is the kind of film that the eyes cannot stray from or something will be missed. It’s also the kind of film that gains from being watched more than once. 

As for the features, besides languages, subtitles, and trailers, the Blu-ray release also has a fun bit of behind-the-scenes included that some will want to see, but it’s not the main attraction here. The main reason to get the film is to be able to rewatch it a few times to be able to catch on more and more things with each rewatch.  

Spiritwalker is currently available on Hi-YAH! and will be available on on digital, Blu-ray, and DVD on April 12th, 2022.