Exclusives
A ‘Dream’ Interview With Korean Director Pang Ho-Cheung!
Hopefully by now you’ve had a chance to check out Pang Ho-cheung’s Korean slasher Dream Home (review) that’s been available On Demand from IFC Midnight since February 9.
We’re such big fans of the film that we caught up with Ho-cheung to chat about his inspirations for this over-the-top bloody slasher that’s guaranteed to have your mind blown.
“When she was a child, Cheng Lai-sheung (Josie Ho) could see Hong Kong’s famed Victoria Harbour from her apartment. But as time passed, the old buildings in front of her home were demolished to make way for a huge residential project that now blocks her view. Increasingly disappointed and upset, she vowed to one day save up enough money for her family to move into a new apartment with a magnificent sea view.
In order to get what she wants, she must take matters into her own hands…even if it means getting her hands seriously bloody.”
Check out even more bloody stills!, along with the interview inside.
Bloody Disgusting: Where did the idea for this movie come from?
Pang Ho-cheung: I love horror and slasher film since I was a kid. Films like Friday The 13th, Halloween and A Nightmare on Elm Street are all my favorites. The reason I made this film is because I wanted to do a slasher and I’ve never able to afford my own flat for the past 35 years in Hong Kong. Hence, I decided to write a bloody and violent story to satirise the craziness of the Hong Kong property market.
BD: When did you decide to make it a violent slasher?
PH: One night in 2008, I was having dinner with Raymond Phathanavirangoon who is the co-producer of Dream Home. I told him that I still can’t afford to buy a flat today. And we started complaining about the property market shooting up. I wondered why many people were able to buy the flats even though the prices were so high. Perhaps the people have done unspeakable and illegal business before they buy their own flats? And then Dream Home started to evolve.
BD: Did you look to any classic slasher movies for inspiration?
PH: I always love horror and slasher films such as Friday The 13th, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the version in 1974, I don’t like the 2003 version) and The Hills Have Eyes. Recently, I like Hostel and The Human Centiped. Frankly, I felt pressure of making the killing scenes since I have watched many slasher movies. So I wanted the props and special effects to be as detailed as possible.
BD: How much fun did you have making a movie this bloody? Was it hard?
PH: I was so excited and delighted in thinking many unheard ways to kill people by using everyday household necessities. However, they were far more difficult to implement than I imagine. The departments of special make-up, CG effects and action choreography should spend almost one hour to re-set after one shot. At that time, you will ask yourself: why I do not choose to shoot a comedy then. Of course, it was really rewarding that the audience were so scary to view these killing scenes.
I felt guilty when I heard that three audiences fainted when it premiered at Udine Far East Film Festival, and one of them was carried out to the hospital. But also, I was so proud of my team that they did a brilliant job.
BD: More horror in the future?
PH: Yes, absolutely. I still have many bottles of blood plasma in my office.
Exclusives
Katharine Isabelle Battles Cosmic Horror in Exclusive ‘Junction Row’ Teaser Trailer [Fantasia 2026]
Among Fantasia 2026‘s massive final wave of programming this morning is Raven Banner’s Lovecraftian creature feature Junction Row, starring Canadian horror icon Katharine Isabelle, and we’re exclusively unveiling the teaser trailer.
Junction Row will celebrate its World Premiere at Fantasia on July 28.
Watch a housing compound fall under siege from Lovecraftian creatures more dangerous than drug dealers in the trailer below.
Junction Row follows “Juno, a recovering addict who leaves a fringe housing compound for a better life, leaving her beloved Ruby behind. When she learns that Ruby has gone missing, Juno returns, only to find Junction Row has become a hotbed of criminal activity, but she encounters much more than menacing drug dealers on her mission to find Ruby.”
Isabelle stars as Juno, with Natalie Brown (FX’s The Strain) as Ruby.
The creature feature marks the feature debut by director Ashlea Wessel, who has directed festival-favorite shorts like 2018’s “Tick” and 2020’s “Weirdo”.
Wessel co-writes Junction Row with Clown in a Cornfield author Adam Cesare and Matt Serafini.
Katharine Isabelle is coming off a brief appearance in Kane Parsons’ Backrooms, and more recently appeared in holiday horror It’s a Wonderful Knife. The horror icon is arguably best known for her turn as the eponymous werewolf in Ginger Snaps and for her roles in American Mary and Freddy vs Jason.
Fantasia teases that Junction Row tells “a story where the fear of the unknown isn’t confined to what lies above, but what waits beneath.”
Stay tuned for more from Fantasia as the festival gets underway later this month.