Demon Dancer

A dark and powerful story of grief in this 2026 indie feature film, Demon Dancer, written and directed by filmmaker Attila Korosi. Previously reviewed as the Korean film Demon Dancer: Sua/Nara, this version has been substantially reworked for its North American and European release.

Jiyeon Han plays Sua, a professional ballerina whose loss of her partner leads her into a spiral of anguish and grief. She lets a demon called Nara (Anita Korosi) into her body, leading to a formidable transformation, enhancing her fighting and killing skills but also pulling her deeper into her anguish.

With strong influences from action movies, anime, and perhaps even video games, Demon Dancer delivers style over substance countless times during its 90-minute runtime. The fight choreography is impressive, with brutal attack sequences that will have your eyes wincing in shock and awe. Likewise, the immersive body-horror effects, amazing make-up, and ghoulish sequences are well executed, bringing a strong dark fantasy element into the movie for viewers to enjoy.

The combination of ballet and brutish fighting is delivered with masterful cinematic prowess. This was the most striking success of Demon Dancer. The fighting sequences are excellently delivered, albeit a little tedious in terms of their duration. Films where incredible fight sequences take place (The Raid, John Wick, Jason Bourne, etc.) know when to stop and leave the audience wanting more. Here the filmmakers seem to want to keep the camera rolling long after the effect on the audience has worn off. It all becomes a little exhausting.

Where it stumbles is in the execution of the story. The editing is disjointed, and the convoluted manner in which the plot unravels feels unnecessarily complicated when the audience is being treated to such great visuals. There are moments where it feels like the film is fighting with itself to tell different stories, rather than one solid, coherent tale. The dialogue does little to help this, coming across as way too on the nose and expository.

The two central performances are full of zesty sass and pointed anger, keeping us enthralled throughout with their psychological battle of wills brilliantly. There’s a particularly impressive sequence where Sua goes running through the city and makes a huge leap, reminiscent of The Matrix or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Han and Korosi explore their characters’ dynamic wonderfully, and viewers will be drawn into the complicated blood tie they have created.

Visually impressive and full of incredible set pieces, Demon Dancer has enough spectacle to keep even the hardiest of anime fans engaged.