Suyeon (Roh Jeong-eui), a horror novelist struggling to finish her latest work, spends her days consumed by anxiety. During the holidays, her boyfriend Shinji (Kasamatsu Show) comes to visit, and the two hope to enjoy some quiet time together at a secluded house in the countryside. But the moment Shinji cuts his face with an old razor, he undergoes a terrifying transformation. His once-lovely face is gone, replaced by something unrecognizable - strangely warped, hideously twisted, and exploding with madness. From this point on, Shaving hurtles forward with an untamable force. With the act of shaving as a catalyst, Suyeon’s traumatic past and the fears she has barely managed to suppress erupt all at once, as Shinji’s rage explodes alongside them. At the root of this runaway madness lie the vicious possessiveness and domination exercised in the name of love, and Shinji’s transformation feeds on this cruel violence. This is director Kim Jung-hoon’s ambitious new work, arriving thirteen years after his feature debut Tinker Ticker (2013), which portrayed the inner lives of youths seething with rage at the world. The heady mix of psychological drama, horror, and mystery delivers a considerable thrill. Woven through it all is one woman’s life-or-death resolve to reclaim her own life. Roh Jeong-eui convincingly portrays Suyeon, who appears fragile yet proves decisive; Kasamatsu Show infuses the film with tension through an eerily nuanced performance; and Byun Yo-han anchors another major dimension of the film’s horror.
Kim Jung-hoon was born in 1982. He began making films at Seoul National University as a member of the film club Yala Shang. He worked in the directing department on Where the Truth Lies (2009), directed by HONG Ki-seon, before enrolling at the Korean Academy of Film Arts. His feature debut, Tinker Ticker (2013), was invited to the Tokyo International Film Festival. Shaving is his second feature film.
From Busan International Film Festival 2026, No. 31
