A rat eats a man’s fingernail, becomes human and steals the entire life of Moon-jae, played by actor Ryu Jun-yeol in Netflix’s newest thriller, “Mousetrap.”
The premise draws on a Korean folktale in which a mouse that eats a person’s fingernail can transform into that person. Ryu plays both Moon-jae, whose identity is stolen, and a man known as “The Rat” who takes his place.
After stealing Moon-jae’s identity, wealth and even his relationships, the Rat offers a startling defense of its actions: “Is that mouse really so bad? Just think how badly it must have wanted to become human.”
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“Mousetrap” follows Moon-jae as he desperately fights to reclaim the life that was once his. Based on the Kakao Webtoon “Field Mouse” (2017-20), the series turns its unusual premise into a tightly paced, sharply directed thriller. The 10-episode series premiered on Netflix on Friday.
Ryu shines in the dual roles of Moon-jae and the Rat. Moon-jae is a genius novelist who has lived as a recluse, suffering from a panic disorder since his parents died in an accident during his high school years. His life comes crashing down when his phone suddenly refuses to unlock with his fingerprint and he is thrown out of his own home — the first signs that his identity has been stolen.
Things become so desperate that Moon-jae turns to the very loan shark who had been chasing him, breaking down in tears and pleading, “Please find me.” Ryu moves convincingly between the bewildered, vulnerable Moon-jae and his cold-blooded, remorseless double, making the bizarre premise all the more absorbing.
Another highlight is Moon-jae’s unlikely partnership with No-ja, the loan shark played by actor Sul Kyung-gu.
Moon-jae is a naive young man with little idea of how the world works. No-ja, on the other hand, is a loan shark who can track down virtually anyone when there is money to recover. The mismatched pair make for an intriguing duo as they try to lure the Rat and stumble into traps it has laid for them.
Sul delivers gritty, hard-hitting action along the way.
“We mostly used whatever objects were lying around where the action took place, such as baseball bats, axes and barrels,” Sul said.
Another character who catches the viewer’s eye is Sun-yong, played by actor Lee Kyu-hyung. Sun-yong is a veteran detective, but has little regard for hierarchy. He swears at his superiors and complains constantly — yet never relents in his pursuit of the truth.
“I wanted to capture the desperation of someone trying to reclaim a life that has been taken away,” director Kim Hong-sun said.
In “Mousetrap,” Moon-jae is not the only one who seemingly has his identity stolen.
News reports playing throughout the series are filled with cases of people with no known family or unidentified individuals turning up dead. An online gambling crime ring that steals the identities of socially vulnerable people before killing them forms another major thread of the story.
As viewers watch the series, the Rat becomes more than just a fantastical creature borrowed from folklore. It can also be seen as a metaphor for the criminal organizations that prey on people whose identities and lives can disappear with little notice.
The Rat meticulously plots its takeover of Moon-jae’s life and lays elaborate traps for anyone closing in on the truth. But the series’ biggest thrill may be the unsettling question it leaves viewers asking themselves: What if this happened to me?
Imagine waking up one day to find that your resident registration number no longer exists. Suddenly, everything from banking to online services is inaccessible, and even proving that you are who you say you are becomes a struggle. Then imagine someone with your exact face walking around, living the life that used to be yours.
“I thought what happens in the series was entirely possible,” director Kim said. “Similar things are already happening, and with more people living alone, it might actually be a more realistic story than we think.”
