Nocturnal

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Kim Jin-hwang directs. Park Jung-hun behind the camera. Hwang Sang-jun scores. Kim Sang-bum cuts. Produced in South Korea. Dialogue in Korean.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Released last year.
• 2Directed by Kim Jin-hwang, shot by Park Jung-hun. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 3Original score by Hwang Sang-jun. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 4Editor Kim Sang-bum shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 5Ha Jung-woo and Kim Nam-gil and Yoo Da-in carry the top of the cast.
• 6Marketing tagline: "No mercy, no escape, just vengeance.".
• 7IMDB entry: tt34574758 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 8Only 42 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography

Park Jung-hun

Original score

Hwang Sang-jun

Editing

Kim Sang-bum

Production design

Kim Tae-yeong

Costume design

Cho Hee-ran

Makeup / hair

Choi Hye-im

Runtime

100 min · 1h 40m

Status

Released

Original language

KO

Certification (US)

16

IMDB

Nocturnal (2025) ↗

Also by

Kim Jin-hwang

• 
  The Boys Who Cried Wolf

  2016 · ★ 7.1

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Nocturnal | tvN Movies

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• MovieGuys2025-05-18
  ★ 7/10

  If you know anything about South Korean cinema, you will be aware they have a penchant, for quality crime action thrillers. "Nocturnal" satisfies the crime action side of the equation but falls a little short, on the thriller aspect of this tale. The story, at its climax, ultimately feels a little predictable and underwhelming. That's not to say this isn't an inherently watchable production. The gritty, no holds barred crime aspect of this film is done exceedingly well. There are dark, well rendered characterisations, who have a fatalistic view of life and its hardships. Equally, the extremely violent, street clashes between a protagonist, out for revenge and mafia style, street thugs is frenetic and enthralling. In summary, not quite the thrilling tale I had hoped for but what is offered, is extremely well done. Suffice to say, if you like this kind of thing, "Nocturnal" is well worth a look.

  Read full review ↓
• Yohan Yukiya Sese Cuneta 사요한2025-05-29
  ★ 5/10

  Broken in all the right places Spoiler warning ahead. Proceed only if you've already watched—or don't mind being broken wide open. --- A title lost in translation There’s something quietly frustrating about mismatched titles. The Korean name for this film, 브로큰 (beurokeun)—Broken—says everything it needs to. It’s raw. It’s thematic. It’s accurate. And then came Nocturnal. Elegant, perhaps, even poetic. But Nocturnal is the name of a novel within the story, not the story itself. A choice that, while likely made for international appeal, ends up setting the wrong tone and wrong expectations. If you go in expecting a moody thriller about late-night brooding, you’ll come out thinking the third act forgot to arrive. If they had kept the English title as Broken, the story, pacing, and ending would’ve made more sense. Acting and atmosphere For what it is—a revenge thriller—the film delivers. Solid performances all around, led by an actor who wears his role like it’s grown into his bones—a notorious gangster who had already left that life behind but is forced to return after the death of his younger brother. It gives off the same energy as John Wick—feared, respected, tried to live a normal life, but got dragged back in. Except instead of a dog, it was his sibling. The cinematography fits the tone: mysterious, crime, gritty, and fitting for a revenge plot. No complaints there. Final thoughts When mislabeling ruins the mood The tragedy here isn’t just in the story—it’s in the mismatch between title and tone. International viewers might be left confused by the final scene. There is a sense of something settling, but it’s jagged and unsatisfying—because it was never meant to be about closure. It was about being Broken. If they had just stuck with Broken, the pieces would’ve come together. Instead, we’re left with a film that feels unfinished, incomplete—not by design, but by branding. Rating: 5 out of 10 stars (8 if you pretend the title was Broken all along) --- - License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC By-SA) 4.0 International - By: Yohan Yukiya Sese Cuneta 사요한 (YourOnly.One) - Date: 2025-05-26

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Sanai Pictures

  KR

• EU

  Eulji Creative

  KR

Key crew

• Executive ProducerHan Jae-duk
• EditorKim Sang-bum
• Executive ProducerLee Min-woo
• ProducerKim Hyeong-seok
• Line ProducerHan Mahn-young
• Key GripChoi Yong-jae
• Lighting DirectorKim Bo-hyeon
• Production Sound MixerChoi Min-ho
• Production DesignKim Tae-yeong
• Set DecorationKim Nam-ho
• PropsYang Ji-eun
• Costume DesignCho Hee-ran
• Makeup & HairChoi Hye-im
• Martial Arts ChoreographerNoh Nam-seok
• Special Effects SupervisorJung Do-ahn
• Special Effects SupervisorJo Gyeong-gyu
• Special Effects Makeup ArtistHwang Hyo-kyun
• Special Effects Makeup ArtistKwak Tae-yong
• Sound SupervisorKim Chang-sub
• Visual EffectsKim Jong-sung
• Digital IntermediateEom Tae-sik
• Assistant DirectorJeon Tae-ho

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• detective

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical2025-03-0716

Also known as

International titles

• 殺人預言TW
• 야행KR
• NocturnalTH
• СломленныйRU