Editorials
New to Korean Cinema? Here Are Some of the Best Horror and Thriller Films to Get You Started
It was awesome to see Parasite take home the Best Picture award at the Oscars this past Sunday. Director Bong Joon-ho, his crew, and his actors all lent their talents into crafting a superb film; I hope its multiple Oscar wins encourage those who have yet to see it to check it out.
But what’s this? You’re someone who saw Parasite, loved it, and now you have an itch for more Korean cinema? Well guess what? I got you covered.
For those of you looking to dive deeper into what Korean cinema has to offer, I’ve gone ahead and compiled a guide to some of the country’s most iconic films in the thriller and horror genre. From compelling political and societal themes, to bloodthirsty revenge, each of these films embodies a unique identity. Not only do they each convey a visceral demonstration of brutality, but they also display remarkable storytelling.
The Host – 2006
What better way to start this guide then with another film by Bong Joon-ho? It’s worth mentioning that the protagonist of The Host is played by none other than Song Kang-ho (the Kim family patriarch from Parasite).
Though Joon-ho has made an intriguing array of dramatic and suspenseful works, The Host is probably the film of his that leans mostly into horror elements – given the rather large monster that is terrorizing folks. During the monster’s rampage, it ends up kidnapping our protagonist’s daughter; mustering up all his courage, the father must set forth to confront the aquatic monstrosity.
The Host also serves as a political film – part of the story was inspired by an act of pollution ordered by U.S. officials in Korea. With its portrayal of American military and Korean government, The Host offers various perspectives on how countries would handle such an intense crisis. But rather than come across as dry melodrama, the film explores its commentary through satirical humor, providing an intriguing mix of laughs among all the chaos.
If you have seen Parasite, then you’ll notice quite a few qualities that this film shares with it. Joon-ho’s incredible ability to balance serious drama and comedy is felt throughout The Host; those serious moments providing pulse-pounding adrenaline. This film is an excellent gem for those in need of a monster flick (and those also looking for a film with more depth).
Train to Busan – 2016
Do you ever fear that you’ll be trapped on a train when some kind of horrible incident takes place? Well that’s what Train To Busan is about – and that horrible incident happens to involve a lot of zombies.
Seok-woo and his daughter board a train one day for what should be a simple trip; except just as the train is about to leave, an infected person is able to get on without being detected. One bite leads to another, and all of a sudden, a majority of the train’s occupants are infected. Train To Busan makes for a unique take on the zombie genre; given that the film spends a good deal of time on a train, there is limited mobility provided to those striving to survive. Also toss in the difficulty of trying to keep your loved ones safe (who happen to be a few train cars away from you), and you got yourself an unnerving situation. The congested locale brings an elevated tension to the action, the passengers having little room between them and the chomping jaws of zombies.
For those seeking an exciting take on zombie chaos, look no further than Train To Busan.
I Saw the Devil – 2010
After serial killer Jang Kyung-chul kills the fiancée of Kim Soo-hyun, Soo-hyun takes it upon himself to hunt Kyung-chul and extract his revenge. It goes without saying that the aforementioned description clearly sets up I Saw The Devil as a revenge tale – but it isn’t your typical revenge story.
Rather than the film leading up to a single instance of Soo-hyun getting his revenge on Kyung-chul, the former decides to follow the latter, committing acts of brutal violence against him. From vicious beatings to gross mutilations, Soo-hyun whittles away at Kyung-chul. In-between those moments, however, Kyung-chul is left to his own devices, lashing out at innocent individuals in horrific ways.
I Saw The Devil is not a film for those who easily get queasy. Its portrayal of gut churning violence is relentless, establishing an ominous atmosphere. At the core of the film is that of pure violence – our two main characters are driven by violence, one regarding revenge, and one in the pursuit of pleasure. But that said, if you are interested in checking out a compelling revenge tale brimming with adrenaline and suspense, I Saw The Devil will deliver.
A Tale of Two Sisters – 2003
So far I’ve shared films revolving around monsters, zombies, and serial killers, so now is about time for something more ethereal and psychological. The film starts with our young protagonist, Su-mi, being treated in a mental asylum (her issues revolving around psychosis). When she is finally released, she returns home to her younger sister, father, and stepmother. Overtime, Su-mi experiences supernatural happenings, at one point seeing her dead mother crawling at her. When Su-mi begins to suspect that the stepmother is harming her little sister, tensions begin to escalate.
Saying any more would be entering some dangerous spoiler territory.
A Tale of Two Sisters is a fascinating work of supernatural and psychological horror. The haunting atmosphere and spiraling drama present a permeating chill throughout the film, creating an unsettling air of mystery and darkness. The film also stands as a powerful work of domestic horror; the tension among the family is palpable, unraveling overtime to reveal startling revelations. If you prefer your horror to lean towards the cerebral with a side helping of ghosts, then A Tale of Two Sisters should be enough to keep you awake at night.
The Vengeance Trilogy – Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002), Old Boy (2003), Lady Vengeance (2005)
There’s no way I could talk about iconic Korean movies without bringing up Park Chan-wook’s Vengeance Trilogy. These films are comprised of devastating emotion; the oppressive atmospheres and grueling violence come together to present narratives of extreme ruthlessness. I don’t want to give too much away regarding the story details of these films, for their twists and turns are enough to drop jaws.
Starting with Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, our protagonist Ryu kidnaps the daughter of a wealthy family in hopes to use the ransom money to help his ill sister. In Old Boy, our protagonist Oh Dae-su is trapped in a single room for 15 years, but is eventually released and begins seeking the person who entrapped him. And finally, Lady Vengeance follows Lee Geum-ja, a woman falsely imprisoned for a murder she did not commit; when she is finally released, she starts a journey of revenge against the person who actually committed the murder.
The Vengeance Trilogy is not for the light of heart. Not only do the three films contain startling violence, they also involve moments of tremendous heartache. The characters are very much in the vein of individuals found in Greek tragedies; a hero sets forth towards a goal, only to come across various horrors that lead to their downfall. But though these tales may be bleak, they are also some of the most phenomenal thrillers among contemporary cinema.
Bonus: Kingdom – 2019
Though it is not a movie, this Netflix show is a must-see. Taking place in the Joseon period, Kingdom follows a young prince who strives to unite his country against the threat of a zombie invasion. Though this was released after the major zombie boom in pop culture, Kingdom makes for a remarkable contribution to the sub-genre.
For one, the period it’s set in brings a whole new dynamic to zombie confrontation. The lack of technology, as well as required innovation with the tools at hand, allow for our main cast to square off against zombies in unique manners. And these zombies are the running kind, so our protagonist and friends have to be on their toes. With its excellent acting, stunning set pieces, and great bits of political drama, Kingdom brings a welcoming breath of fresh air to the zombie genre.
You can read more of my detailed thoughts on “Kingdom” via the review I wrote for season one (and also keep an eye out for my review of season two down the road).
Though these works represent some of the best Korean cinema has to offer, there are many more worth exploring. If your taste leans towards gritty dramas with unnerving bloodshed, then the oppressing devastation of Bedevilled will satisfy your needs. Or maybe you want something a little more fantastical? In that case, Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum and Thirst are excellent films; the former involves a group of friends who explore an abandoned mental institution (coming across more than what they expected), while the latter makes for an intriguing vampire story.
Like all cinema found around the globe, Korea has its own unique voice when it comes to captivating storytelling. When it comes to thrillers and horror, the country has a knack for delivering brutal depictions of violence, while also presenting worlds and characters haunted by external and internal forces.
I hope that among these titles at least one caught your interest and you’ll check it out. For those of you who have heard of these films, which is your favorite? And what are some other excellent horror/thrillers from Korea that others should know about? We’d love for the comments section of this article to be loaded with additional titles, so please do chime in!
College kids, strippers and vampires—those were Donald P. Borchers’ only requirements when he approached Richard Wenk about writing and directing a movie for New World Pictures. As requested, Wenk cooked up Vamp (1986), a tailor-made blend of the decade’s teen movie craze as well as its horror boom.
Grim and earnest stories were still very much a part of the ’80s horror landscape, yet Vamp is something of a comedy. One difference between it and, say, Saturday the 14th, though, is the former avoids using schtick. Wenk’s movie proves that horror comedies also don’t have to subtract thrills from their recipes. Of course, it takes a minute before reaching that point; college antics and culture shocks preface this one macabre misadventure.
Vamp‘s initial setup is apt for a typical college-set, sex-driven comedy; to bribe their way into a fraternity house, two pledges (Chris Makepeace, Robert Rusler) go looking for some adult entertainment. Without wasting time on any further exposition, the characters embark on an all-in-one-night trip that quickly detours into terror.
To procure their elusive MacGuffin—a stripper willing to gyrate for some frat boys—Keith (Makepeace) and AJ (Rusler), plus a third wheel named Duncan (Gedee Watanabe), trade the safety of their remote college campus for the seediness of some unnamed city. The setting is recognizably L.A. by day, but as soon as night falls, downtown, along with the characters, slips into a kind of surreal universe. Director of photography Elliot Davis gave this early entry on his prolific résumé an unusual yet distinctive look; that Mario Bava-esque, magenta-green lighting is omnipresent, so much so that it’s almost its own character.
Chris Makepeace and Robert Rusler in Vamp
The faint comparisons to Martin Scorsese’s After Hours are merited, although not just because of Vamp’s distinguishing nighttime aesthetic. Save for the primary characters, the supporting roles in Wenk’s movie are also quite colorful and transactional in their behavior. The difference here, though, is the additional urge to ruin Keith and his friends at every turn. Some of that harm is humorous and tolerable enough, whereas the moment Vamp dishes out its first fatality, it’s abundantly clear how this movie qualifies as horror.
Vamp falls into that category of horror movie that reveals its genre with a scream rather than a series of whispers. The opening scene can function as a hint of what lies ahead—things are not at all what they appear to be—but otherwise, Wenk is more than happy to hold off on the horror. When that time does come, though, it catches the viewer off guard. In addition to the pure shock value is that sudden decision to upend the movie’s foremost feature. Or so it would seem.
If afraid of major spoilage, those new to Vamp would be wise to stop reading here. There’s just no skirting around the fact that the central fellowship in this buddy movie hits a serious snag when AJ is killed. That development causes the story to become more of a “long, bad night” journey for Keith and his romantic interest. So while Wenk scores points for subverting expectations, there is also a touch of sadness in his decision. Because if Vamp does anything well, it’s making the characters likable.
Something that comes easily to Vamp—and other teen horror movies from this same era—is its ability to invent young characters worth caring about, or at the very least, are interesting and not so immediately off-putting. More impressive is how Wenk did all this without actually fleshing out those characters. Still and all, Keith and his kind are a grade above cookie-cutter, and in some cases, aren’t completely devoid of growth.
Grace Jones in Vamp
Vamp appeals with an assorted cast of characters. No two are the same, nor are they operating on the same wavelength. The cinematically extroverted AJ, whose actor conveyed charm and vulnerability in near equal amounts, comes alive when he’s at his most undead. Makepeace then makes the chronically cautious Keith a sympathetic fellow, even as he’s more and more affected by the night’s bizarre events. Meanwhile, Duncan is indeed the designated loser of the whole bunch, but Watanabe still manages to humanize him. As a bonus, the role didn’t require him to pull a Long Duk Dong.
As for Dedee Pfeiffer, she is plain adorable as the mysterious After Dark server nicknamed “Amaretto”. She spends all night fixing her dress strap while at the same time trying to get Keith to remember how he knows her. As their offbeat romance grows, it becomes another highlight of this movie. Whether or not Pfeiffer’s character is really a vampire also creates some welcome tension in the story.
Like a lot of its contemporaries, Vamp went on to become a bit of a cult classic. That current status is determined by several factors, but without a doubt, the casting of Grace Jones is the most considerable. The image of her writhing on that unique-looking chair, a Keith Haring original, springs to mind whenever this movie is brought up.
Chris Makepeace, Billy Drago and Paunita Nichols in Vamp
Prior to that first display of unequivocal horror, local vampire queen Katrina (Jones) took to the stage and delivered a strip show like no other. One would expect nothing less from that renowned model and performance artist. By now reports of Jones’ tardiness on set are no secret, yet it’s also hard to deny her commitment to the part of Katrina. It was, in fact, Jones who took charge of her character’s appearance—on top of Haring painting her body and that now-iconic chair, she had Andy Warhol handle her costuming. And not too many actors could seize a room’s attention without saying a single line of dialogue.
In 2022, Vamp received a retrospective novelization from Encyclopocalypse. This literary union of preexisting source material—Wenk’s original screenplay—and new ideas from author Christian Francis amounts to a more comprehensive visit to the After Dark Club. The basic story there is no different than what’s shown on screen; however, Francis gets creative with the characters’ origins and designs, and he enhances a number of key scenes.
The novelization expands on the urban and social decay of the main setting, and supplies a background for the After Dark Club. Sandy Baron’s character, Katrina’s emcee and familiar, is given ample motivation for sticking around; up until the fiery end, he is loyal to his friend and former business partner “Squeak”, who looks like he was “fed through a combine harvester, and left as nothing more than a heap of mangled remains”. Then there is Billy Drago’s character Snow, the leader of a street gang called The Dragons. His reason for menacing Keith and AJ is more altruistic than in the movie; he and his peers act tough to scare off any potential food for the vampires.
Lisa Lyon in Vamp
If not for all the backstories, Francis’ Vamp would be a hell of a lot shorter. Instead, this tie-in read dives into how AJ met Keith—the orphaned Anthony Joseph hailed from a broken home back in Brooklyn—and how their friendship flourished over the years. Keith’s archership is no longer just an assumed part of his entire being; it’s a confidence-building extracurricular for a boy who got picked on before coming into the protection of the new kid in town. These supplemental, in-depth looks at the protagonists, plus their close connection, are maybe unnecessary. The movie already did a fair and concise job of addressing their platonic intimacy without the need for flashbacks and insights, specifically in that scene where AJ lays it all out as he sacrifices himself.
Where the novelization gets off course is its approach to the minor characters. Intermittently backstorying the likes of Katrina’s indentured servants, Seko (Leila Hee Olsen) and Vlad (Brad Logan), ends up disturbing the flow of the writing. Was it absolutely essential that readers know Vlad was the Grand Duke of the House of Romanov, or how Snow’s accomplice Maven (Paunita Nichols) became so dentally challenged? No, not really. However, one’s mileage with these random biographies may vary.
The novelization is a more substantial experience, but for a movie like Vamp, less is more. And as plentiful as they are, it never simply coasts on its campy charms, either. The character work sits comfortably in that realm between cursory and meticulous, the script is sharper than first realized, and Greg Cannom’s vampire makeup is straightforward yet effective. Most of all, the movie didn’t squander its out-of-the-box concept. Richard Wenk made his vision of a “comic nightmare in which just about anything that can go wrong does” come true, and it is very enjoyable.
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