The Old Woman with the Knife

In 1975, Hornclaw was street urchin adopted by a kind couple who owned a diner and she worked as helper in the diner. A US soldier assaulted and tried to rape Hornclaw but Hornclaw killed him in self-defense. The husband, Ji-wo discovered it and revealed himself to be an assassin of an underground organization masqueraded as a pest control company dedicated to remove people who are considered "vermins" in society. He covered up her crime and trained her to become an assassin codenamed "Nail." Eventually, Ji-wo's assassin life took a toll on him as his enemies killed his wife and child. Ji-wo sought out the gang that killed his wife and son but was killed due to overwhelming numbers of gangster after dispatching several of them. Hornclaw came and killed the remaining gang. Seeing the demise of her mentor's family, Hornclaw swore to not have any attachments.

Decades later, Hornclaw is now a seasoned assassin in her sixties and has become a legendary figure in the underworld who is renown for quietly assassinating target with her poisoned-tipped hair pin. She has been dissatisfied with the organization directions in the present day as they are now act more like a pure assassin-for-hire organization than a noble assassin organization. She faces upheaval when Bullfight, a skilled young hitman, seeks to partner with her. Unaware of his true identity, she fails to recognize their past connection. As tensions rise, their relationship spirals into a deadly confrontation fueled by vengeance and survival.

• Lee Hye-young as Hornclaw / Godmother / Nails
  • Shin Si-ah as young Hornclaw^[5]
• Kim Sung-cheol as Bullfight
• Yeon Woo-jin as Dr. Kang
• Kim Mu-yeol as Ryoo
• Ok Ja-yeon as Cho-yeop
• Kim Kang-woo as Director Son
• Choi Moo-sung as Jang-bi

In February 2024, Kim Sung-cheol was cast in the film as the antagonist.^[6] In June 2024, Lee Hye-young was cast as the main character in the film.^[7]

The Old Woman with the Knife had its world premiere in the Berlinale Special section of the 75th Berlin International Film Festival on 20 February 2025.^[8][9][10]

The film was invited to the competition section of the 43rd Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival held from April 8 to April 20, 2025.^[11] Later on April 30, it was released theatrically in South Korea.^[12]

The film was selected at the 24th New York Asian Film Festival held from July 11 to July 25, 2025 for its New York Premiere in Prime Picks.^[13] It will have its first screening on July 12 at the Film at LOOK Cinemas W57.^{[14][clarification needed]} It was also presented in the Korean Cinema Today section at the 30th Busan International Film Festival on September 18, 2025.^[1]

It was invited to compete in the Crossovers Competition section of the Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival. It was screened on September 28, 2025.^[15]

On 15 October 2025, it was screened at the 58th Sitges Film Festival in the 'Òrbita' section.^[16]