'The Price of Confession' Netflix Review: Kim Go-Eun Starrer Is an Absolute Knockout 

Korean thrillers are often moving and bring to the table a lot of unique storytelling despite their reliance on age-old tropes. The Price of Confession is one such show. Sure, it’s like a regular procedural, but it’s also deeply twisted and feels fresh. It tells the story of two women, both in prison, both for murder. One claims she didn’t kill her husband, while the other admits to her crime of murdering a couple with no remorse. But when they meet in prison, the latter gives the former an offer she cannot refuse: I will make a false confession for you, but you’ll have to commit a real murder for me. I know, it’s a deeply intriguing premise right from the get-go, and the way the murder of the husband is reenacted multiple times will certainly leave you wondering if she actually did it. This is a twisted tale of revenge, sisterhood, friendship, power, and so much more. 

On the surface, The Price of Confession may seem like a regular thriller about innocence and guilt and the judicial system just doing their job, but underneath, it’s a layered show about women, and you can genuinely feel that. Probably why it’s got such a goated cast, eh? The show might feel a little slow in pacing because of its twisted storyline, and I can understand if you feel like it drags on a little bit and might’ve done better in a tighter 10-episode series, but let me be real with you, it’s still worth your time. Yun-Su and Mo Eun are misunderstood characters, and we’re not trying to figure out why they murdered people as much as what pushed Eun to connect with Yun-Su of all people. It’s a commentary about the biases we feel towards certain women, and how when we get fixated on one thing, it’s hard for us to get out of that mindset. 

Jeon Do-Yeon makes a return to the thriller genre with Netflix after Kill Boksoon. To be honest, that film felt too unoriginal and a little bit too made-up to me. In this show, she gives a much more muted performance that demands subtlety, and the whole thing leaves you confused what’s real and what’s not. Yun-Su might not be a character everyone likes, but one thing is for sure: you’re somehow going to end up siding with her. Meanwhile, Kim Go-Eun never fails to showcase her skills despite having been absolutely booked lately! Honestly, how many shows and films has this woman been in this year? But you’ll never be able to tell because her skills shine every time. Kim Go-Eun has a magnetism that makes you pay attention to her, and this short haircut and psychopathic manner genuinely make you afraid of her. I don’t know what it is with K-dramas lately trying to give us multiple fem-psychopaths to look up to (I’m only joking, of course). 

But I have to talk about Park Hae-Soo, who plays a prosecutor in The Price of Confession. The actor is a veteran by now, but for some reason I always find him in roles that are more expressive, while this role is absolutely muted in comparison. I genuinely found myself quite annoyed by him, and you’ll find out why when you watch the show. I think he’s the perfect mix of subtle and enthusiastic to counter the strong energy of the two leading women. What I mean by this is, it’s their show for sure, but he still manages to hold his own. The rest of the cast is pretty great too, and I have no complaints in terms of how the show has been acted out. 

Visually, The Price of Confession does feel like any other winter thriller K-drama. The color grading did remind me a little bit (emphasis on the little) of Decision To Leave, very specifically in the moments in the interrogation rooms, but nothing else. I think it’s directed well, and though it’s slow in its pacing, it does hook you to the story anyway. I’m not going to lie, I was desperate to get more answers right until the final episode. However, you might be a little bit disappointed by the ending because it’s a curveball that you just can’t see coming. This is not to say it’s a good twist; it’s just something that feels like it was added on later rather than planned around early, if you know what I mean. 

Still, there’s a sense of distress and an unnerving energy throughout the show that makes it genuinely interesting to watch. If not for anything else, just the performances are good enough for you to watch this show, but this is not me saying the story is actually crap. I think with a few small tweaks, this could’ve been one of the best thrillers we saw this year, but there are some minor issues that hold it back a little bit. I also think this is one of those shows that benefits from a single-day release rather than 2 episodes a week. Over the last month we’ve seen 3 thriller dramas, including this one. Dear X and The Manipulated ended last week, leaving a perfectly thriller-sized hole for this show to fill. It’s perfectly different enough from the other two, while still having enough common elements to make up for what you might be missing. 

At the end of the day, this is a show that continues to raise tension from start to finish. While it might feel a little slow at the beginning, the last act will surely keep you hooked. It’s 100% worth bingeing, despite the pacing issues. I do think this is a K-drama that largely relies on and benefits from the acting rather than the direction. If you’re in any way interested in Korean thrillers, then I would recommend this show in the blink of an eye. Despite its flaws, it’s amusing and has some interesting undertones that are worth talking about. With that said, I’d give The Price of Confession 3.5 out of 5 stars.