''Midnight FM'' () is a 2010 South Korean

action thriller film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

Kim Sang-man Kim Sang-man (; born January 28, 1970) is a South Korean film director and art director. Career Kim Sang-man began his career in films designing posters, starting with '' The Contact'' in 1997. He had designed posters for about 30 films when he w ...

starring

Soo Ae Park Soo-ae (; born 16 September 1979), known mononymously as Soo Ae, is a South Korean actress best known for portraying Kim In-hae in the 2013 film ''The Flu'' and Oh Soo-yeon in the 2018 film ''High Society''. Soo Ae began her career on telev ...

and

Yoo Ji-tae Yoo Ji-tae (born April 13, 1976) is a South Korean actor, film director and screenwriter. After a stint as a fashion model, Yoo launched his acting career in 1998 then rose to fame through the films ''Attack the Gas Station'' (1999) and ''Ditto' ...

. Soo Ae won Best Actress at the

31st Blue Dragon Film Awards The 31st Blue Dragon Film Awards ceremony was held on November 26, 2010, at the National Theater of Korea in Seoul. It was broadcast on KBS2 and was hosted by actors Lee Beom-soo and Kim Hye-soo Kim Hye-soo (; born September 5, 1970) is a South ...

for her performance.

Plot

Ko Sun-young is a popular

television announcer An announcer is a voice artist who relays information to the audience of a broadcast media programme or live event. Television and other media Some announcers work in television production, radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, ...

and midnight DJ on a show that mixes film analysis with selected songs from the associated

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

s. Sun-young decides to quit her job after her daughter, Eun-soo, requires heart surgery that is only available in the United States. On her last day of work, Sun-young's sister Ah-young babysits Eun-soo at Sun-young's apartment. While she is on the air, Sun-young receives a call from a man named Han Dong-soo, who claims to be her fan. Inspired by

Travis Bickle Travis Bickle is a fictional character and the anti-hero protagonist of the 1976 film ''Taxi Driver'' directed by Martin Scorsese. The character was created by the film's screenwriter Paul Schrader. He is played by Robert De Niro, who received an ...

, the unstable vigilante from ''

Taxi Driver ''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying and ...

'', Dong-soo has begun to murder pimps and drug dealers throughout the city. When he hears about Sun-young's imminent retirement, he takes her family hostage and demands that she retool her final broadcast to his specifications. However, Sun-young's boss discards the new playlist on the assumption that Sun-young herself submitted it. When Sun-young does not follow his instructions and instead calls the police, Dong-soo murders the policemen that arrive and cuts off one of Ah-young's toes. With the help of Son Deok-tae, an awkward, obsessed fan, Sun-young attempts to recreate her first broadcasts. When her boss intervenes, Dong-soo murders Ah-young. Furious and in shock, Sun-young explains the situation to her confused co-workers. Dong-soo forces Sun-young to quote her previous commentary on ''Taxi Driver'', in which she requests a hero like Bickle to arise, and demands that she call him a hero; she reluctantly does so. Meanwhile, Sun-young tries to sneak out of the studio to rescue her daughter, but Dong-soo has already fled the house. Sun-young chases after him, and Dong-soo leads her to where he has kidnapped a man he claims to be a

human trafficker Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extracti ...

. The man denies the charge and begs for his life. Dong-soo orders Sun-young to kill the man, but she refuses. Sun-young says that the man deserves a trial, and she shoots Dong-soo instead.

Cast

as Ko Sun-young *

as Han Dong-soo *

Ma Dong-seok Ma Dong-seok (born Lee Dong-seok on March 1, 1971), also known as Don Lee, is a South Korean–American actor. With his breakout performance in '' Train to Busan'' and subsequent leading roles, he has become one of South Korea's most successful ...

as Son Deok-tae *

Jung Man-sik Jung Man-sik (; born December 11, 1974) is a South Korean actor. His name is also romanized as ''Jeong Man-sik'' or ''Joung Man-sik''. Filmography Film Television series * ''Jungle Fish 2'' (KBS2, 2010) * '' Athena: Goddess of War'' (SBS, ...

as Oh Jung-moo * Kim Min-kyu as Yang Woo-han *

Choi Song-hyun Choi Song-hyun (born April 11, 1982) is a South Korean actress. Choi began her television career as a KBS announcer in 2006, then she resigned from the network in 2008 to focus on acting. She has since starred in films and television dramas suc ...

as Park Kyung-yang *

Shin Da-eun Shin Da-eun (born January 7, 1985) is a South Korean actress. She starred in the television series ''The Sons'' (2012), ''A Little Love Never Hurts ''A Little Love Never Hurts'' () is a South Korean weekend television drama series starring ...

as Ko Ah-young *

Lee Joon-ha Lee Joon-ha (born April 15, 2001) is a South Korean actress. Lee began her career as a child actress The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in movies or television. An adult who began their ...

as Ko Eun-soo * Choi Hee-won as Ko Hyun-ji * Jo Suk-hyun as Detective Jo *

Kwak Do-won Kwak Do-won (born Kwak Byung-kyu on May 17, 1973) is a South Korean actor. Career Kwak is known for his roles in the films '' The Yellow Sea'' (2010), '' Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time'' (2012), ''The Attorney ''The Attorney'' () is a 20 ...

as Jang Suk-hyun *

Uhm Tae-goo Uhm Tae-goo ( ko, 엄태구; born November 9, 1983) is a South Korean actor. He is known for his supporting roles in many critically acclaimed films, such as '' Coin Locker Girl'' (2015) and ''The Age of Shadows ''The Age of Shadows'' (; lit. ...

as Detective Uhm * Chae Hee-jae as Detective Chae * Lee Sang-hong as Yang Bok-nam * Kim Byung-soon as Director * Kim Yun-tae as Visit police * Lee Hyun-geol as Kim Tae-soo * Kim Gyu-sun as Younger sister of man in suit * Yoon Hee-won as Senior anchor * Park Tae-kyung as Drunk man * Song Ji-in as Young woman *

Kim Shin-young Kim Shin-young (born December 20, 1983) is a South Korean comedian, MC and DJ. She debuted in 2004 on the SBS show ''People Looking For Laughter'' and won 'Best Variety Performer' at the 42nd Baeksang Arts Awards in 2006. She has hosted num ...

as Studio DJ ( cameo) * Kim Hyun-ah as Studio guest ( cameo) *

Son Ji-hyun Nam Ji-hyun ( on January 9, 1990) is a South Korean actress and former singer. She is best known as the former leader and a vocalist of now-disbanded South Korean girl group 4Minute. Early life Nam Ji-hyun was born on January 9, 1990 in Inch ...

as Studio guest ( cameo)

Release

''Midnight FM'' was released October 14, 2010, in South Korea. The international premiere was at the

Hawaii International Film Festival The Hawai'i International Film Festival (HIFF) is an annual film festival held in the United States state of Hawaii. HIFF has a focus on Asian-Pacific cinema, education, and the work of new and emerging filmmakers. HIFF’s primary festival is h ...

ten days later.

Reception

Darcy Paquet Darcy Paquet (born 1972) is an American film critic, university lecturer, author and actor. In 2010, Paquet was awarded the Korea Film Reporters Association Award at the 15th Busan International Film Festival for his contributions in introducing ...

of ''

Screen International ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

'' called it "a better-than-average Korean thriller that despite its plot holes, manages to maintain the tension all the way through." Shelagh Rowan-Legg of

Twitch Film Screen Anarchy, previously known as Twitch Film or Twitch, is a Canadian English-language website featuring news and reviews of mainly international, independent and cult films. The website was founded in 2004 by Todd Brown. In addition to films, ...

wrote, "''Midnight FM'' can easily be added not only to the radio film canon, but also to the slate of great thrillers being produced in recent years in South Korea." James Mudge of Beyond Hollywood wrote, "Certainly, director Kim’s enthusiasm makes up for any lack of originality, and thanks to a fine script, fast pace and the efforts of the headlining stars, it stands as one of the best and most fun Korean thrillers of the last year or so."

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Midnight FM 2010 films 2010 action thriller films 2010 crime action films 2010 crime thriller films South Korean action thriller films South Korean crime action films South Korean crime thriller films 2010s Korean-language films South Korean serial killer films 2010s serial killer films 2010s South Korean films