Sometimes, inspiration falls into your lap. Take this month’s remake analysis, for example. There are plenty of marquee titles I haven’t hit yet (Pulse, Mirrors, Jacob’s Ladder), because I’m a sucker for the oddest, most out-there curiosities possible. That’s why, when Bloody Disgusting’s Paul Lê posted his “10 International Horror Remakes You Might Not Know About” list, I knew where to look. Lo and behold, my choice became easy. Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is a near-perfect horror comedy, so how did I not know there’s a South Korean remake from 2024?
I’m on record—on this very website—ranking Eli Craig’s backward backwoods sorta-slasher the #2 horror-comedy of the 2010s, so color me ashamed to miss the release of Nam Dong-hyup’s Handsome Guys. It’s a rare international reversal; for once, the English-Language film is the source. Almost always, my horror remake examinations are about “Americanization” and the Hollywood-slopification of popular overseas scary movies—but Handsome Guys flips the script. We get to study a South Korean remake approach and compare its methods to what we’re served in domestic theaters.
Would Dong-hyup fall into the same copy-and-paste pitfalls of too many stateside remakes, or pridefully drench his Tucker & Dale 2.0 in South Korean horror signatures?
The Approach
Credit Craig and co-writer Morgan Jurgenson with inventing the one-of-a-kind brilliance of Tucker & Dale vs. Evil. It’s an experience that can’t be replicated, so Dong-hyup doesn’t try. There’s something unshakably American about Tucker and Dale’s run-in with doofus teenagers who keep offing themselves because they believe the worst. Handsome Guys utilizes the same setup and keeps the accidental deaths, but introduces a demonic, supernatural element that redefines overall motivations. The film is a different flavor of horror-comedy, spiced by South Korea’s spiritual traditions.
Kang Jae-pil (Lee Sung-min) and Park Sang-goo (Lee Hee-joon) are jolly brothers on their way to close the deal on a new property. What they don’t know is that the Western-style cabin hides a secret. American missionary Father Baker performed exorcisms in the basement on a stone seal with magical powers; in his last battle, he imprisoned Baphomet. As long as Jae-pil and Sang-goo don’t first sacrifice a goat on the property and then sacrifice human souls, they should be fine! But after the duo saves Kim Mi-na (Gong Seung-yeon), bringing her back home to rest, an aspiring, hard-partying golfer and his idiot friends botch a rescue mission, Tucker & Dale’ing themselves in the process—much to Baphomet’s pleasure.
It’s a clever tweak on Tucker & Dale vs. Evil that stays canon with “death cult” humor, yet smells minty-fresh. Jae-pil and Sang-goo are cheerier, and while the whole sad-sad routine of hillbillies versus cityfolk remains, the third act’s launch into Evil Dead Lite confrontations allows them to be more heroic. Where Tucker & Dale vs. Evil arguably gets weaker as the gimmick stretches thinner (still damn good, of course), Handsome Guys deals with Baphomet’s milky-eyed minions, possessions, and an actual malevolent goat prancing around causing havoc. Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is lightning in a bottle; a horror-comedy that defies the odds and would be a doozy to pull off again—so Dong-hyup smartly says, “I’ll do it my way.”
Does It Work?
The concept works gangbusters. It’s no longer random acts of stupid violence with a lovable yet hokey love-story finish (said with adoration). Handsome Guys takes a slapstick horror blueprint and goes a few steps further, sneaking monster movie frights into a violent parade of unfortunate fatalities. It’s not as gory as Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, but the graphic imagery isn’t missed. There’s an affable warmth to Handsome Guys that’s brought on by stereotyped yokels having to battle legitimate underworld foes, because the film never wants to be the next Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum or A Tale of Two Sisters. Dong-hyup favors comedy over horror, but understands how to execute silly-billy laughs in an out-of-control genre scenario.
Handsome Guys passes the “justification” test with flying colors. It does what I’d wish so many other remakes would even attempt—stand on its own. Craig’s original is darker, slathered in blood, and has a harsher edge. Dong-hyup’s remix is brighter, exaggerates its jokes, and barely tries to sell its title characters as grungy Deliverance types who’d hack kids to bits in the woods. They try to uglify Lee Hee-joon at the beginning, as he wallows in his appearance, but the South Korean heartthrob eventually just gets to be his hunky self. It’s more about our dumbstruck heroes as unlucky fixer-uppers, who have to contend with contortionist creatures and the no-good farm animal who punches its way out of a shallow grave. And yet, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil fans will feel comfortably at home.
To be clear, I enjoy Tucker & Dale vs. Evil more because I’m a lover of extreme practical effects and strewn body parts in my horror flicks. But as a companion watch, Handsome Guys proudly asserts itself as this multiverse alternative, aka the South Korean version. Dong-hyup doesn’t ditch the wood chipper, the loose column, or other keynote features of Craig’s hilarious tongue-in-cheek massacre. Instead, he Improv 101’s Craig and Jurgenson screenplay by saying, “Yes, and?” Yes, two innocent nitwits nurse a pretty lady while her friends think she’s in danger; they start dying … and then Baphomet tries to unlock the gates of hell 66 years and 6 months after his last failure. There’s no arrogance to Dong-hyup’s differentiation; Handsome Guys only cares about entertaining audiences.
The Result
Sung-min and Hee-joon carve their own legacy; they’re not Tucker and Dale, again. The character arcs are similar, yet both actors bring very different energies. Sang-go is precious in his Mr. Mom getup, with his little booty-shake dance after inserting his “House Cleaning Mix,” winning Mi-na over. It’s not that Craig ever plays Tucker & Dale vs. Evil straight, but Handsome Guys is even goofier, and the unserious yucks are delightful. That’s a testament to both Sung-min and Hee-joon, playing bargain-rate demon slayers and naive protectors of their humble woodland abode.
Handsome Guys becomes an acquired taste, given that Dong-hyup isn’t trying to claim believability. Mi-na’s capture alone is boneheaded and spoofy, as she jolts awake only to sprint BACK into “danger” and bonker herself unconscious … again. Either you’re going to love or hate the very Sam Raimi bit of Jason (Kim Do-hoon) having to fight the black-furred Baphomet goat in the front seat of his van (it’s hilarious, c’mon). Dong-hyup isn’t a gore-forward director—made evident as killshots avoid graphic brutality on-screen—which emphasizes the moronic musings of everymen caught in a situation of life, death, and more death.
Thankfully, Baphomet’s climactic siege against Jae-pil and Sang-goo’s cabin has enough moxie to boost the horror ratio of Handsome Guys’ equation. Dong-hyup lets the action speak for itself, as cowards try to muster a wee tingle of heroism in the face of Baphomet’s horned, undead soldiers. It’s not just Jae-pil and Sang-goo; whoever’s left standing tries to prevent a worldwide hellmouth apocalypse. Those stakes aren’t squandered, even though there’s still an emphasis on what chuckles can be mined from a small band of merry commoners trying to thwart Baphomet and his freaks off leashes. It’s hardly an action-horror spectacle, but it shows how a remake-and-original combo can be so tethered, yet still boast individuality as their climaxes build toward equally worthwhile payoffs.
The Lesson
To no shock, South Korea understands what’s valuable in a remake. It’s not Jae-pil & Sang-goo vs. Evil. Dong-hyup’s Handsome Guys has its own voice, mission, and motivations. If you want to watch Tucker & Dale vs. Evil as Craig intended, you can. This one’s got ties to Satan, a Shiba Inu in overalls, and a cutie-patootie attitude before the bodies start dropping. Dong-hyup stays true to South Korea’s brand of horror-comedies, because bleaker American sensibilities wouldn’t translate as well. Handsome Guys never apologizes for being itself, and it shouldn’t.
So what did we learn?
- Yet again, for the billionth time, remakes can promote creative originality in the right filmmaker’s hands.
- Remakes should embrace regional calling cards, the easiest way to inspire differentiation.
- The best horror movies shouldn’t become shot-for-shot remakes; they should be reworked and imagined anew.
- Most movies are made better by an evil goat attack scene.
For the record, the only place to find Handsome Guys (right now) is on Tubi, but be warned—the English dub is AWFUL. One of the worst dubs I’ve ever seen, only watched because there’s no other option (subtitles always). Of course, the dub doesn’t detract from the film’s ideas or cinematic accomplishments. Handsome Guys still won me over. Although I wonder how much more I would have liked it without the awful line readings from emotionless robots posing as humans in a voiceover booth.
