Bloody Reunion

Lore & Background

The film follows Detective Ma as he investigates a mass murder at the residence of Ms. Park, a teacher. Five people are killed, with two survivors: Ms. Park and her caretaker, Mi-Ja. Mi-Ja recounts to Ma that she organized a class reunion with Ms. Park's former students—Se-Ho, Eun-Young, Dal-Bong, Sun-Hee, Myung-Ho, and Jung-Won—each of whom resented Ms. Park for past mistreatment. The reunion descends into violence as a bunny-masked figure kills the students one by one. The bunny-masked figure is ultimately revealed to be Mi-Ja herself, the daughter of a former student, not Jung-Won.

Reader's Guide

Bloody Reunion is notable as a South Korean entry in the slasher subgenre, exploring themes of childhood trauma and revenge. The film's twist reveals that the caretaker Mi-Ja is actually Jung-Won, a former student who fabricated her identity and story to the police. The narrative subverts expectations by showing that the supposed male student Jung-Won is female, and that she orchestrated the murders to avenge her mother's death and her own suffering at Ms. Park's hands. The film ends ambiguously, with Jung-Won committing suicide and Ms. Park implied to have done the same.

Did You Know?

• The bunny-masked figure is revealed to be Mi-Ja, the caretaker, who is the daughter of a former student, not Jung-Won.
• Detective Ma finds Jung-Won's mother's decaying corpse in an apartment, along with women's clothing and articles about the success of Ms. Park's ex-students.
• The film does not end with Ms. Park's wheelchair on a pier implying suicide; the final scene shows Detective Ma finding Ms.