People living lonesome lives. How empty and fragile are the lives of those disconnected from the world, not even knowing the names of their immediate neighbours? All in the name of a busy routine and daily struggle in life?

Director JUNG Bum-shik’s new feature film <New Normal> arrives four years after his hit <GONJIAM: Haunted Asylum>, which is said to have opened a new chapter of Korean horror films. <New Normal> tells eerie and solitary narratives reflecting the isolation and exhaustion in the ‘Hon-Bab'(eating alone) era, which has become a norm.

While his debut film, <Epitaph>, captured four days in old Seoul in 1942 during the turbulent era of Japanese colonial occupation, <New Normal> captures another four days of Seoul in 2022 – another time of upheaval unlike any that has been experienced before. Depicting unexpected risks and hidden dangers from everyday settings, <New Normal> is a horror film for modern-day audiences.

Adding to the tension is stellar casts such as CHOI Ji-woo, LEE Yoo-mi, CHOI Min-ho, PYO Ji-hoon, JUNG Dong-won, and HA Da-in, who deliver performances as ordinary persons only amplify the film’s sense of dread.