Sinkhole (2021) (DVD) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3

As can perhaps be expected with the unbeatable trio of Kim Sung Kyun, Cha Seung Won and Lee Kwang Soo in the mix, Sinkhole has a hardy sense of humor. Though disaster films aren't usually the place for laughs, this film effectively fits comedy into their absurd situation. Kim Sung Kyun plays a hardworking salaryman who finally buys a home for his family after years of saving up, but he soon gets into a feud with his inconsiderate neighbor, played to annoying perfection by Cha Seung Won. Just an entire film of their feud would already make a quality comedy. Both fathers first, they set aside their differences to confront the disaster together, while still getting some amusing squabbles in there. Lee Kwang Soo continues his humorously unfortunate persona as Kim Sung Kyun's colleague who came over for a housewarming and ended up in a sinkhole.

While Sinkhole begins as a comedy, tension and emotions take over in the latter half as lives are risked and the severity of the predicament escalates. Director Kim Ji Hoon has taken on large-scale special effects and life-threatening situations in previous films like The Tower and Sector 7, but Sinkhole hits differently with its lighter initial tone and relatable characters. The believable ensemble of hapless ordinary people, who rise to the occasion to save each other, earns the film's inevitable emotional climaxes and moving sacrifices. Sinkhole is a disaster film that makes you laugh at the start and teary-eyed at the end.