A disaster thriller set during the course of a single night, ‘Talchul: Project Silence’ follows Cha Jung-Won (Lee Sun-kyun) and his daughter Cha Kyung-Min (Kim Su-an) as they drive to the airport, as Kyung-Min is due to attend university abroad. At the same time, a military convoy carrying ‘Project Silence’ experiment subjects crosses the same bridge. A series of collisions due to a very heavy fog, and subsequent explosions set loose the convoy cargo, leaving those trapped on the collapsing bridge to try to escape the dire situation.
Quickly setting up the main character Jung-Won, presidential candidate aid and Deputy Security Director, the film wastes no time in highlighting his utilitarian traits during a cabinet office meeting, cementing him as one who approaches emergency situations with the human cost as secondary. Further exploring his family life, tensions run high at home as Kyung-Min prepares to leave home for university abroad. Both facing the challenge of having lost a wife and mother, the two remain uneasy around each other as the evening progresses.
Approaching the airport bridge, the film introduces a slew of supporting characters quickly marked by their surface level traits. Quirky and flaky gas station attendant and tow truck driver Jo Park (Ju Ji-hoon) assists Jung-Won, but is denied payment as Jung-Won feels he’s trying to rip him off, forcing the attendant to chase after them on the bridge. A professional golf player and her manager are also introduced as they bicker at the airport and cross paths with an elderly couple. All of these characters form part of a group that seem to be inserted into the film to serve a singular purpose and their personas are not explored beyond their utility to drive the plot forward.
The disaster story is set up in a unique and enticing manner, presenting a seemingly inescapable situation from which the characters must try to get out. With one thing going wrong after the other, the film succeeds in developing a truly nail-biting experience. As the characters firs venture through the fog, then get into a multiple collision pile up, are trapped on the collapsing bridge on one side and a tanker bleeding poisonous gas in the air on the other, the release of the ‘Project Silence’ bloodthirsty hounds completes the perfect storm of suspense and terror.
One of the major strengths of the film are the visual effects. With the hounds rendered to contemporary perfection, the misty setting creates for a truly immersive and tense experience. With the dogs chasing down their victims and operating under cover of the night, the movie delivers an enthralling and petrifying ordeal.
One of the major shortcomings of the feature are its characters. With one-dimensional and underdeveloped secondary players, the story fails to shine through Lee Sun-kyun’s Jung-Won. Set up as a straitlaced bureaucrat suffering disdain towards common civilians, the frequent reminder of his contempt for others well being sets the character on a singular path of discovering how wrong his views are. With a predictable arc of gaining respect for the value of other people’s lives, ‘Project Silence’ fails to amount to an exciting or surprising revelation of character development.
Lacking on a few fronts in terms of drama and character growth, ‘Project Silence’ goes all out when it comes to creating a disastrous setting and a tense mood. Shooting high in terms of scares and thrills, the film delivers a handful of agitating sequences, creating enough of a distraction from its weakest points, leading to an exciting viewing experience if nothing else.
Score: 2/4
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