Loner (Korean: 외톨이; RR: Wetoli; aka Orphaned or Hikikomori) is a 2008 South Korean film. The debut feature by director Park Jae-sik, Loner is a horror film about hikikomori, the phenomenon of reclusive individuals who have chosen to withdraw from social life.
Plot[]
Jeong Soo-na (Go Eun-ah) is a 17-year-old high school student who lives with her uncle, Se-jin and grandmother in a large mansion. Her bullied best friend, Lee Han-jeong is subjected to a cruel public prank that pushes her to commit suicide. Affected by this, Soo-na becomes agoraphobic. Han-jeong's bully arrives to apologize, only to find Han-jeong's dead body littered with blood and vermin. The news drives Soo-na over the edge, while Han-jeong's bully commits suicide from the trauma of what she has caused.
Soo-na's withdrawal from society affects her family. It's made worse when Se-jin's old flame, Han Song-i, meets with Se-jin, only to be followed and beaten by Soo-na's grandmother, who refuses to let her see Soo-na. During dinner, Soo-na, in a trance, recounts a story to Se-jin's fiancée, Choi Yoon-mi (Chae Min-seo), that implies that Se-jin is actually her father, not her uncle, and Song-i is her mother, and that the two were involved in a teacher-student romance until Se-jin abandoned her. Song-i then married a man who abused her every day. Yoon-mi is furious when Se-jin avoids her questions and states that she will not talk to him unless he explains.
Soo-na's condition worsens, with vermin starting to appear on her body. When the housemaid enters Soo-na's room, she is knocked out and fitted inside a barrel with the corpse of the Jeong's dog. Soo-na's grandmother attempts to reach Soo-na's room by a ladder but Soo-na kicks it, breaking her grandmother's back. That night, a figure makes her kill her grandmother.
Song-i is found dead on the railway. Upon hearing this, Se-jin talks to Soo-na through her bedroom door, stating that he left Song-i not because he stopped loving her, but because she was already married by the time he was discharged from the army. When Se-jin falls asleep later, Soo-na observes her mother's spirit fondling him. Yoon-mi learns that Se-jin and Song-i have a second daughter, Kim Mi-jeong, who lives with her mother. She quickly goes to Se-jin's mansion, where Se-jin is about to commit suicide until he sees what appears to be Soo-na. He is knocked out and upon waking, discovers Yoon-mi motionless in Soo-na's bed. He sees Soo-na about to jump, only to realize that she is not Soo-na; she is actually Mi-jeong. Mi-jeong jumps and dies from impalement.
Soo-na is transferred to a mental facility, where she admits to letting Mi-jeong plot against their father and grandmother, since Mi-jeong, who had to live in an abusive family life with her stepfather, was jealous of Soo-na's happy life with her father. Se-jin learns that Mi-jeong was the one with Soo-na in her room, and was the one who had committed all the murders and horrible things in their house. The film ends with Se-jin piercing a knife to his table as vermin covers him, indicating that he is becoming agoraphobic.