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5 Exceptional Park Chan-wook Films!

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Park Chan-wook is the Quentin Tarantino of South Korea. An unsung hero that has had massive influence over myriad American filmmakers, Park is the master of blending horrific material and dark comedy seamlessly, until the viewer finds his or herself laughing at something that would never normally pass as acceptable. He is noted for the exploitative nature of his films, but Park doesn’t quite see himself that way — he simply seeks to pull emotion out of his viewers, because to Park, there’s no point in watching a film that only soothes the nerves. Inspired by the works of Therese Raquin and Franz Kafka, Park’s films often feature beautifully strung together narratives more reminiscent of literary works than cinema, filled with heavy noir elements, and surreal, vivid palettes that make even the most grotesque imagery appear comely.

Park’s newest film, The Handmaid, is an adaptation of Sarah Waters’ history crime novel Fingersmith, set in the Victorian era. Currently filming, Park’s version of the film will take place in a more recent time, specifically during the Japanese rule of Korea. With the first image from his upcoming film having recently been released, what better time to catch up on some of Park’s best films to date than the present? Read on, and discover some of Park’s most accomplished gems, or revisit a beloved classic that might already sit on your shelf, just in time for the newest addition to Park’s already impressive resume.

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  1. Thirst (Bakjwi)
     
    In an unusual, yet fascinating approach to vampirism, a character is turned into a member of the undead in the most unlikely of circumstances. Priest Sang-hyeon set out on a journey to help find a cure for a deadly blood disease, but despite his good intentions, things go horribly awry. When this man of the cloth is unknowingly administered a blood transfusion from a creature of the night, he becomes cursed with the gift of everlasting life; damned to walk the earth a monster for all of eternity. At first, Sang-hyeon is delighted with his newfound freedom, exercising his bloodlust and exemplified physical prowess and fresh batch of confident courage with curious glee. However, as his cravings expand to include the wife of his married acquaintance, he grows to fear the engorged malice growing within him, and clings to the regimented morality of his past life — the one that now feels so unattainable and far away. Aside from the obvious religious commentary, this Bride of Frankenstein esque tale mainly focuses on the dangers of forbidden romance, and how engaging in shared recidivism can lead to the deterioration of supposed lovers.

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  2. Lady Vengeance (Chinjeolhan geumjassi)
     
    The full title of this film is actually Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (although it can be referred to as either name), and it is the third entry in Park’s vengeance trilogy, coming in after Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, and Oldboy. In a very self-explanatory way, the title reveals the purpose behind each of the films: to create empathy for the monster, both through effective storytelling, and heightened artistic vision. Monsters aren’t born, they are created, and by revealing the backstory and inner thoughts of his afflicted characters, Park reveals the dark paths that led each of his cinematic children to the destructive acts that they commit. After taking the fall for her and her partner’s heinous crimes, Geum-ja Lee spends some time in prison, where she retains her angelic reputation, while at the same time, gains momentum as a rumored witch and beautiful murderer. Upon her release, everyone who knows Geum-ja Lee expects her to return to the sweet, obedient naive girl that they once knew, but they don’t see the evil inside of her, rotting her from the inside out. Through blood red eye shadow, a neo-noir trench coat, sky high heels, and an embellished pistol, Guem-ja Lee brings the monster inside of her to the surface, and crosses a threshold from the land of purity, into the darkness of retribution.

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    3. Stoker
     
    India Stoker’s mother will never approve of her. She sees something deadly coursing through India’s veins, and even if the blood that rushes through India’s arteries matches hers, she still can’t find it in her heart to truly love her daughter. These are stubborn, immovable facts that India cannot change, no matter how much she secretly desires her mother’s approval. The only control India has over the situation is her acceptance of these unpleasant truths, and her willingness to move on from them. After India is violently shoved into adulthood by the death of her father, her evolution into womanhood is kickstarted, as she learns that growing up is as much about accepting your circumstances as it is about transitioning from school girl shoes to heeled pumps.

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    4. J.S.A.: Joint Security Area (Gongdong gyeongbi guyeok JSA)
     
    People tend to look back on history in the simplest of terms, in order to make the unpleasant realities of conquest easier to understand and accept. One side is evil and the other is innocent; one leader is mad and the other sane — these are the lies we feed ourselves to lessen the stressful and often painful analysis of our ancestors, likening their actions to the black and white static characters that fill our television screens; a protagonist and an antagonist, nothing more. However, as much as we’d like to believe that there are only two sides to each wartime story — a right and a wrong — the truth is, nations are much more complex than that, and one united mode of thinking cannot be used to describe the entirety of every single person involved in such a massive struggle. Take, for instance, the story of two friends, one fighting on the side of South Korea, and the other representing North Korea. They might have been born into opposing camps, but thanks to a strange introduction in a joint security area, the two men originally trained to be enemies find friendship blossoming over the line that divides them.

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    5. Oldboy (Oldeuboi)
     
    Oh Dae-su is isolated in a cage of eternal television, scratched up wallpaper, and sleeping gas. It seems like it’s been a lifetime since he was first kidnapped and thrown into this room on the eve of his daughter’s birthday, but according to the ink etched into his hand, it’s been about fifteen years; just shy of two decades. Suddenly, one day, he is finally released into the world again — but his freedom comes at a price. He is given five days to figure out who imprisoned him in the first place, and why he or she locked him away for so many years in that awful room. Along his path to revenge, Oh Dae-su finds a friend in Mi-do, a local sushi chef who tries her best to aid him in seeking the truth. Together, they unearth secrets that are rooted in issues far more taboo than either of them could have imagined, and discover that the answer to their questions doesn’t lie in the reason why Oh Dae-su was locked up, but rather, why he was freed. Based on the Korean manga by the same name, Oldboy is arguably Park’s masterpiece. Equal parts revenge flick and tragic love story, Park beautifully weaves a tale of a man doomed to his own fate, set in motion by a childhood mistake. Min sik-Choi delivers a breathtaking performance as Oh Dae-su, the man pushed to the edge of his sanity, and forced to sacrifice his soul in exchange for his long-awaited vengeance. In the years spent walled up in that dark and damp enclosure, Dae-su spent his days training for battle; readying himself for the showdown that was rightfully his. However, even if Dae-su reaches the end of his journey and unmasks and defeats his oppressor, will there be any part of the man he once was still intact to enjoy his victory? Is revenge justified if it means leaving the person you were behind and starting anew? Using exploitation, bright, vivid imagery, and a gorgeous ballroom score by his longtime partner Yeong-wook Jo, Oldboy seeks to explore these questions, as director Park dives head first into one of his favorite discussion topics — individual perception of morality. By challenging society’s definition of acceptable behavior, Park once again manages to reach out and touch his audience with his odd yet enticing material, forcing the viewers to confront themselves with their own conventions, and push the boundaries of what most people are willing to accept as “normal”.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

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Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

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Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

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Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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