Alienoid

In the first timeline set in 1380 A.D., monk warriors attempt to defeat an alien and its human host but fail. Guard and Thunder, two humanoid robots, arrive and successfully extract the alien from its host. Before dying, the woman asks Guard to take care of her baby, but he explains that they can't interfere in human affairs. Guard and Thunder leave using The Crystal Knife, their power source.

Guard and Thunder return to their timeline, where they work to track and contain escaped aliens who possess human bodies. They raise the baby girl, Yian, without revealing their true identities. Yian discovers the truth and learns about the alien prisoners and their plan to awaken their leader, The Controller. Guard, Thunder, and Yian work together to stop The Controller, but he awakens and tries to release a substance called Haava to make Earth's atmosphere suitable for the aliens. Guard manages to reverse the release, but The Controller escapes.

Guard, Thunder, and Yian travel back in time due to a confrontation with The Controller. They crash-land, and Guard is severely injured. Yian is saved by a servant boy named Mureuk, who later becomes a bounty hunter. Mureuk encounters The Controller and unknowingly becomes his new host. Ten years later, Mureuk, now a magic learner, seeks a mystical knife called the Heavenly Knife. He meets Yian, who is now grown up and searching for the same knife to revive Thunder. They encounter various individuals, including The Dual Mages, Dogturd, and The Monk Guru, who are all connected to the aliens' plan to return to their home planet. The group battles the aliens and discovers Mureuk is the host of The Controller.

In the final showdown, Lee Ahn, Mureuk, The Dual Mages, and Yian fight against the aliens. Lee Ahn manages to lure one of the aliens away, while the other is defeated. It is revealed that Mureuk was the host of The Controller all along. The movie ends with Lee Ahn escaping her pursuer.

The film was shot as one but will be released in two sequential parts. Ryu Jun-yeol and Kim Tae-ri stars in both parts while So Ji-sub appears only in the first part.[20] Due to the complexity and the length of the narrative, Choi Dong-hoon spent two and half years writing the script, pre-production took a year and 13 months went to filming.[21] Choi revealed that while writing the script, he had specific actors in mind, and to his surprise, all of his envisioned stars accepted their roles.[22]

While Choi Dong-hoon was in charge of screenplay and direction, Jang Young-gyu and Kim Tae-kyung were in charge of music and cinematography respectively. Yoo Sang-seop and Ryu Seong-cheol served as martial arts directors. Two art directors, Ryu Seong-hee and Lee Ha-jun, participated in the project; Ryu in charge of Goryeo setting and Lee in charge of the present day. Dexter Studio was in charge of the CG.[23][24][25]

Filming began in March 2020.[26] Both first and second part were filmed simultaneously for 13 months. Filming concluded in April 2021.[27] Filming reportedly took place in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province.[28] Production cost of making the two parts was estimated to be 40 billion won.[29]

The film received a mixed reception from South Korean film critics; some praising the unique worldview Alienoid presented, while others pointing out the potential for confusion in terms of its characters and lore and the distraction caused by mixing too many different elements.[35] However, many audiences seemed to appreciate the director's attempt to create something new.[29] Alienoid was frequently compared with director Choi Dong-hoon's previous film Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard (2009) which deals with similar concepts of Taoists and time travel.[36]

Kim Soo-young in her review for Korea Economic Daily stated that despite it feels bit burdensome and awkward at the beginning to accept the vast worldview of two completely different times and spaces, each busy following the narrative within it, the story flows smoothly in the latter part, creating a strong sense of immersion.[37] Jo Hyun-na of Cine21 wrote that the characters, settings and production designs such as space ships lacked novelty, but praised the performance of actors.[38] Choi Young-joo writing for No Cut News praised the director for his ability to combine different genres calling it "a challenge that should be taken at least once" though it seems excessive at times.[39] My Daily's Kim Nara wrote that despite having powerful cast, the film didn't meet expectations of the audience, and the director Choi Dong-hoon's own distinct color which was shown in his previous works is rarely seen in Alienoid.[40] Won Jong-bin of Oh My News called the film "disappointing" in terms of film's rhythm, characters, narrative, and setting, but praised the performance of actors, especially those who played characters in Goryeo Dynasty.[36] Kim Boram writing for Yonhap News praised the performance of Ryu Jun-yeol, Kim Woo-bin and Kim Tae-ri, but stated that the story seems "cut and dried."[41]

The film was released on 1959 screens on July 20, 2022. The opening recorded 158,162 admissions and topped the South Korean box office.[42] The film surpassed 1 million admissions in 7 days of release.[43] As of September 26, 2022, it is the 9th highest-grossing Korean film of 2022 with gross of US$11.2 million and 1.5 million admissions according to the Korean Film Council.[3]

The film became a box-office failure, due to high production cost which required about 7 million (South Korean) admissions to cross the break-even point.[44]