Editorials
‘Chaw’: South Korean Eco-Horror Goes Hog Wild [Horrors Elsewhere]
Years before feral swine were making the news or going viral on social media, South Korea’s war with boars was foretold in Shin Jung-won’s Chaw (Chawz in the U.S.). This 2009 film, which is as relevant today as it was back then, demonstrates the consequences of man tampering with nature and how nature decidedly bites back. Although largely filmed in California — Nicasio, Petaluma, San Francisco, and San Geronimo, to be more specific — the story of Chaw takes place in a fictional Korean village called Sam-mae-ri. A city-weary police officer from Seoul (Uhm Tae-woong) has been relocated to the countryside, and upon his arrival, his first duty is to wrangle a mysterious beast wreaking havoc and eating locals.
Officer Kim Kang-soo (Uhm) made the mistake of not being specific with his relocation preferences on a job transfer. Putting “anywhere” as his second choice is why he, his pregnant wife, and his eccentric mother all end up in Sam-mae-ri. The so-called “crimeless village” is about ready to get a new nickname once random residents start to disappear or show up half eaten. The fat cats trying to turn Sam-mae-ri into a weekend oasis for city slickers with money to burn soon summon a set of hired guns to deal with the problem as quietly and quickly as possible. They indeed bag a boar, but they fail to realize there is another one on the loose. A larger one, in fact.
As urgent as its wild pig problem is, Chaw does the opposite of expectations and approaches the story with levity as opposed to severity. And immediately the film is not quite on the same wavelength as other rare helpings of hog horror. The decision to keep things light, even as boars are chowing down on country folks, seems unsound from a tonal perspective. In the end, however, the physical comedy and sight gags help make for a more memorable viewing experience. Seeing cops collectively fall down a hill and into a dug-up graveyard is bound to crack some smiles, as is Officer Kim’s never-ending battle to contain his unruly mother. In place of actual suspense, the gallows humor maintains the present situation and keeps the characters on their toes.
The horror genre tends to skip over boars in favor of other more readily scary beasties, such as sharks, crocs, and bears. People are naturally afraid of those animals, whereas a wild pig, even one with tusks, requires more coaxing. Swarming unsuspecting humans in the style of The Birds can be effective, but in the wrong hands, that tactic quickly loses steam and becomes too impersonal. This leaves Chaw to do what so many other creature-features before and after it have done. The choice pays off because going bigger is certainly better when trying to convey these animals’ potential for harm. It also gives off an uncanny quality, like a forest god coming down from the mountains. Of course the monster is far from supernatural; the story explains the Hogzilla here is a mutant species, descended from failed hybrids bred during the Japanese occupation of Korea.
With a boar as immense as a rhino, and considering the film’s vintage, extensive CGI should come as no surprise. There is the occasional use of animatronics and other practical effects, but once the big boar makes its grand debut around the one-hour mark, all bets are off to see a giant pig prop spreading chaos and chewing on more than the scenery. No, this hell hog is chiefly expressed through visual effects, on account of how much action is involved whenever the monster is on screen. This little piggy here is full on galloping after its prey in the third act, giving both the characters and audience a total workout. The CGI has nothing on that of Bong Joon-ho’s The Host, which came out three years earlier, yet it is passable in some scenes. The worst offense is the boar somehow looking more adorable than menacing.
While the human characters do not necessarily fit the obvious archetypes of horror, not a single one of them is all that fleshed out either. They are as cursory as can be, with some having no more than a name to differentiate them from another quickly drawn character. Chaw is instead keen on performances and personalities. Shin Jung-won pulls from Chungcheong culture and dialect when presenting these folks, and without question a great deal of that effort will be lost in translation. On the surface, though, the colorful characters are easy enough to absorb and understand, all thanks to their comical physicality and universally quirky behaviors.
Chaw is never as lean or mean as it could be. The pacing of those first two acts can be challenging, and any sort of pig-on-man violence is either anemic or undermined by humor. The story is also less mindful of its own themes, despite it being the one to suggest them in the first place. Generally speaking, Chaw is a strange film full of even stranger characters. Sometimes it can be dark, and other times it shies away from the darkness. As an ecological horror, it pales next to something as remarkable as Russell Mulcahy’s Razorback, but on its own terms, Chaw delivers excitement and offbeat fun. The late Shin Jung-won had a knack for mixing genres, and in that respect, he succeeded with flying colors here.
Horrors Elsewhere is a recurring column that spotlights a variety of movies from all around the globe, particularly those not from the United States. Fears may not be universal, but one thing is for sure — a scream is understood, always and everywhere.
Editorials
‘Immaculate’ – A Companion Watch Guide to the Religious Horror Movie and Its Cinematic Influences
The religious horror movie Immaculate, starring Sydney Sweeney and directed by Michael Mohan, wears its horror influences on its sleeves. NEON’s new horror movie is now available on Digital and PVOD, making it easier to catch up with the buzzy title. If you’ve already seen Immaculate, this companion watch guide highlights horror movies to pair with it.
Sweeney stars in Immaculate as Cecilia, a woman of devout faith who is offered a fulfilling new role at an illustrious Italian convent. Cecilia’s warm welcome to the picture-perfect Italian countryside gets derailed soon enough when she discovers she’s become pregnant and realizes the convent harbors disturbing secrets.
From Will Bates’ gothic score to the filming locations and even shot compositions, Immaculate owes a lot to its cinematic influences. Mohan pulls from more than just religious horror, though. While Immaculate pays tribute to the classics, the horror movie surprises for the way it leans so heavily into Italian horror and New French Extremity. Let’s dig into many of the film’s most prominent horror influences with a companion watch guide.
Warning: Immaculate spoilers ahead.
Rosemary’s Baby
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The mother of all pregnancy horror movies introduces Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow), an eager-to-please housewife who’s supportive of her husband, Guy, and thrilled he landed them a spot in the coveted Bramford apartment building. Guy proposes a romantic evening, which gives way to a hallucinogenic nightmare scenario that leaves Rosemary confused and pregnant. Rosemary’s suspicions and paranoia mount as she’s gaslit by everyone around her, all attempting to distract her from her deeply abnormal pregnancy. While Cecilia follows a similar emotional journey to Rosemary, from the confusion over her baby’s conception to being gaslit by those who claim to have her best interests in mind, Immaculate inverts the iconic final frame of Rosemary’s Baby to great effect.
The Exorcist
William Friedkin’s horror classic shook audiences to their core upon release in the ’70s, largely for its shocking imagery. A grim battle over faith is waged between demon Pazuzu and priests Damien Karras (Jason Miller) and Lankester Merrin (Max von Sydow). The battleground happens to be a 12-year-old, Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair), whose possessed form commits blasphemy often, including violently masturbating with a crucifix. Yet Friedkin captures the horrifying events with stunning cinematography; the emotional complexity and shot composition lend elegance to a film that counterbalances the horror. That balance between transgressive imagery and artful form permeates Immaculate as well.
Suspiria
Jessica Harper stars as Suzy Bannion, an American newcomer at a prestigious dance academy in Germany who uncovers a supernatural conspiracy amid a series of grisly murders. It’s a dance academy so disciplined in its art form that its students and faculty live their full time, spending nearly every waking hour there, including built-in meals and scheduled bedtimes. Like Suzy Bannion, Cecilia is a novitiate committed to learning her chosen trade, so much so that she travels to a foreign country to continue her training. Also, like Suzy, Cecilia quickly realizes the pristine façade of her new setting belies sinister secrets that mean her harm.
What Have You Done to Solange?
This 1972 Italian horror film follows a college professor who gets embroiled in a bizarre series of murders when his mistress, a student, witnesses one taking place. The professor starts his own investigation to discover what happened to the young woman, Solange. Sex, murder, and religion course through this Giallo’s veins, which features I Spit on Your Grave’s Camille Keaton as Solange. Immaculate director Michael Mohan revealed to The Wrap that he emulated director Massimo Dallamano’s techniques, particularly in a key scene that sees Cecilia alone in a crowded room of male superiors, all interrogating her on her immaculate status.
The Red Queen Kills Seven Times
In this Giallo, two sisters inherit their family’s castle that’s also cursed. When a dark-haired, red-robed woman begins killing people around them, the sisters begin to wonder if the castle’s mysterious curse has resurfaced. Director Emilio Miraglia infuses his Giallo with vibrant style, with the titular Red Queen instantly eye-catching in design. While the killer’s design and use of red no doubt played an influential role in some of Immaculate’s nightmare imagery, its biggest inspiration in Mohan’s film is its score. Immaculate pays tribute to The Red Queen Kills Seven Times through specific music cues.
The Vanishing
Rex’s life is irrevocably changed when the love of his life is abducted from a rest stop. Three years later, he begins receiving letters from his girlfriend’s abductor. Director George Sluizer infuses his simple premise with bone-chilling dread and psychological terror as the kidnapper toys with Red. It builds to a harrowing finale you won’t forget; and neither did Mohan, who cited The Vanishing as an influence on Immaculate. Likely for its surprise closing moments, but mostly for the way Sluizer filmed from inside a coffin.
The Other Hell
This nunsploitation film begins where Immaculate ends: in the catacombs of a convent that leads to an underground laboratory. The Other Hell sees a priest investigating the seemingly paranormal activity surrounding the convent as possessed nuns get violent toward others. But is this a case of the Devil or simply nuns run amok? Immaculate opts to ground its horrors in reality, where The Other Hell leans into the supernatural, but the surprise lab setting beneath the holy grounds evokes the same sense of blasphemous shock.
Inside
During Immaculate‘s freakout climax, Cecilia sets the underground lab on fire with Father Sal Tedeschi (Álvaro Morte) locked inside. He manages to escape, though badly burned, and chases Cecilia through the catacombs. When Father Tedeschi catches Cecilia, he attempts to cut her baby out of her womb, and the stark imagery instantly calls Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury’s seminal French horror movie to mind. Like Tedeschi, Inside’s La Femme (Béatrice Dalle) will stop at nothing to get the baby, badly burned and all.
Burial Ground
At first glance, this Italian zombie movie bears little resemblance to Immaculate. The plot sees an eclectic group forced to band together against a wave of undead, offering no shortage of zombie gore and wild character quirks. What connects them is the setting; both employed the Villa Parisi as a filming location. The Villa Parisi happens to be a prominent filming spot for Italian horror; also pair the new horror movie with Mario Bava’s A Bay of Blood or Blood for Dracula for additional boundary-pushing horror titles shot at the Villa Parisi.
The Devils
The Devils was always intended to be incendiary. Horror, at its most depraved and sadistic, tends to make casual viewers uncomfortable. Ken Russell’s 1971 epic takes it to a whole new squeamish level with its nightmarish visuals steeped in some historical accuracy. There are the horror classics, like The Exorcist, and there are definitive transgressive horror cult classics. The Devils falls squarely in the latter, and Russell’s fearlessness in exploring taboos and wielding unholy imagery inspired Mohan’s approach to the escalating horror in Immaculate.
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