South Korean independent film “Hail to Hell” surprised me more than once for good reasons. As following two young outcasts’ silly attempt of personal revenge, the movie generates a number of sharply humorous moments for us, and then it goes further than expected before somehow pulling off some genuine hope and optimism for both of them around the end of their bumpy journey.

After the opening scene which dryly but painfully shows one very cruel incident of school bullying, the movie subsequently establishes how things have been quite miserable for Na-mi (Oh Woo-ri) and Seon-woo (Bang Hyo-rin), two female high school students living in a local city outside Seoul. So sick and tired of being bullied and ignored all the time, both of them decide to kill themselves together, but then, right before they try to kill themselves, Seon-woo tells Na-mi that Chae-rin (Jung Yi-ju), a mean girl mainly responsible for their ongoing misery, seems to be living pretty well after moving to Seoul some time ago. Quite furious about this, Na-mi changes her mind at the last minute, and she and Seon-woo soon leave for Seoul for having their revenge on Chae-rin before eventually committing suicide.

Not long after arriving in Seoul, Na-mi and Seon-woo luckily locate where Chae-rin is currently living, but they are caught off guard by how much Chae-rin seems different than before. As a member of some small Christian community, Chae-rin has devoted herself to the Christian faith along with several other members, and she is actually happy to see Na-mi and Seon-woo again because she needs their forgiveness for her, uh, spiritual salvation.

Naturally, both Na-mi and Seon-woo are all the more flabbergasted by this unbelievable change of Chae-rin. Sure, they are still willing to make Chae-rin miserable as much as possible, but Chae-rin looks very eager to accept anything from them in the name of forgiveness, and Na-mi and Seon-woo become more confused about what to do next, while also finding themselves stuck more with Chae-rin’s Christian community during next several days.

In the meantime, as many of you have probably guessed already, the situation gradually turns out to be more serious than both Na-mi and Seon-woo expected at first. While they are cordially accepted as guests by Chae-rin and her fellow Christian community members, Na-min and Seon-woo come to see more of how weird and disturbing this Christian community looks. As your average agnostic atheist, I do not know much about Christians in South Korea, but I have heard about some loony Christian communities out there, and what is shown in the film is not so far from what I heard about.

Maybe Na-mi and Seon-woo can just choose to give up and then leave, but, to our little amusement, they keep hesitating while not so sure about what is going on around them – and whether Chae-rin is really changed as she often claims in front of them and others. At one point, Na-mi tries to corner Chae-rin more, but Chae-rin does not seem to be perturbed at all even at this point, and that accordingly makes Na-mi less willing to execute the revenge than before. After all, what is the point of revenge if the figure in question is quite ready to be punished?

Around the narrative point where Na-mi and Seon-woo come upon some secret hidden behind Chae-rin’s Christian community (Is this a spoiler?), director/writer Lim Oh-jeong’s screenplay shifts itself onto horror/thriller mode, but the movie still does not lose any of its dark sense of humor while bringing more human complexity to its main characters. As their situation becomes quite tricky, Na-mi and Seon-woo also come to conflict a lot with each other, and we come to learn that their relationship is a bit more complicated than expected behind their common hate toward Chae-rin, who subsequently turns out to have a fair share of desperation behind her seemingly gentle and peaceful façade.

Na-mi and Seon-woo are often pathetic to say the least as they clumsily reach for their vengeance, but they are illustrated with an ample amount of life and personality. While they have just stuck together under their shared misery, Na-mi and Seon-woo come to find solace and solidarity from each other as going through their quest for revenge, and that is the main reason why the final act of the movie works splendidly in addition to being balanced well between comedy and thriller.

The wonderful comic performances from the two lead performers of the film flawlessly complement each other throughout the film. While Oh Woo-ri is relatively more direct and forthright, Bang Hyo-rin quietly but ably holds the ground for her co-star’s showier acting, and we surely get lots of small but solid laughs as observing how their characters push and pull each other along the story. As another crucial part of the story, Jung Yi-ju is equally terrific in the constant ambiguity of her character, and Park Sung-hoon, Lee Joo-woon, and Lee Sun-hee are also effective in their respective supporting parts.

On the whole, “Hail to Hell” is another highlight in South Korean independent cinema during this year, and Lim, who previously made several acclaimed short films before making a feature film debut her, shows that she is another interesting South Korean filmmaker to watch. While Na-mi and Seon-woo are not exactly likable even at the end of the story, I found myself rooting for them more than expected as observing how they feel a bit better about themselves and their life in a way to be appreciated by Friedrich Nietzsche, and that is quite an achievement to say the least.