A Review of Movie Mood: A Unique Escape Room Cafe in Seoul
Movie Mood, a complex entertainment space created by Keith!
It's a combination of a cafe and six mono-room escape rooms.
I liked that the puzzles weren't too difficult and the atmosphere felt like a hotel.
I visited Movie Mood both during the day and at night... It's prettier at night.
I think Keith made a clever approach by allowing customers to bring drinks ordered from the cafe and their phones inside, so they can take pictures and make memories.
It's a great place to bring an acquaintance who's never tried escape rooms before to see if they like it.
I thought it was good for lightly dipping your toes into the escape room world, lol.
Here's the menu. You can pay just for what you ordered!
Each theme costs ₩16,000, and with a drink, it goes over ₩20,000, so I was wondering how I was going to complete all the themes. But it turns out they accept the government's emergency relief funds, so I used that to complete all six themes! What a steal!
I completed them over three days, so I had to order drinks three times. If you plan on completing all the themes, it's better to do all six in one day and only order drinks once.
Even though it's six consecutive games, if you're an experienced escape room enthusiast, there's a 99% chance you'll finish a 60-minute theme in 30-40 minutes, so you can actually complete all of them in 3-4 hours, lol.
Movie Mood Summary
Satisfaction
Siawase = 5th Ward > Cat's Lock > Dave > Airline > Oven
Difficulty
Siawase > Dave > Oven > Airline >>> 5th Ward > Cat's Lock
Interior
5th Ward > Siawase > Cat's Lock > Oven > Dave > Airline
Theme Reviews
Cat's Lock
Slice of Life, Comedy | Difficulty 3 / 5
2 players - 90+, 50+
No Hint, 28:05 left
The first Movie Mood theme I played.
My husband and I were taking self-portraits for our honeymoon and had some time to spare, so I enticed him by saying, 'There's this place called Movie Mood, wanna go?' The only theme that had available time was Cat's Lock.
As the easiest theme at Movie Mood, we were able to fully enjoy the interior and relax while solving the puzzles, and still had 28 minutes left!
Taking off our shoes and entering into a warm atmosphere was great.
If you were born in the 90s, there are nostalgic elements that you can't pass by, so my husband and I reminisced about our childhoods while laughing, lol. The special service after successfully completing the theme was impressive.
I recommend this warm and cute theme as an introduction to Movie Mood!
Afterlife Airlines
Slice of Life, Mystery | Difficulty 4 / 5
3 players - 90+, 90+, 30+
No Hint, 27:16 left
The second Movie Mood theme I played.
I did it with Yeon unni and Ittip after the Two Two open run. Unlike Cat's Lock, we entered with our shoes on.
The concept and story were unique, just like Afterlife Airlines!
There were observational elements that made me go 'Oh?!' while solving the puzzles, and it was definitely more fun to solve than Cat's Lock.
I especially liked the puzzles that utilized the airport, lol.
However, trying to express that space in a mono room meant that the interior wasn't particularly pretty or impressive.
The story also felt like it cut off at an ambiguous point, sob sob.
The puzzles were good, but the overall completeness of the theme was somewhat lacking.
Siawase Exchange
Slice of Life, Healing | Difficulty 4.5 / 5
2 players - 140+, 90+
No Hint, 09:37 left
The third Movie Mood theme I played and the start of my four consecutive games, Siawase Exchange!
From what I heard from others, most people ranked Siawase as their number one, so I went in without much expectation.
Took off my shoes and entered!
First of all, like in the poster, there are Soot Sprites reminiscent of Spirited Away, and they were so cute, sob sob.
It had the most puzzles and was the most difficult of the Movie Mood themes.
Because of that, the interior felt very detailed and fully packed.
It had the most puzzles, but it was also the most fun to solve!
From the Soot Sprites to the fish OO lamps in the poster, all the props were my taste, so I was happy playing it, sob.
In particular, the theme story ended with a moral lesson, encouraging players to take action.
I reflected a lot on this part and felt touched.
To think they could convey that message so cutely...
Maybe because the lingering emotions lasted even after it ended, it became one of my top favorite themes along with 5th Ward.
Have a Good Tape, Dave
Slice of Life, Drama | Difficulty 3.5 / 5
2 players - 140+, 90+
1 Hint, 23:25 left
The fourth theme I played and the only one I used a hint on...
I didn't even use a hint on Siawase, sob sob sob.
The devices were really, really, really important, but a certain device malfunctioned, so we had to call an employee, lol.
I thought we got through it okay, but I needlessly overthought an easy puzzle and used a hint, sob sob. So disappointing...
It's a story that continues from Memory Company, so you should at least play Eddie to understand this world.
I haven't done Steve yet, so I got slightly spoiled, but... well... I can easily overlook that, lol.
However, there were too many puzzles connected to computers, sob.
I didn't feel like the puzzles were particularly good.
But it was better than the first puzzle in Two Two... or maybe Two Two should have done it this way, lol.
The story flowed like a slightly predictable cliche, so unlike my expectation that 'Oh, the ending will definitely be like this', it ended very beautifully and emotionally, so I was caught off guard.
You could call this an emotional theme?
Anyway, it's a heartwarming theme that will be more touching if you do it in the snowy winter.
5th Ward, Row E, Seat 4
Slice of Life, Mystery | Difficulty 3.5 / 5
2 players - 140+, 90+
No Hint, 20:19 left
A theme that was among the top two in satisfaction with Siawase, 5th Ward!
There are elements that slightly continue from Dave, so I recommend doing Dave and 5th Ward consecutively on the same day.
We did it in that order, and it was even more touching, sob sob.
Maybe it's because the concept is clear, or the interior is distinct.
It's a theme that might seem like nothing special, but everything from certain devices to the lighting was satisfying.
Maybe it's because I like that interior, lol.
The story has a clear beginning, middle, and end, and the foreshadowing is meticulously recovered, so it had the appeal of anticipating how it would unfold next.
TMI, but there was a crisis in the middle where I almost used a hint.
But I guessed that the lock was a 5-letter alphabet lock and matched it!
Magic - I guessed the answer without knowing how to solve it.
I used a hint to see the process, lol. Still no hint!
If you love and enjoy movies, it's a well-made theme that you're very likely to enjoy.
If Siawase competes with its message, lingering emotions, and cuteness, 5th Ward excels in story, interior, and overall completeness.
Once Upon a Time Oven
Slice of Life, Healing | Difficulty 4 / 5
2 players - 330+, 90+
No Hint, 30:01 left
Movie Mood's long-awaited final theme!
It's a healing theme with an oven? cooking? concept, so I had a rough idea, but it came out exactly as I expected, so I was slightly let down.
And they just verbally listed the emotional points too much, lol.
As someone who likes to naturally immerse themselves while playing, it was a bit of a dislike, sob sob. Too much talking...
The puzzle difficulty was also a bit high.
The connection between the clues was a bit indirect, so I thought you had to have really good observation skills to solve them smoothly.
There was a puzzle I was stuck on for 10 minutes.
I gritted my teeth and searched every nook and cranny to avoid using a hint, sob sob.
The quality of the dishes in the poster was so good that I automatically got hungry, lol. It was too realistic, seriously.
The genre is healing, but Siawase and 5th Ward were more healing, and this was just a talkative uncle's cooking theme, so I ranked it the lowest in satisfaction.
Still, the interior was a cute kitchen, so it was decent.
Graduation!
Movie Mood graduation completed over three days!
It happened to be right before my 100th escape room.
I calculated one Movie Mood theme as 0.5 rooms, so I could fill exactly 99 rooms with 6 themes, 3 rooms.
I couldn't bring myself to calculate one Movie Mood theme as 1 room.
You can receive exciting congratulations when you graduate ⭐️
You can choose whether or not to receive cheerful congratulations when you graduate.
As an ENFP, I never miss these opportunities, lol.
The staff danced and congratulated me, so I sat down and danced with them, >_<
Full version in the video below
You can also take pictures holding a graduation congratulatory sign.
The graduation gifts consist of a Movie Mood yellow mug,
A do-not-disturb door hanger card to hang when entering a theme,
And a Movie Mood drink coupon for one free drink.
That's the three things.
I don't think I'll be going to Movie Mood anymore, so I gave it to a friend who was about to graduate, lol.
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