Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Battlefield 6 Classes - Support trailer image

    Battlefield 6 Really Wants You To Play Support (But Knows You Won’t)

    07/31/2025
    Battlefield 6 Multiplayer Reveal promotional image

    Battlefield 6 Classes, Maps, And More: Everything You Need To Know

    07/31/2025
    A glimpse at all the upcoming Star Wars stories coming to the galaxy

    Star Wars Stories: What We Learned At SDCC 2025

    07/25/2025
    Blindspot episode still

    It’s been 5 years since ‘Blindspot’ ended. Why haven’t you watched it yet?

    07/24/2025
    Strange Scaffold

    Strange Scaffold Summer Showcase Delivers Bizarre And Brilliant Games

    07/22/2025
  • Fantasia Festival
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Switch 2 Games
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » REVIEW: ‘The Old Woman With The Knife’ Cuts Deep

REVIEW: ‘The Old Woman With The Knife’ Cuts Deep

Sarah MusnickyBy Sarah Musnicky05/13/20254 Mins Read
Lee Hye-young in The Old Woman With The Knife
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

The Old Woman With The Knife presents a different take on the familiar. Based on Gu Byeong-mo’s novel of the same name, the film wastes little time thrusting us into the fraught, action-packed world the titular old woman lives in. While the aging hitman trope is nothing new, Lee Hye-young’s Hornclaw is refreshing in the frankness of her existence onscreen. With death always around every corner, the constant uphill battles she faces make The Old Woman With The Knife hard to look away from.

Hornclaw (Lee Hye-young) is reminded of her mortality everywhere she turns. From her bodily tremors to her weakening strength, the day she finally meets her end seems to be rapidly approaching. And the people around her almost relish the idea of her departure. This looms into focus with the arrival of the reckless newcomer Bullfight (Kim Sung-cheol), who seems bent on challenging her at every turn. In an industry that cannot afford weakness, Hornclaw is running out of time to hide hers.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Unfortunately, a stranger’s (Yeon Woo-jin) kindness awakens memories and a strange vulnerability in the woman she had long since denied. This weakness is easily exploited, painting a larger target on her person and those around her. As the vultures start to home in, events spur Hornclaw closer to the edge. It is a race against time to not only save herself but also confront the consequences of her life choices.

The Old Woman With The Knife attacks the idea of aging head-on.

Lee Hye-young in The Old Woman With The Knife

Aging is a sin none of us can escape. It disables the body, easily rendering us less useful to society. Everywhere Hornclaw turns, this message is inescapable in the comments made by characters throughout the film. While none too subtle in delivery or execution, the point is clear. Hornclaw is outliving her usefulness, and it is only a matter of time before she messes up. All possibilities lead to death.

The Old Woman With The Knife embraces this in its writing, with the script constantly teasing when the titular woman may get hers. As the noose draws tighter around Hornclaw’s potential end, so does the anxiety induced by the actions onscreen. Through Lee Hye-young’s performance, none of us can dare look away. To look away would do a disservice to the compelling, fully realized character fighting her way into relevance.

Hye-young’s performance sells the image of resiliency. The physical body tremors she embodies in even the most stagnant moments are constant. They remind us that the fight never ends. If she’s not fighting the enemy outside her home, she’s fighting it internally and not winning the fight anytime soon. Throw in the fact that we seldom see visibly older women as assassin-type characters, particularly in unglamorous attire, and what Hye-young is achieving here is weirdly revolutionary. It really shouldn’t be, but it is.

Mortality manifests itself in many ways, including as Kim Sung-cheol’s Bullfight.

Lee Hye-young and Kim Sung-cheol in The Old Woman With The Knife

Yet, Hornclaw carries on, even if some of the most excruciating to watch fighting scenes. The choreography is designed to show the woman’s skill, but it’s clear she’s not at the top of her game. It makes it all the more believable that the young upstarts surrounding her in the community question this character’s legendary status at every turn. But Hornclaw is used to those underestimating her, including the newcomer Bullfight.

Bullfight is a looming harbinger of Death throughout The Old Woman With The Knife. Ever patient and watchful, he is never far from Hornclaw’s side. While the character remains an enigma until the film’s final act, Kim Sung-cheol radiates a natural charisma and danger that belies the killer within. This magnetism has become a staple for the actor over the years, but it conveys much even when he’s left to stare stoically from afar.

This cat-and-mouse game between Hornclaw and Bullfight is compelling enough. The addition of flashbacks to Hornclaw’s past, coupled with her present physical conflicts, creates an undeniably fascinating protagonist. One can almost forgive the mostly bland stranger that Hornclaw finds herself drawn to. When the flashbacks fill in the gaps of her reasoning, it strangely comes together. However, the stranger likely could have been anyone, given how generally forgettable the character is.

The idea of an aging hitperson is nothing new in the action genre. Yet, in The Old Woman With The Knife breathes fresh air into the familiar with Lee Hye-young’s Hornclaw. Every ounce of her struggle to survive reverberates off the screen, and her internal and external struggles prove compelling enough to hook even the most coldhearted. It’s a must-watch.

The Old Woman With The Knife opens in theaters across the US and Canada May 16, 2025.

The Old Woman With The Knife
  • 8/10
    Rating - 8/10
8/10

TL;DR

The Old Woman With The Knife breathes fresh air into the familiar with Lee Hye-young’s Hornclaw, and leaves us unable to look away.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘Nonna’s’ Captures The Importance Of Feeding Grief
Next Article Vacation Gets Wrecked in New Nobody 2 Trailer
Sarah Musnicky

Sarah is a writer and editor for BWT. When she's not busy writing about KDramas, she's likely talking to her cat. She's also a Rotten Tomatoes Certified critic and a published author of both fiction and non-fiction.

Related Posts

Simon in An Honest Life But Why Tho
3.5

REVIEW: ‘An Honest Life’ Is Terribly Dishonest About Its Own Politics

08/02/2025
Brandon Routh and co in Ick
9.0

REVIEW: ‘Ick’ Is A Near Perfect Horror-Comedy

07/29/2025
Bad Bunny and Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore 2
5.0

REVIEW: ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ Earns More Shrugs Than Laughs

07/29/2025
Hi-Five
6.5

FANTASIA 2025: ‘Hi-Five’ Introduces A Scrappy, Superpowered Team Up

07/28/2025
Still from Haunted Mountains The Yellow Taboo
5.5

FANTASIA 2025: ‘Haunted Mountains: The Yellow Taboo’ Gets A Little Lost In The Weeds

07/26/2025
Dakota Gorman in HELLCAT
6.5

FANTASIA 2025: ‘HELLCAT’ Runs High In Tension But Loses Steam

07/25/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Wildgate promotional key art
9.0
PC

REVIEW: ‘Wildgate’ Is Co-Op Space Mayhem Done Right

By Adrian Ruiz07/25/2025Updated:07/30/2025

Built for friends and tuned for competition, Wildgate is messy in the best way: smart, surprising, and bursting with room to grow.

Simon in An Honest Life But Why Tho
3.5
Film

REVIEW: ‘An Honest Life’ Is Terribly Dishonest About Its Own Politics

By Jason Flatt08/02/2025

An Honest Life is an overly severe misfire about a law student who falls in with anarchist burglars that can’t decide who it resents more.

Glass Heart
7.0
TV

REVIEW: ‘Glass Heart’ Offers Messy, Musical Catharsis

By Allyson Johnson07/22/2025

The musical drama series ‘Glass Heart’ soars when it focuses on the epic performances of it’s fictional band, TENBLANK.

World of Warcraft The War Within Ghosts of Karesh But Why Tho Interviews

‘The War Within’ Patch 11.2 Addresses Raid Trash, Magic-Focused Comps, And More

By Mick Abrahamson07/31/2025Updated:07/31/2025

WoW Sr. Producer and Asst. Lead Quest Designer address The War Within 11.2’s Manaforge Omega, Reshii Wrap rewards, and Mythic+ balancing.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here