A man finds himself in a completely different body every twelve hours, strangers treat him like friends, and new enemies make themselves known. This is the story of the South Korean action-fantasy thriller, Spiritwalker, and it’s coming to the United States! The trailer and synopsis for the film can be viewed below ahead of its release in April.
You can read the official synopsis for the movie below.
After waking up from a car crash unable to remember anything about his life, a man begins regaining consciousness in a new body every 12 hours. Now, he must piece together his identity, all while evading attacks from pursuing agents and dangerous criminals alike. But with no memory—and no allies—his time is running out.
The trailer gives a very promising reveal of the story right off the bat, with our hero (played by former K-pop star Yoon Kye-sang) waking up and finding his world change around him in a jaw-dropping sequence. After stumbling out of the shop and viewing himself in a reflection, we get a striking pan over to the other face staring back at him, a dramatic reveal of the body swap. As the trailer goes on, showing fight scenes, chases, and all sorts of action, the protagonist keeps asking the same questions we as an audience are asking. Who am I? How do I know martial arts? Who’s after me? All in all, it is an excellent draw-in for potential audiences.
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Spiritwalker is directed and written by Yoon Jae-keun, whose previous directing credit is the 2010 film Heartbeat. The combat scenes are choreographed by award-winning martial arts choreographers Park Yung-sik, and Chung Seong-Ho. The two previously worked on the highly praised survival series, Squid Game.
Joining Yoon in the cast are Park Yong-Woo (Nailed), Lim Ji-Yeon (High Society), and Park Ji-Hwan (The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure). Producing credits go to Lee Chi-beom with Jang Won-seok as executive producer.
Related: Best South Korean Films of the 2000s, Ranked
New Faces, New Borders
Spiritwalker’s initial premiere was on August 22, 2021, at the New York Asian Film Festival. The film won the Daniel Craft Award for Excellence in Action Cinema. Afterward, the film was released in its home country of South Korea on November 24, 2021.
There is also a remake already in the works for American audiences. The film is currently in the hands of Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who is best known for the G.I.Joe and Transformers film series. Whether you love or hate American remakes, the thought of one already in production might give new audiences the encouragement to check out the original for themselves. The story by itself seems like it would translate fairly painlessly into an American setting and fits right in with the already in production remakes of other Korean films such as Train to Busan.
Spiritwalker will be available in the United States through the streaming service Hi-Yah!, which focuses on streaming martial arts and Asian action movies. The streaming service is currently available on Apple devices, Roku, Android, Fire TV, and Chromecast. The film will be premiering for streaming on March 18th and will afterward be available on Digital, Blu-ray, and DVD on April 12th.
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About The Author
Caroline Miller
(95 Articles Published)
Caroline is a longtime admirer of film, music and the arts. She’s been giving movie opinions online (warranted or not) for over a decade, and putting those thoughts to Movieweb since early 2021.
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