The fourth collaborative effort between Lee Sung-min and Lee Hee-joon, “Handsome Guys,” can best be described as one directorial debut catalyzing another. Adapted from the 2010 comedy-horror feature debut “Tucker & Dale vs. Evil,” it’s the kind of conventionally slapstick dramedy where the simplistic American comedy tropes are transparent. The silly self-awareness, cosmetic treatment of bullied and female characters, and the recycling of the same jokes are glaring. Even the aesthetic choice of an “English home” planted in the Korean countryside feels oddly derivative.
That said, director Nam Dong-hyeop still makes good on Handsome Guys’ stance as a remake. Watching it fresh, without prior knowledge of the original, turns out to be surprisingly rewarding. The setting, the signature Asian loudness, and the brash cuteness of its leading duo in a buddy-comedy dynamic feel flavorful and rooted. Despite its simplistic plotting, the way it offsets the presence of a malevolent spirit with belief systems collapsing under a lack of common sense proves strikingly convincing.
As the chain of accidents spirals into apocalyptic stakes, “Handsome Guys” (Original title: Haenseomgaijeu, 2025)—despite indulging in easy, simplistic beats—works as a reasonably adequate mainstream diversion, bending itself to its own sensibilities. Here is an attempt to explain it to you.
Handsome Guys (Haenseomgaijeu, 2025) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
Before the title card, the film opens with a news clip reporting the unexpected death of golf star Lee Seong-Bin and most of his close friends. According to survivor testimonials, the murders were committed by Jae-pil and Sang-goo, two eccentric men.
What happens to a black goat?
Almost four-and-a-half days earlier, Mi-na is taken by her friend Bo-ra to hang out with her group, including Lee Seong-Bin and his gang of boys. At a supermarket, they come across Kang Jae-pil and Park Sang-goo—two massive, intimidating men shopping with their puppy. They look like potential criminals. Spooked, the group flees and rushes back to their car. In a moment of erratic driving, Byeong-Joo—the group’s eternally bullied driver—accidentally runs over and kills a black goat. Horrified, they drive off.
What does Seong-Bin tell Mi-na?
Shortly after, Jae-pil and Sang-goo drive past in their truck. They are soon revealed to be well-meaning but socially awkward men, constantly misunderstood. They spot the dead goat, pick it up, and place it in their truck to bury later. At this moment, two suspicious police officers—Chief Choi and Nam Dong-yoon—confront them. Jae-pil and Sang-goo explain that they’ve arrived in the village after buying the abandoned Baker residence in the forest. Satisfied, the cops let them go. Upon arrival, the real estate broker explains that the oddly Western-style house was once a tribute by the villagers to a Christian pastor who lived there.
Jae-pil is furious upon seeing the state of the house—doors broken, thick dust everywhere, and wooden fixtures either rotting or collapsing. But Sang-goo, driven by childlike innocence, remains overly excited. They bury the goat in the backyard. Soon after, they discover a basement with two bizarre things: a heavy pistol loaded with silver bullets (which they plan to return to its rightful owner), and a mysterious star etched into the wooden floor. Meanwhile, Mi-na starts blending in with Seong-Bin’s group.
He seems to take a liking to her. That night, he tells her a ghost story about the area. He describes a village girl who began crawling on all fours. A Western pastor tried to exorcise her, and during the process, she revealed herself to be Baphomet—a demonic goat figure. During the exorcism, the cross on her forehead injured a young Korean priest named Yohan and killed Seong-Bin’s granduncle. Seong-Bin also shows Mi-na a talisman given to him by his father, worth ten thousand dollars—a strange yellow paper with odd symbols.
What happens after Mi-na overhears Seong-Bin?
Later, while Mi-na steps away briefly, Seong-Bin privately tells a friend his true motive: to mess around with her before leaving for the U.S. He also complains that Bo-ra never brings him “the good ones.” Mi-na overhears this and storms off to find Bo-ra, calling her by the pond. Bo-ra, busy having sex with Jason, doesn’t respond. Mi-na slips into the pond and nearly drowns. Jae-pil jumps in to save her. As Sang-goo tries to give her mouth-to-mouth, she regains consciousness, screams in fear, runs away, and hits her head, knocking herself out. In panic, the two men take her to their house. Bo-ra and Jason witness this from afar.
What is Seong-Bin’s main concern?
Meanwhile, Seong-Bin panics—Mi-na had his phone in the jacket he gave her. It contains MMS clips and footage of him getting high. Seong-Bin gathers the group—Bo-ra, Jason, and the rest—and sets out to find her.
How do Bo-ra and Byeong-Joo die?
Elsewhere, Byeong-Joo returns to retrieve their car. There, he’s confronted by the same black goat they had run over. It leaps into the car, becomes animated, calls him a loser, and traumatizes him. Back at the forest property, Mi-na initially panics upon waking up in the company of two scary-looking middle-aged men. But after sensing their genuine warmth and good intentions, she slowly warms to them. Yong-jun, convinced Mi-na has Stockholm Syndrome, tries to kill Jae-pil, who’s chopping wood. As Jae-pil cuts into a log, a swarm of wasps emerges. Panicked, he runs with the chainsaw still in hand, frightening the approaching group. A wasp knocks a branch from a tree, which impales Bo-ra’s chest—killing her instantly.
The others find her body and assume Jae-pil and Sang-goo are murderers. Jason wants revenge for Bo-ra’s death, and Seong-Bin wants his phone back. They storm the property. During the chaos, Yong-jun falls on a pile of nails Mi-na had hammered into a board for fun. Seong-Bin gets electrocuted and passes out. Jason, attempting to sneak up behind Jae-pil, accidentally jumps into the wood chipper and gets shredded like tomato sauce. Mi-na faints in horror.
Byeong-Joo, now completely deranged, stops Chief Choi and Nam Dong-yoon during their patrol, ranting about the goat. They accompany him to Baker’s residence and discover the bodies. Seong-Bin wakes up, filled with rage and determined to destroy Jae-pil and Sang-goo. But the police officers restrain him and crash into the house. Jae-pil and Sang-goo are about to confess when Choi becomes aggressive. A broken column crashes onto him, severely injuring him. As he limps out, a loose nail pierces his skull, killing him. Nam Dong-yoon’s pants catch fire, and Sang-goo, panicking, throws thinner instead of water—igniting him further.
Seong-Bin and Byeong-Joo then kidnap the puppy, Bonggu. In retaliation, Sang-goo throws nails at them. They flee into the forest and capture Jae-pil, tying him to a tree. Mi-na and Sang-goo track them down. Mi-na pleads with Seong-Bin, trying to explain that the two men are innocent. Seong-Bin snaps, calling her a delusional loser and admitting he only wanted his phone back. Byeong-Joo grabs the phone and bolts—only to be chased by a now-demonic Bo-ra, reborn as the goat.
Meanwhile, Yohan—the priest—wakes from his coma. He opens an old book given to him by Baker, which foretells Baphomet’s resurrection 66 years later and the killing of the goat by five youths. He sets off for the house. In the forest, Bo-ra kills Byeong-Joo, turning him into another demonic goat. Back at the house, Mi-na, Jae-pil, Sang-goo, and Seong-Bin barricade the doors. But Byeong-Joo bursts in and attacks Seong-Bin. The two fall into the basement, landing on the star symbol, which lights up—reviving Baphomet and possessing Seong-Bin’s corpse. Nam Dong-yoon, still conscious, hides in terror.
Handsome Guys (Haenseomgaijeu, 2025) Movie Ending Explained:
What does Mi-na use to kill Baphomet?
Yohan finally arrives and confronts Baphomet. However, his shaky English fails him—he’s unaware that an exorcism requires a salt circle. Baphomet slaps him away and reanimates the corpses of Yong-jun and Chief Choi into zombies, who begin attacking Jae-pil and Sang-goo. Yohan tells Mi-na she must find Baker’s gun with the silver bullets—the only weapon that can kill Baphomet. As Jae-pil and Sang-goo distract the creature, Mi-na finds Bonggu and the ruined pistol.
The gun’s useless, but the silver bullet remains intact. She loads it into a drilling machine and drives it into Baphomet, killing it. As the beast dies, a demonic figure begins to rise, only to be grabbed by a giant divine hand and pulled back into the sky. In the present day, Jae-pil and Sang-goo are released due to the lack of evidence. In Baker’s book, it is revealed that three angels of God would appear to destroy Baphomet. Strangely enough, the illustrations resemble Jae-pil, Sang-goo, and Mi-na.
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