It’s hard for me to watch movies where decent, hardworking people are mercilessly crushed by the system. But that’s exactly where we find ourselves in THE HOUSEMAID, a slow burning South Korean film from director Im Sang-soo that’s not really a thriller or a horror film, but it’s disturbing as hell for anyone looking for something a little different.

Eun-yi (Jeon Do-yeon) takes a job as a housemaid for a wealthy family. Her responsibilities include caring for the family’s young daughter, Nami (Ahn Seo-hyun), and helping look after her pregnant mother, Hae-ra (Seo Woo). The household is overseen by the experienced housekeeper Byeong-sik (Youn Yuh-jung), who knows all too well how things work in this home. The head of the family is Hoon (Lee Jung-jae), a wealthy businessman who seems to always get whatever he wants. In this case, he wants a sexual relationship with Eun-yi, setting in motion a chain of events that will show just how ugly preserving wealth and privilege can be.

One of the hardest things to watch in the film is how the family reacts when they find out that Eun-yi is pregnant with Hoon’s child. Nobody confronts Hoon or asks him to take responsibility for his actions. They actually do the opposite by concealing it from him. First, they try to kill her by setting up a household “accident.” When she survives that, they offer her money to get an abortion and just go away. When she won’t take the money, they poison her. They just want the problem to disappear, by any means necessary. Hae-ra’s mother, Mi-hee (Park Ji-young), is a particularly nasty villainess who’s determined to protect the family’s reputation and lifestyle, even if it means taking another woman’s life. Who needs a serial killer or Michael Myers when you can simply destroy someone, and without an ounce of remorse?!!

Jeon Do-yeon gives a good performance as Eun-yi, a woman whose initially cheerful and kind personality makes her increasingly difficult circumstances all the more heartbreaking to watch. Lee Jung-jae is smooth and self-assured as Hoon, a man who believes that his wealth and position mean that he doesn’t have to play by the normal rules of society. And Youn Yuh-jung is excellent as Byeong-sik, whose years of service have taught her to recognize the cruelty behind the family’s polished facade. She understands the system she works within, and she protects it “almost” to the bitter end. Interestingly, Youn would win an Oscar for her outstanding performance in the film MINARI back in 2020. She’s an incredible actress and I’m glad she got the international recognition she deserves.

For most of its runtime, THE HOUSEMAID is a psychological thriller with elements of erotic melodrama and social satire. The tension comes from watching the characters maneuver against one another and wondering just how much more abuse Eun-yi can endure before something finally gives. But as the film moves toward its final act, it becomes clear that being discarded as less than human has taken its toll, and she’s going to do something about that. The question is what can she do about it, and the answer is quite disturbing and will probably stick with me for a while.

THE HOUSEMAID is an unsettling film about privilege, exploitation, and the lengths people will go to protect their own interests. It’s not a horror film, but its story does prove that real people are likely to be far more frightening than a masked killer.