Byun Yo-han Plays a Shaman, Ahn Jae-hong a Skeptic Lawyer in New Horror Film 'Son Eomneun Nal'

Byun Yo-han and Ahn Jae-hong have wrapped filming on the mystery thriller Son Eomneun Nal (literally "a day with no evil spirits"), with investor CGV Pictures confirming the shoot's completion on August 11. The first-look stills released alongside the announcement show a calendar with a single date circled in red, an image that sets the film's eerie, folklore-tinged atmosphere neatly before a single frame of footage has been seen.

The premise leans into a classic Korean superstition: son eomneun nal refers to days believed to be free of wandering spirits, traditionally considered the most auspicious time to move into a new home. The film follows Woo-jin (Ahn Jae-hong), a pragmatic lawyer who trusts only what he can see, as his wife Hee-yeon (Ha Yoon-kyung) begins showing disturbing signs in the days before their move. Desperate for answers, he's drawn to Tae-ju (Byun Yo-han), a gifted shaman and apprentice to a master mudang. What unfolds is a single day's worth of events that tests every one of Woo-jin's rational convictions.

The casting sets up an immediate dramatic tension: Byun Yo-han, best known for intense, morally complex roles in Six Flying Dragons and Melo Is My Nature, takes on a spiritual practitioner, while Ahn Jae-hong plays the grounded skeptic who can't afford to stay skeptical. It's the kind of opposites-collide pairing that Korean genre films tend to do well with, and the fact that their conflict plays out over a compressed single-day timeline gives the story a pressurized, almost theatrical shape.

Behind the camera is director Heo Jung, whose previous features speak directly to what this film is going for. His 2013 thriller Hide and Seek built dread out of ordinary domestic spaces and became one of the higher-profile Korean horror releases of that year. His 2017 follow-up Jangsan Tiger drew on regional legend to similar effect. Son Eomneun Nal looks like a natural continuation of his interest in the fear that lives just beneath the surface of everyday Korean life.

All three leads spoke warmly about the production after the shoot concluded. Byun Yo-han said the script sparked a genuine sense of challenge for him as an actor, and expressed hope that audiences would find the film emotionally varied rather than one-note. Ahn Jae-hong described the set as intense and fast-moving, noting that the full crew's collective energy felt present in the work throughout filming. Ha Yoon-kyung, who plays Hee-yeon as both a devoted wife and the unsettling origin point of the film's central mystery, said she expects it to be a project that stays with people.

Son Eomneun Nal is now in post-production, with a theatrical release date to be announced.