Asian Crime, Thriller, Horror Premieres: August '21

Remember when I tried to do those individual posts on premiere days for dramas and movies? I liked them, but I didn’t really like keeping up with them. I had been incorporating them into my Random Asian News posts, but I thought that it really needed its own dedicated spot and so from now on I’ll try to do a monthly roundup of premieres. Not everything listed is something I’m interested in, nor will it be something that is accessible to everyone, but I still wanted to highlight some of the dramas and movies to look out for.

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-The tvN kdrama The Road: Tragedy of One starring Jin Jin Hee, Yoon Se Ah, and Kim Hye Eun premieres August 4th. Adapted from the novel One Tragedy by Norizuki Rintaro it tells the story of the rich residents who live at Royal the Hill. Jin Jin Hee plays an investigator out to find the truth and secrets revolving the residents. It looks like VIKI has picked it up.

-August 9th is the premiere for the KBS kdrama, Police Academy. Labeled as a ‘coming-of-age comedy melodrama’, the drama is about a student and teacher (Kang Sun Ho and Yoo Dong Man) who meet in the Police University and join forces to investigate a case. It’ll be available on Kocowa and VIKI.

-The 2019 Japanese horror film, Howling Village, will make its North American release on Friday, August the 13th in select theaters and will be available on VOD August 17. Written and directed by Takashi Shimizu (Ju-On), it is the story of Kanadae, a psychologist whose brother goes missing and has to visit his last known location, the haunted site Howling Village to try to find him.

-The Japanese film, Welcome to Toei Slaughterhouse, premieres August 13th. This one is honestly a little harder to find information for, and will most likely be harder to find for the international audience but wanted to add it to the list in case it becomes available.

“The film follows Saki (Momotsuki), Mei (Kudo), and Kaho (Teramoto), the members of the budding idol group called Wish as they are set to appear in the sequel of Toei's hit movie, Yugami. Toei Movie Studios is a place where a lot of popular movies and dramas are filmed, but this studio also has an untold secret.” - source

-Remember You, the Thai remake of the Korean drama Hello Monster will premiere August 16th. It’s currently scheduled to air on Netflix Thailand, and then make its way internationally on the 1st of November.

-The Korean film Hostage: Missing Celebrity will be in Korean theaters August 18. The action-thriller is about the kidnapping of a top film star (Hwang Jung Min) and his attempts at escape. It was scheduled to be released in 2020, but was postponed because of COVID. It is based on the 2015 Chinese film, Saving Mr. Wu.

-Guimoon: The Lightless Door will make it’s theatrical premiere on the 18th. The Korean horror is the first Korean film to be simultaneously created in three different versions: 2D, Screen X, and 4DX. In 1990 a janitor at a training facility murders guests and commits suicide. Since the event, there have been strange occurances at the training facility which led to it being closed down. A psychic (Kim Kang Woo) goes to the center to look for answers.

-Mikkoku wa Utau, is a Japanese drama produced by WOWOW. Masaki Sara (Masahiro Matsuoka) is a detective whose colleague dies during an investigation. After he transfers to a new department h receives a mysterious letter that could help him solve the case of his dead colleague. It will premiere August 22nd.

-The Korean drama D.P. follows the private soldier Jun Ho (Jung Hae In) who becomes a member of the military defector arrest team. It premieres on August 27th on Netflix. It looks like all 6 episodes will drop at the same time.

-I’m Watching You is a Korean drama produced by TVING and follows a crime through the eyes of CCTV. No date besides a reports that it’ll air someime this month.

-The Hong Kong drama produced by ViuTV, Sometimes When We Touch, stars Kent Tsai, a college student who is a fan of the supernatural when an attempt at trying to get his crush to join a club gets out of hand. Think more teen romcom than scary. All the promo I could find on this one says that it’ll be out on the 7th, but MyDramaList has it as a question mark with their airing calendar says it has already started.

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Album Review: Dreamcatcher's Summer Holiday

For as much as I love Dreamcatcher, you would have thought that at this point I would have written an album review and yet this is the first one. Dreamcatcher knows and loves me, apparently, as they’ve put out a music video that just works for my Korean Summer Horror.

I’m a sucker for anything theatrical, and it’s one of the driving forces on why I love Dreamcatcher so much. They stick to a theme and do it well, and I think their collaboration with LEEZ and Ollounder pays off because they seem to like to work on these more theatrical pieces (you hear this in some of their other works with other artists such as ATEEZ), and they get to play around a lot with the musical styles because Dreamcatcher can pull off different styles. They are just inherently doing a different thing than most of kpop, and it allows a lot of creative freedom. Summer Holiday while a stand-alone album, incorporates a lot of Dreamcatcher’s earlier songs and sounds, with a lot of the nods seen especially in the title track. Each of the b-side tracks have their own summer flare to them, and while they work really well as singular songs they make up a really great full roundup of summer feelings, almost like the emotions you go through having a summer fling.

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01. Intro

I love that the ‘Intro’ sounds like it’s at an abandoned theme park, or a boardwalk with the wind/water sounds in the background. The emptiness of hearing the echoing of the single pair of footsteps ties in nicely with the creepiness of the title and is a great way to introduce ‘BEcause’. If I were to make a story based on this alone, it’s the opening of a store on the boardwalk. The bell ringing sounds like a door opening, the empty steps around the store with no customers; opening it up for the summer season.

02. BEcause (title)

I don’t want to go too deep into the music video and keep this centered on the song, but I will say that this is currently my favorite music video they’ve put out. It’s objectively their best, with probably the most budget put behind it. But besides that, part of what I like about the music video is how well it pairs with the song. While I do think a lot of their other releases work well, this one is the closest to what is going on with the song specifically with music elements and I think that it really creates a great musical experience. They use a lot of their doppelganger personas in the music video (which is a reoccurring theme from other music videos, despite this album being a one-off and not necessarily part of any of the arcs), but I think it plays into the doll-like actions they have and kind of mimics the playfulness of a carnival/vaudeville song.

Dami’s rap works really well with its mechanical run-down distortion and crunchy noise that help play into that fake doll/doppelganger concept and the added background sound clips are great with the song’s obsessive love lyrics. The chorus isn’t as strong as we normally see in their songs, but I really liked that it’s more reserved. It leans into that melodic carnival/music toy music and their voices kind of match. When I first saw their teasers I thought that maybe this comeback would be about sirens, and in a way the song does with its haunting and luring melody. SuA having a lot of the heavier rock belting is a nice change, I’ve always thought her voice was great in that range and allowed ‘BEcause’ to be different than some of the other songs that use Siyeon’s vocals in those areas and allowed Siyeon to get the softer melodies.

03. Airplane

While ‘Airplane’ might not be my favorite off the album, it has been growing on me the more I replay it. It’s a lot brighter and happier and really strays away from the carnival/creepy to a happier summer holiday. It’s got some 80’s synth underlying, but it’s really is closer to some older kpop groups. Dreamcatcher is a fan of groups like Girls Generation, and it reminds me of something that is a nod to older girl group songs. Would this be on a teen rom-com soundtrack? Absolutely. It’s a lot of fun and poppy and translates to the feelings of a young romance where everything seems to give you butterflies and are willing to go anywhere, as long as you are with the person.

04. Whistle

‘Whistle’ really is the perfect song to put on a summer road trip playlist. Dami’s part in this is one of my favorites, I love when they use her for vocal lines as her voice has grown a lot not just in her rapping. I really don’t know what to say about this one, it’s just…good. Like really good. I would say this has a place in the top favorite b-sides. I like how they play up the whistle part in the background, to the point that it is its own vocal line. Will you get what I mean when I say that this sounds like a sunset? I don’t know how to describe what I mean by that, but it’s got that freeing feeling of the day finally being over. Out of all the songs, this is the closest to the vibe of a summer festival.

05. Alldaylong

Did I expect a city pop song from Dreamcatcher? No. Have I always secretly wanted one? Yes. And to top it off it’s one where JiU worked on. The one thing that Dreamcatcher is really good at is their vocals, and this song showcases that. It strays away from the power pop they tend to go with in their title tracks and allows them to use a really light breathy voice. JiU, Yoohyeon, and Handong especially shine in this range. Is saying their breathy vocal qualities remind me of a windy night on the beach a stretch and looking too hard into things? Maybe. But I kind of think that was its intent.

06. A Heart of Sunflower

This is by far my favorite ballad that Dreamcatcher has ever done. To really experience how beautiful this song is, throw in a pair of headphones and close your eyes. The soft guitar line in the background. The vocals. They don’t do ballads a lot, but I love when they do. The build-up is nice on this one, starts off very low and light and rises and backs off when it needs to. The emotions are raw and the girls pull off a great rock ballad.

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I feel like I’ve said this before, but Dreamcatcher has some of the best b-sides and while I think that Dreamcatcher is starting to get out of that underrated spot for their main title songs, they are definitely underrated in how solid of a b-side lineup they have. They always play around with their sound, and can adapt well within the different genres. If you aren’t listening to their b-sides you are missing out on a lot. Summer Holiday did what all the other Dreamcatcher albums have done, and delivered solidly great varied songs.

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July Dramas '21

Hey remember last monthly wrap-up where I was feeling great and had things all planned out? Ha. Those are fun times. You would think at this point I would shut my mouth and not say anything because I know that it doesn’t matter that I thought I had a great thing going that I would completely ruin it the next month. I didn’t get to any of the dramas I wanted to this month, and now that it’s Olympics time I’m going to be even more behind. However, August doesn’t have anything that I want to watch - so positive catch up time? Just learn to never trust me. Ever.

Completed
I’ve been watching a lot of movies, however, I’m not going to go into detail about those. If you want to know the movies I’ve watched, check out my Letterboxd diary and let me know in the comments if it would be beneficial talking about the ones that I haven’t made a dedicated review for.

• Coma - 코마: I reviewed this so if you want to know my thoughts, check out here. Spoiler alert: I really liked it.

• Kingdom - 킹덤: I had every intention of watching both seasons in time for Ashin, and like the good failure I am I only got through the first season. I did like it, which wasn’t something I thought I wouldn’t. However, I did want this to be scarier. I know that zombies in general scare people, but the way they do a lot of the zombie parts are about the same as war fight scenes. I’m sure this is intentional, but I do think that maybe if you are not watching it because you think it’d be scary, maybe you’d be ok with this? It has a lot of downtime not with the zombies, and really the gore is in line with a lot of those epic war movies.

• Penance - 贖罪: I picked this drama up purely on a whim, entirely by-passing all the other dramas that I had to watch. Ha. I was going through the streaming site Tubi looking for movies and realized that they also had Asian dramas and saw this jdrama sitting there and figured I’d check it out. It’s a small series, only five episodes, so it was easier to pick up.

Currently Watching

• Voice 4: I’m behind on this, but I’m glad that it is officially over so that I don’t have to wait on subs.

• Hospital Playlist 2: Again, behind but as it only posts once a week (and they are already a week behind because of Olympics/Covid) I’m not too terribly behind.

• You Are My Spring: I wasn’t expecting to pick this one up, it just happened.

• Kingdom 2: I’ve already started this!

• Masters Sun: Maybe I’m watching this for a specific thing hint hint.

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Phone (2002) Non-Spoiler Review

Phone was written and directed by Ahn Byeong Ki, who’s known for a number of horror works such as the Bunshinsaba series, APT, and Death Bell 2. The movie follows Ji Won (Ha Ji Won), an investigative journalist who starts to get mysterious calls on her new cellphone. Thinking it’s in reference to a case she had just broken, she thinks nothing of it until things escalate when her friend’s daughter gets ahold of the phone and hears something that frightens her, prompting Ji Won to investigate the source of the calls.

Phone has everything I personally love in horror films. The spookiness of a horror film, with the mystery of a crime drama. I think the film balances out the creepy bits with the investigation into what is behind the problems with the phone well. It keeps you not only on the edge of your seat because it uncovers some great shocks, but also because you don’t know what the entity is going to do next and why. Pair all of those elements with a delightfully creepy kid, and you get a really enjoyable movie.

The stand-out performance in the cast is Eun Seo Woo as Young Joo. Her role requires her to deal with a range of emotions and she is able to pull it off at only seven years old. I’ve watched Ha Ji Won in several roles, all in rom-com settings, so it was nice to see her in a different role. Although she seems to be the main character as the phone calls are coming to her, she really isn’t in the context of the movie and is there as the catalyst to unveil what happened. I thought she worked well in that role and didn’t take the attention away from that storyline while keeping her character grounded. Kim Yoo Mi as Young Joo’s mom is also great, her character progression throughout the movie was subtle but highly effective.

At the risk of not giving too much away, I will say that I liked the nod to The Tell-Tale Heart paired with the build of tension using ‘The Moonlight Sonata’ at the end and was a great wrap-up to the story. The movie has a good amount of twists and turns that keep you entertained. If you like Asian horror for its slower builds and vengeful ghosts, I highly suggest checking out Phone.

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Four Episodes: Who Are You

I started doing this series way back in 2019 and since then I’ve only done that one initial post and what a perfect time to do that than with a drama that premiered today. The basic rundown of this series is that I discuss my thoughts on the first four episodes of a drama. It’s sort of like a first impression but dives a little bit farther into the series without being a full series review. It’s based on the rule that a lot of drama watchers follow where they watch four episodes before they decide whether they are going to drop a drama or not. While I don’t personally do that (if I don’t like a drama at the first episode, I’ll drop it without hesitation), I do think that this format is a little bit better for writing posts than just the two episode first impressions because you do get a better sense of what the series is going to be and have a bit more to talk about.

Note: Even though this drama has been out for a while, the spoilers in this post will only focus on the first four episodes.

Native Title: 후아유
Release Date: July 29, 2013
Episode #: 16
Network: tvN
Director: Jo Hyun Taek (SKY Castle)
Writer: Ban Ki Ri (Missing: The Other Side), Moon Ji Young (Queen Maker)
Genre: Thriller/Mystery/Horror/Supernatural/Romance
Starring: So Yi Hyun, Ok Taecyeon, Kim Jae Wook. Rest of the cast can be found here.

The premise of Who Are You is pretty simple and even though it is labeled as a horror, it’s really not. Yang Shi On (So Yi Hyun) is a detective who is able to see ghosts following waking up from a coma after being attacked during a case that left her boyfriend (Kim Jae Wook) dead. She sees a ghost, finds out that they’ve been murdered, and then she spends two episodes solving the case with Cha Gun Woo (Taecyeon). Part of the struggle with the cases is that they aren’t really cops. Well…they are but they work in lost and found; Shi On because of being placed in a low stress position after the coma, Gun Woo because he’s a rookie cop. I don’t really know what lost and found cops do, or why they are needed (are they even a thing in Korea?) but it does stunt them in situations because a lot of the time neither have clearance or access to a lot of the information on the cases or ways to protect themselves because they don’t carry guns.

Admittedly I haven’t watched many - if any - crime dramas from before 2016, and so I don’t have a lot of comparison to some other dramas of the genre, but Who Are You does seem to run into similar problems and tropes that dramas in general from that period have with a lot of questionable content. While I can still enjoy them, they really annoy me when they get into the territory of light abuse masked by love and other subjects. Taecyeon’s character plays the over acted screamer, and while it’s nice to see this type of role in the male lead when it’s almost always reserved for the female lead, it does lend to situations that are hard to watch. He yells at Shi On constantly, undermining her as a capable cop (or really human), and for some reason having a temper tantrum of a two-year-old means that he is to be seen as better in the situation and just trying to protect her “absentmindedness”.

Can’t win those suitors with a scar on your arm!

Shi On sees ghost and was in a coma for like six years after watching the love of her life get shot. I think she’s allowed to be a little weird. Should she be in law enforcement? Maybe no, but she was officially assigned to only doing smaller desk work in a department that isn’t supposed to have these types of cases so it’s not really her fault. While she definitely isn’t in a position to mentally handle these murder cases, at least she isn’t purposefully trying to pick up these cases on whims or a sheer determination to push herself. She does it to not be plagued by seeing the ghosts. Which honestly is a nice setup to see, as a lot of time these types of dramas can have leads who are forceably doing things that are outside of their mental capability because they think they are better than anyone, and it’s nice to not have that type of cockiness in the lead. It’s one of those dramas that while labeled as a crime drama, they don’t do anything by the law or correct and expect that the audience has no knowledge to help carry that narrative.

That being said, I did like some aspects of the drama specifically when they did dial back all of the comedy and overacting and started to focus on the cases. It had some good moments, that really could have been great. I think that is what is ultimately the real problem with the drama. You can see where the drama is supposed to go, and how it’s just not there yet (if it’ll get there at all). If the focus of the drama was less about forcing the connection of the two being the obvious set up of a romantic couple, especially during these first episodes, and allowed the stories of the individual murder cases to be the focus, I think it would have shaped up to be a solid start to a crime drama with a lot of intrigue and mystery. I have to admit that despite those faults, I found myself being immersed in the story. The episodes aren’t very long and I think it helped keep me interested in what I was watching as it wasn’t constantly trying to draw out the story line with a lot of filler. I also like the setup of the story arcs and how they are centered on a different cold case each two episodes. I do hope that it’ll continue that way throughout the series.

I’m intrigued enough to see where it’s going for the rest of the series, especially since it took till the last seconds of the fourth episode for Jae Wook’s character to be brought back and we didn’t get much time to understand what his presence in the drama exactly is. With Taec’s character being too misogynistic for me to handle I know that it’ll be grating for me to keep up watching regularly, especially in large doses. For now it’s not a drop, but it is going to be kept on-hold and I may get back to it every once and a while.

The drama is a little hard to find and I’ve honestly not heard anyone talk about it, so if you’ve watched the drama, let me know what you thought (no-spoilers!) and if I should give it more of a try.

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Fantasia Film Festival 2021

The full lineup of the Fantasia Film Festival was released and tickets are on sale (and probably sold out), and while I would love to eat PB&J sandwiches for the next month to cover the cost of the tickets, I can’t because I spent all my money on Dreamcatcher and 2PM. Since I have to live vicariously through everyone else covering, I figured I would go through the schedule and share what movies I would have tried to watch if I got to attend. Maybe next year I can will into existence being cool enough for a press pass. While some of them are Asian and horror, it’s not true for all of the movies listed below.

Descriptions are pulled from Fantasia Film Festival’s webpage. The festival runs August 5-25.

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THE 12 DAY TALE OF THE MONSTER THAT DIED IN 8 (Japan, 2020)
Sci-Fi

Director/Writer: Shunji Iwai

Like so many actors, Sato (Takumi Saitoh, playing a version of himself) is out of work due to COVID-19. He sits at home, and wonders what to do. Until tokusatsu director and kaiju expert Shinji Higuchi (of ATTACK ON TITAN and SHIN GODZILLA) suggest he buy capsule monsters online – to defeat the virus! Thus begins a bizarre series of videos in which the unemployed actor raises little play-putty monsters, which take on increasingly familiar, yet alien names. He is not alone: Youtube stardom forms around the phenomenon and soon his colleague Non (JELLYFISH PRINCESS, this year’s HOLD ME BACK) even starts fostering an alien! But as isolation blues kicks in in earnest and popular fictions blend with reality, one rightfully asks: What is going here?

ALIEN ON STAGE (UK, 2021)
Comedy, Documentary, Sci-Fi

Directors: Lucy Harvey & Danielle Kummer

A high-spirited group of British bus drivers set their minds to launching a homemade stage play adaptation of Ridley Scott’s ALIEN in Lucy Harvey and Danielle Kummer’s debut documentary ALIEN ON STAGE. With a Christopher Guest-esque charisma that particularly recalls his community theatre classic WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, the film follows the ups and downs of the delightfully DIY production, with its second-hand costumes and cardboard sets, and the charming crew determined to make it succeed.

ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU-CHOU (Japan, 2001)
Drama

Director/Writer: Shunji Iwai

Mysterious, ethereal dream-pop star Lily Chou-Chou dominates the charts, and the hearts of middle schoolers across Japan. Among them, the shy Shuichi (Hayato Ichihara) and the bullish Shusuke (Shugo Oshinari). Lily Chou-Chou’s music becomes a shared gateway into their tumultuous lives over the course of a few, formative years of adolescence. The teens discover their identities, affirm their passion and the slippery distinction between right and wrong as their embattled psychic landscapes are laid bare on the virtual walls of an Internet chatroom – pulsing to the pangs of a powerful, all-consuming fandom.

ALL THE MOONS (Spain, 2021)
Drama, Horror, Fantasy

Director: Igor Legarreta ∣ Writers: Igor Legarreta, Jon Sagala

As war rages through 1876 Spain, an orphanage is bombed and a young girl (Haizea Carneros) is gravely injured. She is rescued by a woman (Itziar Ituño) whom she perceives to be an angel, and who heals her wounds, while telling the girl she must now avoid the daylight. She also promises the girl that she will see many more full moons, and when more soldiers attack, they are forced to flee into the wilderness. The two become separated, and the girl is forced to take shelter, facing an uncertain future – and one that will last far beyond that of ordinary human beings.

APRIL STORY (Japan, 1998)
Drama, Romance

Director/Writer: Shunji Iwai

Uzuki Nireno (Takako Matsu), a shy girl from the countryside of northern Hokkaido, is heading to the big city for university. Settling into a new, exciting life, she comes to admit to herself that she might have ulterior motives in determining her choice of university: what if she came to Tokyo chasing a crush? To be near a boy, whom she fell in love with, before he moved away to work at a bookstore? What then? Like FIREWORKS, APRIL STORY is a remarkable example of Iwai’s talent as a chronicler of youthful experiences, here moving on from elementary school to tackle the momentous transition between high school and university – the first taste for complete independence, the shaping of identity, the new friendships and discoveries, the particular texture of light in a new apartment – with great pathos and an irresistible nostalgia. Featuring one of the all-time great umbrella scenes in the history of the medium and a joyful, magnetic performance from pop star Takako Matsu, APRIL STORY is an Iwai classic. – Ariel Esteban Cayer

BRAIN FREEZE (Canada, 2021)
Comedy, Horror

Director: Julien Knafo ∣ Writer: Jean Barbe, Julien Knafo

In the small, middle-class community of Ile-aux-Paons (Peacock Island), a new fertilizer is spread on the golf courses to allow the rich to play year-round. But the experimental fertilizer contains an active component that contaminates the population, turning them into zombies interested only in multiplying. This is how André (Iani Bédard), a young teenager who is taking care of his baby sister, crosses paths with Dan (Roy Dupuis), a security guard. As they journey across their quarantined island, they try to find the source of the evil and save themselves!

CAUTION HAZARDOUS WIFE THE MOVIE (Japan, 2020)
Action, Comedy, Drama

Director: Toya Sato ∣ Writer: Yukiko Manabe

Appearances can sometimes be deceiving. The inhabitants of the coastal town of Tamami will find this out soon enough. A methane hydrate processing plant is about to be built on their shores, a project dear to the government, and the stink of corruption reaxches for miles around. In addition, attacks on opponents of the project are on the rise. There is also the discreet Nami (Haruka Ayase, CYBORG SHE) who hides a secret that she herself has forgotten. The clumsy, unremarkable housewife is in fact a formidable secret agent who suffers from amnesia since a head injury suffered during a mission. A victim of strange dreams in which she confronts Russian mercenaries, she undergoes therapy to recover her memory, but receives mixed support from her husband Yuki (Hidetoshi Nishijima, CREEPY), who keeps a close eye on her. And what about Juri (Kenshi Okada), the cosplay-loving café owner who seems to shun certain people? Tamami is not nearly as peaceful as it seems. And its citizens, especially Nami, haven't seen anything yet!

COMING HOME IN THE DARK (New Zealand, 2021)
Thriller, Horror

Director: James Ashcroft ∣ Writers: Jam Ashcroft, Eli Kent

This extraordinary neo-noir is a blisteringly tense road movie into hell that plays like a home-invasion thriller set largely in a moving car. Based on the 1995 short story by award-winning New Zealand author Owen Marshall, described by David Hill as “one of the most harrowing narratives in our literature.” Official Selection: Sundance 2021, Calgary Underground Film Festival 2021.

THE DEEP HOUSE (France, 2021)
Horror

Directors/Writers: Alexandre Bustillo & Julien Maury

Two daredevil Youtubers with a passion for abandoned urban edifices film themselves as they take a deep dive into the bottom of a lake where there lies a mysterious house with a sinister past. Award-winning French genre maestros Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury (INSIDE, KANDISHA) display numerous filmic skills with this intelligent found footage style feature. The immersive darkness, the floating strangeness, THE DEEP HOUSE takes us down and further down, from mere unfamiliar discomfort to absolute and unfathomable terror.

DIGITAL VIDEO EDITING WITH ADOBE PREMIERE PRO: THE REAL-WORLD GUIDE TO SET UP AND WORKFLOW (South Korea, 2020)
Romance, Horror, Comedy

Director/Writer: Hong Seong Yoon

A mysterious ghost keeps appearing in the shots of a film as it’s being cut, causing its editor and director to bicker to death. An innovative “screen life” horror comedy trading the usual desktop for the editing software and skillfully blending expected long-haired scares with Hong Sang Soo-esque petty drama! – Ariel Esteban Cayer

DON’T SAY ITS NAME (Canada, 2021)
Horror

Director: Rueben Martell ∣ Writer: Rueben Martell, Gerald Wexler

When an environmental activist is called back to the world of the living after a suspicious accident takes her life, an ancient spirit is reborn outside a small northern town. With a wealth of Indigenous talent both in front of and behind the camera, DON’T SAY ITS NAME, the eerie feature debut from director/co-writer Rueben Martell, builds its chills with compellingly real characters and strong performances from Madison Walsh (SOMETHING UNDONE), Sera-Lys McArthur (OUTLANDER), Samuel Marty (GODLESS), Carla Fox, and Julian Black-Antelope (HOLD THE DARK).

FOLLOW THE LIGHT (Japan, 2020)
Drama

Director: Yoichi Narita ∣ Writer: Yoichi Narita, Yu Sakudo

Freshly arrived from Tokyo to a fading village in the Japanese countryside, Akira becomes fascinated with an isolated girl who is obsessed with a crop circle in her grandfather's fields. This multi-layered, sci-fi coming-of-age story by first-time director Yoichi Narita is a true gem with a dazzling narrative. The majestic, rich cinematography, which highlights the magnificent rural landscapes, and judicious use of music recall Shunji Iwai's masterpiece ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU-CHOU. FOLLOW THE LIGHT will leave a lasting impression with its soft visual splendour and sensitive storytelling.

FUNKY FOREST: THE FIRST CONTACT (Japan, 2005)
Drama, Comedy, Sci-Fi

Directors/Writers: Katsuhito Ishii, Hajime Ishimine, Shunichiro Miki

If you look at them just right, the most mundane elements of daily life can seem utterly bizarre. Conversely, the strangest, most inexplicable things can seem perfectly ordinary. That's the lunatic logic behind 2005’s FUNKY FOREST, a sprawling omnibus of the obvious and the oddball, the casual and the completely insane. FUNKY FOREST's daringly disjointed narrative is a mishmash of blackouts, non-sequiturs, flashbacks, lucid dreams, magical moments and so much more. Life's little disappointments are woven together with all sorts of extraterrestrial freaks and incomprehensible biological curiosities, music-video mayhem and mind-bending theatrics, and psychedelic surrealism of the finest grade, delivered with a deadpan shrug.

GLASSHOUSE (South Africa, 2021)
Thriller, Sci-Fi

Director: Kelsey Egan Writers: Emma De Wet, Kelsey Egan

A memory-shredding neurochemical permeates the atmosphere like airborne dementia, but safe within an airtight glasshouse a family preserves their past through rituals of collective memory. Sensual and savage, GLASSHOUSE weaves aspects of dystopian science fiction with notes of folk horror and perverse, brooding, Gothic melodrama to craft a taught existential tale that ultimately explores the importance of storytelling and memory. It’s a stunning feature debut from South African filmmaker Kelsey Egan, starring Adrienne Pearce, Jessica Alexander, Anja Taljaard, and Hilton Pelser.

THE GREAT YOKAI WAR - GUARDIANS (Japan, 2021)
Fantasy, Advenutre

Director: Takashi Miike ∣ Writer: Yusuke Watanabe

Like many children his age, Kei learns to control his fears and constantly quarrels with his little brother Dai. One night, a strange creature comes to visit him, then a mysterious portal opens in his room. He is transported to the magical world of the Yokai, the gentle Japanese demons, each with an unusual shape and unique character traits. They tell him that a terrible war threatening their world will devastate downtown Tokyo in the form of the colossal Yokaiju. Worse, the emergency meeting of the great international council of Yokai, where Dracula, the mermaid, what looks like a Trumpist, and their cronies have abandoned them, has designated Kei and Dai as their only hopes, as they are the last descendants of a legendary fighter. Frightened, Kei refuses. When he returns, Dai has disappeared. Kei must find the courage to fulfill his destiny in order to save his brother, the Yokai, and Tokyo.

HELLO! TAPIR (Taiwan, 2021)
Drama, Animation, Fantasy

Director: Kethsvin Chee ∣ Writers: Kethsvin Chee, Chris Leong, Yoon Yee Teh

It has the body of a pig, the trunk of an elephant, the ears of a horse and the feet of a rhinoceros. At night, it passes through sleeping villages and gobbles up people’s pesky nightmares. This huge, fantastical beast, called a tapir, is real, and eight-year-old Ah Keat’s father once told the boy he had in fact seen one when he himself was young. One grey day, the family’s fishing boat is towed back into the village harbour, and Ah Keat’s father is not on it. The adults around him – his distraught grandmother, his anxious mom who has returned from Taipei – are not forthcoming with Ah Keat about what has happened. He wants his father back, and he believes the tapir can help, so he and his friends begin a quest to find the gentle, benevolent beast.

JOSEE (South Korea, 2020)
Romance, Drama

Director/Writer Kim Jeong Kwan

After an incident that leaves her electric wheelchair disabled, Josée is rescued by Young Seok, who she then brings in to discover her unique imaginary world. A beautiful, moving, charming, and visually polished film by Kim Jeong Kwan faithfully adapted from the popular novel Josee, the Tiger and the Fish. Official Selection: Busan International Film Festival 2021.

KRATT (Estonia, 2020)
Comedy, Fantasy

Director/Writer: Rasmus Merivoo

Ah, children. The source of much joy, hope and innocence for many, but truth be told the little monsters are out to kill us all. Let's be honest, they're all selfish wretches who do nothing but drive you crazy and suck up your will to live. And now, in a small Estonian village, two narcissistic little brats (Nora and Harri Merivoo, the director's kids!), dropped off at their Grandmother's (Mari Lili) farm for a few weeks while their parents attend a self-help retreat, may bring about the end of human existence as we know it. Complaining about the actual work they're expected to do, these little snot-nosed pests bring the local legend of the Kratt – a Terminator-like demonic spirit that must always be fed work, or else – to life just so they can take it easy, but in doing so they may have set in motion the destruction of Grandma, her village and perhaps the world with it. And all because they couldn't get internet access.

LOVE, LIFE AND GOLDFISH (Japan, 2020)
Action, Comedy, Romance, Drama

Director: Yukinori Makabe ∣ Writer: Harumi Doki

They say it's unhealthy to bottle up your emotions. Makoto, an elite employee at one of Tokyo's biggest banks, has learned this the hard way. The poor guy is so closed off, and has built up so much frustration, that when he is about to receive an important promotion, he can't help but shower a volley of gratuitous insults on his boss. As a result, he finds himself transferred to a small rural town, in the middle of nowhere. Once there, he meets the sweet Yoshino, the owner of a strange establishment where the customers compete in goldfish fishing. He immediately falls in love with her, but strongly resists this unwanted feeling. Then there is the exuberant local pub owner, Asuka, who seems to have a crush on him. Caught up in an emotional whirlwind, Makoto will have to learn to tame and express his emotions before he explodes again, and unwittingly sends everyone packing.

MIDNIGHT (South Korea, 2021)
Thriller

Director/Writer: Kwon Oh Seung

A wave of murders hits the city and, lurking in the shadows, a killer has just identified his new prey – a deaf woman. South Korea has become the go-to source for fans of dark, intense, unpredictable thrillers that deliver cutthroat tension, and Kwon Oh Seung's debut feature MIDNIGHT follows in this tradition. A breathless tale boasting hallucinatory sound design that relishes in testing the nerves of even the most seasoned viewers.

THE NIGHT HOUSE (USA, 2021)
Thriller, Horror

Director: David Bruckner ∣ Writers: Ben Collins, Luke Piotrowski

From director David Bruckner (THE RITUAL, THE SIGNAL) comes THE NIGHT HOUSE. Reeling from the unexpected death of her husband, Beth (Rebecca Hall) is left alone in the lakeside home he built for her. She tries as best she can to keep it together – but then nightmares come. Disturbing visions of a presence in the house calling to her, beckoning her with a ghostly allure. Against the advice of her friends, she begins digging into her husband’s belongings, yearning for answers. What she finds are secrets both strange and disturbing – a mystery she’s determined to unravel. THE NIGHT HOUSE stars Rebecca Hall (GODZILLA VS. KONG), Sarah Goldberg (Barry, Elementary), Vondie Curtis Hall (DIE HARD 2, EVE’S BAYOU), Evan Jonigkeit (Togetherish, Sweetbitter), and Stacy Martin (VOX LUX, NYMPHOMANIAC).

OFFICE ROYALE (Japan, 2021)
Comedy

Director: Kazuaki Seki ∣ Writer: Bakarhythm

Naoko (Mei Nagano, RUROUNI KENSHIN) is an innocuous office worker at Mitsufuji, a company like any other. Colleagues talk about the latest developments in their favourite TV series, discuss their diets, and many have a good time during lunch hours. Naoko steers clear of the clique war between three departments led by ruthless, backside-kicking bosses. Then a new employee arrives – Ran Hojo (Alice Hirose, THE TRAVELLING CAT CHRONICLES). She has the charisma and strength of a manga heroine. Ran defeats the clan leaders one by one and becomes the undisputed leader of Mitsufuji. She also befriends Naoko, who is not interested in office fights. The legend of Ran is spreading and the female warriors from other sections are constantly challenging her, without success. But what if she is dethroned by another gang, seeking to wrest control of Mitsufuji? Who would stand up for the company's honour?

REMAIN IN TWILIGHT (Japan, 2021)
Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

Director/Writer: Daigo Matsui

Six high school friends reunite for a wedding ceremony. They reconnect as if no time has passed, recall old nicknames, joke around and get ready to perform a trademark – and delightfully embarrassing – dance routine from their youthful days. But an unspoken weirdness lingers: Yoshio (rising star Ryo Narita of HOMUNCULUS) should not be there. At all. Metaphysically speaking, that is. And yet… His friends are able to see him, hear him, and touch him. As the day progresses, painful memories start blending with the present and an old flame makes an appearance, building towards a reckoning for all involved. No one wants to face the obvious: the lost Yoshio has remained in twilight.

THE SADNESS (Taiwan, 2021)
Horror

Director/Writer: Rob Jabbaz

In an alternate version of Taiwan, a rapidly spreading pandemic suddenly mutates into a rabies-like affliction, and the infected find themselves unable to control their id. A nightmare vision steeped in unspeakably upsetting moments of violence, Rob Jabbaz’s THE SADNESS plays like a return to the no-holds-barred shock sensibilities of ’90s Hong Kong Category III films. Electrified with an existential fear that punches spikes of panic energy straight into your nervous system, and told with incredible style, THE SADNESS is a force to be reckoned with. Fantasia is proud to be bringing this extreme horror rollercoaster to North American shores, hot off its bow at Locarno.

SAKURA (Japan, 2020)
Drama

Director: Hitoshi Yazaki ∣ Writer: Masa Asanishi, Kanako Nishi

As a young adult, Kaoru (Takumi Kitamura, TREMBLE ALL YOU WANT) returns home after a long absence. He is welcomed by his father (Masatoshi Nagase, MYSTERY TRAIN, SUICIDE CLUB), his mother (Shinobu Terajima, DARE TO STOP US) and his sister Miki (Nana Komatsu, BAKUMAN), but most of all he seems to be happy to be reunited with Sakura, the family dog. Gentle yet strong, sweet yet mischievous, she has been a significant part of their lives in the 12 years since they adopted her as an adorable puppy. Kaoru remembers this during his stay with his parents; he also thinks about his older brother Hajime (Ryo Yoshizawa, BLEACH), who was a star baseball player in school, but whose life was turned upside down by a curveball of fate…

SEOBOK (South Korea, 2021)
Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi

Director: Lee Yong Joo ∣ Writers: Yeom Gyu Hun, Lee Jae Min, Jeo Min Suk, Lee Yong Ju

A former secret service agent (Gong Yoo, TRAIN TO BUSAN) struggling with a brain tumor must return to duty for a mission of the utmost importance: protecting Seobok (Park Bo Gum, COIN LOCKER GIRL), the first human clone who has unnatural powers. Few mainstream films integrate ethical reflection with breathtaking, high-octane entertainment to this incredible extent.

THE SLUG (South Korea, 2021)
Drama, Fantasy

Director/Writer: Choi Jin Young

Chun Hee (Kang Jin Ah, MICROHABITAT) has yet to come out of her shell. Reeling from trauma harking back to her parent’s death, she still lives in her childhood home and goes about her business in a rather solitary but empathetic way – peeling inordinate amounts of garlic for restaurants and trying to connect with other people. Until she is struck by lightning – an event she not only survives, but which manifests her younger self (Park Hye Jin) into her life, in flesh and bone, awaiting explanations for this sad state of affairs.

TAIPEI SUICIDE STORY (Taiwan, 2020)
Thriller

Director/Writer: KEFF

A receptionist at a suicide hotel in Taipei forms a fleeting friendship with a guest who can't decide if she wants to live or die. A festival hit throughout the pandemic and winner of the Narrative Grand Jury Prize, Audience Award and Acting Prize for Tender Huang at Slamdance 2021, KEFF’s latest (following SECRET LIVES OF ASIANS AT NIGHT) is a uniquely poignant tale of resilience amidst alienation, set two minutes into our ever-uncertain futures.

UZUMAKI (Japan, 2000)
Horror

Director: Higuchinsky ∣ Writer: Takao Niita

Strange events are afoot in the small town of Kurozu – and schoolgirl Kirie seems to be caught in the maelstrom of it all. Her boyfriend’s father becomes obsessed with spirals. First, the patterns on a snail’s shell, then the movement of a washing machine or the whirlpool one makes with chopsticks when mixing fish cake into a soup. At school, a student starts dripping inordinate amounts of sweat – only attending class on damp, rainy days. Meanwhile, another classmate develops imposing curls. The sky darkens; spirals seem to be everywhere at once, exerting an irresistible fascination on all things.

VOICE OF SILENCE (South Korea, 2021)
Thriller, Crime

Director/Writer: Hong Eui Jeong

It's back to business as usual for Chang-bok (You Chea Myung, BRING ME HOME) and his assistant Tae In (Yoo Ah In, #ALIVE), who has lost his voice. They go to the village to sell their eggs, then change clothes and go to fulfill their contract with gangsters to prepare and clean the scene of an execution. Finally, they return home after disposing of the body. Their discretion and professionalism are so well respected that a gang leader gives them an unprecedented task: to fetch a person and hide them for 24 hours. When they arrive at the designated place, they are stunned. It’s a little girl. They bring her back and fulfill their part of the contract, but no one comes to claim her. So the antisocial Tae-in has to take the child back to his home, hidden deep in the land he shares with his little sister. Everything goes wrong when he and his colleague arrive at their new assignment, and find out that it’s their employer.

WHAT JOSIAH SAW (USA, 2021)
Horror, Thriller, Drama

Director: Vincent Grashaw ∣ Writer: Robert Alan Dilts

In director Vincent Grashaw’s Southern Gothic nightmare WHAT JOSIAH SAW, an estranged family grapples with the sins of the past… yanking the skeletons right out of their closet, kicking and screaming all the way! The superlative cast includes Robert Patrick, Nick Stahl, Kelli Garner, Tony Hale, Scott Haze and Jake Weber. It’s this year’s THE DARK AND THE WICKED.

WONDERFUL PARADISE (Japan, 2020)
Comedy, Fantasy

Director: Masashi Yamamoto ∣ Writers: Suzuyuki Kaneko, Masashi Yamamoto

The debt-ridden Sasayas are moving out of their big house in the suburbs of Tokyo. Misinterpreting her father’s suggestion to “make fun memories” instead of focusing on the material move, Akane, the family’s daughter, posts an open invitation on Twitter: “Let’s have a party!” Soon, a homeless man comes to pray at the altar of the kitsch Greek statue in their driveway, and thus begins the bacchanal! Guest after guest pours into the house: movers first (of course), the family’s estranged mother second, a couple looking for a place to wed, the neighbourhood drug dealers, a confrontational aunt, and soon, with the unflinching logic of an ever-escalating matsuri gone utterly and irreversibly wild, jilted lovers, supernatural surprises, and delights of the kaiju variety…

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Coma (2006) Review

Not very many horror dramas premiered during the summer, and of the few only a couple were fully horror and didn’t lean into comedy. The short five-episode OCN drama, Coma, is one of them. Premiering July 21, 2006, Coma is about a hospital that is closing and the secrets that are unearthed when an insurance agent comes to check on the hospital’s remaining patient who is in a coma. The drama was co-produced with the production house Sio Film and was shown at the 7th Jeonju International Film Festival in 2006.

I really didn’t know anything about Coma going into the drama, and so when I added it to my list of things to watch and review that premiered during the summer I knew that I was playing a dangerous game that it could very well turn out to not be something I would enjoy. But to my surprise, I was really into Coma and it caught me from the very beginning. The mystery of what happened unfolds well, with each episode focusing on a specific person tied to the events and what part they played. The drama goes much darker and creepier than I was expecting. It had a good grasp of incorporating a creepy tone and well-played scares that were consistent throughout the drama. I really wasn’t expecting it to go as dark as it did. I was pleasantly surprised that not only did it stay that way throughout, but was constantly adding more to the suspense and mystery of the drama throughout each episode.

I did find it hard to keep track of some of the characters, and this is mainly due to it jumping back and forth in time. It used time jumps pretty regularly and in different ways and along with some of the character’s being children during the time of the incident but grown in present day, it added to the confusion when some of the main older characters didn’t also have a defining age or appearance change. There are also jumps to incorporate the storylines of the previous episodes (that occur in the present time) and the characters do “see” what had happened in the viewpoint of the ghosts as well as the actual jumps into the past. But the story’s mysteries were intriguing and the scares kept me engrossed dispute the confusion, and once I finished the drama it had worked itself out. It’s definitely a drama that you need to watch all episodes for it to make sense, and I would suggest watching them as close as possible.

I really did love this drama. I think the episode number length works in its favor, along with it being an OCN production, so that it wasn’t tied to normal viewing regulations. Its director for the first and last episodes, Gong Su Chang, worked on horror films R-Point and the Ring Virus and so the drama really had a good creative team attached to it to make it work. I know that with it being an older drama it will detract people from picking it up, but it’s a great mystery with good scares and atmosphere. One of the darker and creepier revenge tales you can find in a kdrama. Its definitely been added to my list of favorite horror dramas that I’ve watched so far.

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Random Asian Horror News 7.19.21

I’m back with what I guess is now my semi-regular roundup of all the Asian horror news and articles that I found around the web since the last post. You know how I said that I didn’t like finding news? I take that back, because I did enjoy focusing on finding all the Asian horror news I could find and here we are with more than enough for a post. Because of this, and because I haven’t personally found any place that only talks about the Asian horror news, I’m going to be doing these much more often than I had originally expected to. I’ll also be switching up the layout a bit and will try to keep these up to date with movies and dramas premiering soon in theaters, VOD, or for sale. Sort of a mashup of what I would do for monthly wrap-ups or the short-lived premiere posts. These will probably focus on more than horror, but will stay in the darker genres.

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NEWS

-Fangoria magazine’s first movie to be produced under their newly established Fangoria Studios will be Sitora. It is inspired by the lost Malay film Sitora Harimau Jadian and will be directed by Diffan Sina Norman. The film centers on “a tyrannical shaman who puffs up the threat of a supernatural half-man, half-tiger as a means of preserving his feudal control”. (source)

-Not necessarily specific horror news, but news that will effect the type of content we see, Netflix has announced the plan to open a post-production studio in Mumbai with forty editing rooms for directors, editors, sound designers to help their interest in producing Korean content. I wrote about their See What’s Next conference that Netflix Korea held back in February which they announced their further plans for creating Korean content, and along with this push I think we’ll be seeing more of an upswing in Korean content very soon. (source)

-The international rights to the Korean horror film Ghost Door has been picked up by Finecut. It is scheduled to be released this year. (source)

-TVING announced the Korean drama, I'm Watching You, a crime drama using CCTV footage. To be released in August. (source)

-KBS (Korea) confirmed that four of their ten dramas for the 2021 Drama Special will be in the horror/thriller genre.

-Variety put out an article talking about the effect that COVID had on the South Korean film industry, and how the shift to digital because of it has made theater studios consider this shift to stay around as the industry rebuilds itself and the rise of foreign viewership as well as foreign streaming services (such as Disney Plus) enter the Korean market.

-Vietnamese thriller, Nguoi Lang Nghe: Loi Thi Tham (Listeners: The Whispering) continues to win awards at various film festivals, most recently the International New York Film Festival where it won best feature film with a budget under $250,000. (source)

-I talked about the joint Thai-Korean horror The Medium in my last post, but it continues to dominate news and is one of the most anticipated horror releases this summer. It’s currently no. 1 in Korean ticket pre-sales and has been bought by even more countries for streaming and viewing rights. (source) (source)

-A new Kingdom spin-off is rumored to be in production, Netflix has yet to confirm the information. (source)

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COMING SOON

For this post I’m including some dramas and movies that premiered recently along with those that will premiere in the next two weeks.

-The 2019 Japanese comedy-horror, Ghost Master, arrived on VOD July 13th. An assistant director working on a rom-com’s horror screenplay comes to life and starts possessing the cast.

-Netflix released the Thai sci-fi/thriller DEEP on the 16th. I did a non-spoiler review of the film that you can read here.

-The TVING Korean drama, The Witch’s Diner, premiered on the 16th. Staring Song Ji Hyo, the fantasy drama is about people who come to eat a magical dish that grants them their wishes. It’s available now on VIKI.

-The 2020 Thai horror movie, The Maid, will be available for streaming July 20th,. Joy is hired as a maid by a wealthy family where she experiences odd occurences. The Blu-Ray will be onsale August 17.

-Korean horror-comedy I Can Only See will be released in Korean theaters July 21st. Starring former 2AM member Jung Jin Woon, the movie is about the appearance of a supernatural entity appearing at a film site and terrorizing the crew.

-Daum Kakao TV Korean drama, The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim, premieres July 30th. Kim Sae Ron and Nam Da Reum play high schoolers who become involved in a series of mysterious incidents.

-Kingdom: Ashin of the North, premiers the 23rd on Netflix. It is a spinoff of the Korean zombie drama series, Kingdom and follows the mysterious character Ashin, who is shown in the second season.

-The Cursed: Dead Man's Prey, the sequel movie to the 2020 tvN Korean drama, The Curse, will be out on the 28th.

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DEEP (non-spoiler) Review

I wasn’t going to do a review on this movie since I’ve been trying to limit the amount of non-Korean horror content I post until the end of August, but since it just came out I figured it might be good to put one up in case someone was trying to feel out the movie and whether it was worth it to watch. I ended up watching it when it premiered on Netflix a couple of days ago, and after watching I knew that I maybe needed to focus a review on it.

Desperate for cash, Jane (Care Panisara Rikulsurakan) joins a study on insomnia that implants a chip to make sure you stay awake. The project spirals out of control as her and three other students try to get out.

Deep had so much potential to be a fairly decent movie, but ultimately fell flat. I wish I had liked the movie more, and I wish that it had pushed the boundaries a bit more. It had an interesting concept, and the cast did relatively well with the script they were given, so I know that if they had a more fleshed out story they’d be able to carry it. You could see where the movie was supposed to go at multiple times, but they never attempted to or tried to go in any of those directions. For the first half of the movie, it’s barely a thriller or even sci-fi movie. We don’t see much about the actual study of what the chip does. For the most part it’s just about a group of teens finally being free to be themselves and finding friendships with all this extra free time they have. During the pivotal turning points, it was boring and uninventive. It never kept you on the edge of your seat and the climax was equally as boring.

While the movie is obviously for a younger crowd, I don’t think that it even lives up for them. I know that if you had asked me if I enjoyed the movie when I was like 13 I’d still feel the same sense of emptiness out of it. I probably wouldn’t pick up on things like the weird dialogue and deliveries, but the thriller aspect of the movie was really not there, and I would have been as disappointed then as I am now.

Should you watch this? I’d say no, there are several other sci-fi thrillers that are much better that this can definitely be skipped. I’d say that unless you have teens or preteens who like this type of movie and want to find something you both can watch together knowing that there isn’t going to be any sex scenes or bad language, this isn’t the movie night for you. It is by far not the worst thing I’ve sit through but ultimately I’d say watch something else.

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Chaw (non-spoiler) Review

I am back to reviews after a week off (sorry about that, last week was a little too busy and I didn’t plan ahead well). As I hinted towards in my Creature Features post, today I am reviewing the 2009 dark comedy monster film, Chaw.

Chaw’s premise is super simple: a mutant pig terrorizes a small rural town that has seen no deaths in years, and a ragtag team is formed to stop it. Director/writer Shin Jeong Won stated in an interview that he came up with the idea to do the movie when he kept getting comedic scripts that didn’t match his comedy. He wanted to do a monster movie and was “intrigued by the idea of a familiar animal attacking and killing humans and wanted to create something out of this unexpectedness. But most of all, I wanted something funny and unique.” He picked a boar because it’s the most well known animal that creates the greatest amount of destruction. (source 1) (source 2).

Apparently, Shin and I would get along great, because I loved how the comedy was used in this film (and probably would have hated all those comedy scripts he was sent). For the most part, when we deal with the boar and its destruction, the comedy isn’t used or played up which allows a lot of the satire to lie in the quirkiness of the town and the characters outside of incidents with the boar. The comedy really just helps to form the backdrop of the town and the characters to give you a sense of who they are and why they are responding the way they are. Seriously, I’d watch a drama of just this town and all the people in it. I read someone comparing it to Twin Peaks, and I’d have to agree. If you combined Twin Peaks with The Host, you’d get Chaw if that helps you figure out what type of movie you’re getting yourself into.

The boar was a mixture of animatronic and CGI. As a lover of practicals, I really liked it a lot. The pig was created by an FX team in the US and it took three years to create along with all of the stuntmen and costumes. All the work paid off, as it works well and really helps some of the major scenes that the actors are with the creature in the same room and interacting with it. There is a bigger fight scene towards the middle where the CGI and animatronic was used, it integrates pretty nicely within the scene and doesn’t take away from what’s going on.

I think what also helped the movie to not feel too cheesy was that the design of the boar leans more to a realistic copy of a boar and focuses the scare more on it being a real life problem as opposed to trying to make it some weird hybrid sci-fi creature that looks unknown. They describe it as a mutant, but really it’s just a larger boar…that poses a much higher death count. I felt that it also helped keep the comedy’s focus on the characters, as there wasn’t a time you were supposed to find the boar a weirdly funny creature and helped it feel much more like an actual boar, which was essential for some of the later scenes.

I really suggest checking out Chaw if you have the chance. I don’t think it’s talked about a lot, mainly because it probably gets overshadowed by The Host and just the general lack of monster films coming out of South Korea. It’s fun, aware of its campiness, and integrates it well so that it doesn’t over saturate it. The characters are equally as fun and quirky and the main team works well together and are perfectly incompetent. They are a great found family with heart.

Chaw is currently streaming for free on Tubi with ads.

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The Staple Gun

If you didn’t know, I like props. I used to make them professionally and I’ve spent most of my life working on them. I tend to focus on them more than most when I’m watching anything and will zero in on specific ones sometimes. I like them enough that I did a post a couple of months ago, where I focused on the suitcase in Sisyphus the Myth. I hadn’t intended this to be a recurring series, but when the opportunity presents itself it makes sense to grab it. And when I saw this specific prop used in three separate dramas that I was watching at around the same time, I knew I had to talk about it.

Today, we are highlighting the Kim Won Hae of the 2021 kdrama season: The Staple Gun.

For some reason, The Staple Gun was THE prop of the spring. I’ve never seen one used in so many dramas at one time, let alone do I even remember it being used in another drama. Like maybe in a construction scene, yes, or a slasher movie - but those don’t count. While the dramas they were used in were more in the darker genres, the use of it was slightly odd. It was never used properly in any of these dramas, too. So for this post we won’t be singing the praises of The Staple Gun much like we did with The Suitcase. Do I love it in real life? Yes. It made a lot of my work life so much easier, but we aren’t here to talk about tools being used as tools. We are here to talk about tools being used as props in weird ways. And then me rating those weird ways.

SELL YOUR HAUNTED HOUSE

I first saw The Staple Gun being used in the teasers for Sell Your Haunted House. And the reason I noticed it was because of the way that the character used it…and how odd that was.

Here’s the insider scoop on how to operate the gun: you can’t just press the trigger and expect the gun to do anything. It just won’t. You have to depress the nozzle of the gun on something (like wood) before the gun will fire (you’ll want to remember this later). So right off the bat, I was judging it hard. I think I even commented on Twitter about it. But we can’t be too harsh on The Staple Gun in Sell Your Haunted House. It is used supernaturally and gets some points for that. During the show it fires out some sort of force field to trap the spirits during the exorcism, so in reality it’s not firing nail or staples so it’s not really doing anything wrong.

They never explain why or how it does this thing in the drama, though. Or even why it was chosen to do the task. I’m assuming it has something to do with her being in real estate so people won’t question her bringing it into a house, but it could have been something else. Like an artifact or something like that, it didn’t need to be a real life item. I do give it bonus points for being battery-operated.

Rating: 4/5 wine glasses for the creativity of the prop, and the way it is used was kind of fun when you see it in action.

DARK HOLE

Like a week after I saw it being used in Sell Your Haunted House, I saw The Staple Gun used again in Dark Hole. This time it was more hefty and pneumatic and was being used to stop the zombie creatures. It’s biggest flaw, that it was the wrong weapon for the job. For the most part, it was just something extra for the character to lug around and had no real purpose. Again, it won’t fire unless depressing on something (which it doesn’t) and while they did pretend that it was hooked up to something for the pneumatics to work, it wouldn’t have lasted that long without having to cycle back with air, and wouldn’t have much pressure behind it anyways. It was more of a nuisance than anything.

2/5 wine glasses. Maybe if all else failed whacking it in the face of the monster would actually do some sort of damage.

TAXI DRIVER

I wasn’t expecting to see The Staple Gun also being used in Taxi Driver. I really wasn’t. It came out of left field and was towards the end of the series. It was the reason I decided this post needed to be, because three dramas back-to-back was just three dramas too many. Again, the safety prevented everything that was being shown, however out of all the uses this one was the most realistic. It was in a shop, and (as you can see in the photo) hooked up to the air supply. Could it fire without being depressed? Again, no. Now, I haven’t mentioned this until this point, but it is possible to rig it to do that (which OSHA definitely does not approve of), but it’s really a waste of time for some random mechanic to do in the first place and it doesn’t really look like that’s the case since we do get some shots of the nose. It’s just out of all the other scenarios, this was the only time that I could actually seethat the safety had been taken off being true, though.

Rating: 3.5/5 wine glasses. A solid use and the most accurate, albeit a tad boring.

EXTRA CREDIT: THE RED SHOES (2005 MOVIE)

Weeks - nay months later - I was hanging out and decided that I wanted to throw on a horror movie. I chose The Red Shoes because it’s been on my list for a while and it had premiered that week (if you haven’t caught on by all of my social media posts I’m doing a Korean Summer Horror thing), and who was to appear but our old trusty The Staple Gun. I won’t tell you how The Staple Gun is used, or in what part, but it was there in all its glory.

Rating: 5/5 wine glasses. Unexpected, a shocker. Old Trusty’s finest performance.

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Music Highlights 7.12.21

I was a little bit busier than normal last week because of the KPSN Podcast Festival, and with 2PM and Even of Day’s comebacks I’ve not had as much time to keep up with new music so this week is going to be a little less diverse with newer groups since I pretty much zeroed in on prioritizing faves.

Releases and Finds ▹▹▹

-Let’s get the main ones out of the way, starting off with 2PM’s ‘Make It’. I, of course, loved every second.

-Do I wish it was full group? Yes. But Even of Day has just the slightest difference in sound that I am really into. If I find the time, I might be able to do an album review soon.

-THE ORAL CIGARETTES came out with a new song that is being used in an anime. I hadn’t been keeping up with any Japanese music news, so it was a pleasant surprise.

-Have I heard of LUAMEL before I listened to this? I don’t think so, but they’ve been added to my ever-growing list of groups I need to listen to their discography. Hasn’t happened yet, but it will.

-I loved Boyz II Men. LOVED them. They are currently promoting in Korea and we’re getting collabs with artists and I just want to tell 12 year old Jessie that this is happening.

-Say hello to my favorite TWICE song.

-Again, surprise music. And surprise SEKAI NO OWARI is the best kind of surprise…

-…which was then followed up by surprise NELL! It’s like the universe was like “Hey, Jessie. Heard you are preoccupied by 2PM and DAY6. Let me do this to you”.

-I liked Royal Pirates, but I was never into them when they were truly a group, so I didn’t focus on them a lot because I knew that I wasn’t going to get new music. And then, they followed on the surprise train and reformed as LIVIN.

-I know that I talked about ONEWE last post, but the put out a mv with my favorite song off of the album, and I have to share.

-Not a surprise, cause I saw them promote this for a while before it came out, but new TRICOT is always welcomed in this house.

OST ▹▹▹

-I feel like this is my third Voice 4 OST song that I’ve talked about, but it’s really starting to become a favorite.

Upcoming ▹▹▹

Currently I don’t really have anything scheduled for the next few weeks. Which is good since DREAMCATCHER DECIDED TO ANNOUNCE A COMEBACK AT THE END OF THE MONTH.

Album Spotlight ▹▹▹

Band Nah is a fun indie rock group that has grown a lot on me this past year. They are a relatively newer group, but they do have a good discography, and their music videos are a lot of fun. They just released their single, ‘Summer Days’ last week. You should check out their music.

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The 8th Night (non-spoiler) Review

Did I hate The 8th Night? No. Did I love it? Also no.

The 8th Night is the story of Park Jin Soo (Lee Sung Min), a former monk who has been summoned to help rid the world of a centuries-old demon that has been reawakened. He is joined by a monk Cheong Seouk, played by Nam Da Reum.

I’m having a hard time trying to review this movie because while I didn’t think it was a bad movie, and could see how a lot of people would connect, I didn’t find it really that memorable. 8th Night is weird in that the first quarter of the movie is set up more like an adventure action movie, as the artifact is found and the monks tell the stories voiced over graphics. It doesn’t give you a sense of where the movie is going, or even where it’s trying to go. I was left in this weird state of confusion because we really weren’t doing much of anything.

Not only does the story take a while to actually progress, it also takes a while for it to be scary. And by a while - save a few instances of weird faces - the only horror you get out of the movie is in the last 20 minutes. With not much build-up or tension, the movie falls flat as a horror. Trailers are a notoriously terrible judge on what the movie is going to be, and this movie was no exception. There is no tension during the first hour or so because most of it is unnecessary, drawn-out plot. It spends most of its time focusing on the stories, but doesn’t really need any of that exposition to understand what is going on or even take the story to where it needed to go. It’s the movie’s major flaw.

Don’t go into it thinking the movie you are seeing in the previews is the movie you receive. I wanted a bit more intrigue and better pacing, and a lot more horror than was presented in the movie. The fact that most of those things only appeared in about the last 20 minutes of a two-hour movie was too much work for not a lot of payoff. In the end, it fell flat and uninteresting. I was really hoping for a lot more than this.

If you have a free two hours, or like backstory-heavy slow exorcism movies watch this, but I’d skip it if I didn’t have the free time.

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21 Anticipated Kdramas (Update)

Since it’s somehow already the middle of the year, I thought it would be fun to refer back to my 21 Anticipated Kdramas list that I wrote back in December of last year, and see what has come out and if any of the dramas that I predicted that I’d like were correct. It was fun looking back on this list, but a lot of the dramas on this list have yet to air, and there are no updates as to if and when they will. This list also doesn’t reflect the dramas that were announced after making it that would have been more a priority than the ones below.

I used MyDramaList to find these dramas initially. While they are good, the information is not perfect. I knew that I’d probably also miss listings. Along with new dramas that would be popping up after I created the list, I knew that it would have some flaws. I also have a full list of over 30 dramas that I had made when I was writing the original list that I had used to whittle down to the 21 below, and I know there is at least one drama on that list that I’ve watched and completed (Vincenzo).

Currently Watching:

-Beyond Evil / 괴물

-Voice 4 / 보이스 4 (airing)

-Hospital Playlist 2 / 슬기로운 의사 생활 2 (airing)

Completed:

-Sell Your Haunted House / 대박부동산
I actually love that this drama in particular was a drama that I didn’t think I would like and yet it has ended up being one of my top dramas. I was wary that it was going to be a comedy, and the drama unexpectedly caught me off guard about how good it was. I loved every episode, the characters had great arches and worked well with each other. I highly suggest watching if you haven’t yet.

-Taxi Driver / 모범택시
I suspected this one to be good back at the time I wrote the post, and I was right. Another one of my current top dramas for the year, Taxi Driver was engaging, had a good amount of action and I really respected the direction it took in focusing a lot of the injustices with current laws and how they affect the citizens unnecessarily. Check out my blog post on the true stories behind the stories in the drama here.

-Joseon Exorcist / 조선구마사
Oh the drama that could have been. I really loved the first two episodes of this one, and that’s sadly all we got. I was really into it. I even have a first impression post up that I was working on when the news broke that you can find here. I wasn’t expecting this kind of disappointment.

-Dark Hole / 다크홀
I joked that this one was going to be my X-Files drama, and it started out being that. The first two episodes could have been from The X-Files and I was so into it but the story was lacking a lot. The middle was boring, and there were storylines I just didn’t care about and felt didn’t bring anything to the drama. The first part and the last part would have made a great movie.

On Hold/Undecided:

-Luca / 루카
I haven’t gone back to this one after the first two episodes that I watched, but there was something that intrigued me about it to not fully drop it from my list. I know that the general consensus was that this one fell flat, but I still have a hope that it’s a drama for me. It’ll stay on my on-hold list for now.

-Doom At Your Service / 어느 날 우리 집 현관으로 멸망이 들어왔다
Probably the most talked-about drama right now, and very divisive. I have yet to start it, and don’t plan to for a bit just the way that my watching list falls and what I’ve been prioritizing. I’m still intrigued and have heard that the drama might turn out to be a better binge.

-Times / 타임즈
I ended up not making time (ha) for this one, and I don’t think I will. Maybe if I do something towards the end of the year to come back to some dramas that came out as some sort of thing, maybe. But right now it’s not a priority.

-Busted 3 / 범인은 바로 너! 3
I’ve sadly used this as one of those shows I just kept pushing back to make room for others. I really need to make the time for it soon, I promise I will watch it before the end of the year.

Dropped:

-Sisyphus the Myth / 시지프스: The Myth
While I was entertained by the first bit of this one, I haven’t picked it up since I stopped watching it on episode 4. Or 6. At any rate, while I don’t think it was terrible, I just don’t think I will ever want to come back to this one and ultimately decided to drop it.

-Mouse / 마우스
Oh, this one was such a disappointment. The first episode was phenomenal and I loved loved it…but then it just tanked the following episodes. It switched from a great thriller-horror to a makjang and I just hated the kookiness of it all. I tried, but it wasn’t the same drama from the first episode and it’s probably the greatest letdown on this list.

Hasn’t Aired (good chance for this year):

-Cliffhanger / 지리산
Currently scheduled to start airing end of October, and has already started filming.

-Island 1&2 / 아일랜드
Seo Ye Ji has left the project, and Lee Da Hee is slated to replace her. No word when this will start airing, but they’ve had several cast announcements so I would assume fairly soon, especially since one of the cast - Cha Eun Woo - just left his gig on Master in the House.

-Hellbound / 지옥
No date on this one, but the cast has been solidified. As it’s a Netflix drama (and only 6 episodes), I’d assume this one is probably already in post-production.

-The Silent Sea / 고요의 바다
I just don’t believe in any world that this drama hasn’t been completely done since last year. I really don’t know why there’s a delay on this one for any news. I would have expected at least a date since this was part of the lineup Netflix had shared during their summit they had earlier this year.

-All of Us Are Dead / 지금 우리 학교는
Another drama that we have no word from. Maybe it’ll show up soon? Or maybe Netflix is trying to push this as an October release? Again, it was talked about, so it’s got to come soon, right?

No Update/Delayed (potentially not airing this year):

-Duke City / 공작도시
This is currently scheduled for January 28, 2022.

-Link: Eat, Love, Die / 링크: 먹고 사랑하라, 죽이게
No word on this one. I have no clue if it’s going to end up coming out this year. The only person it had attached to it for the cast, Kim Seon Ho, declined the offer.

-Bloody Finger / 블러디 핑거
Also no word on this one, I’ll be surprised if this ends up being released this year. Again, a drama without a cast as most of the actors given contracts have declined the offer.

If you know any more information on any of the dramas that are scheduled to come out let me know in the comments.

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June Dramas '21

I’ve decided to switch up the way I watch a bit and have been trying it out for the past month and it’s been really helping. Before I would end up watching things on a whim and while its been fine in the past, I haven’t been able to have that kind of dedication if left up to how I’m feeling for the past year or so. I started writing out a list of all the dramas I want to watch at the beginning of the month and then scheduled them. It might seem super weird and a lot of work for what is a hobby, but it’s really helped me out cause I like watching, but my brain betrays me a lot. I also don’t just watch for a hobby now. I have this blog and the podcast that kind of requires me being somewhat on top of things for content. Before I started doing this, I almost wouldn’t allow myself to watch things, now it forces me to put it in perspective of how much time I’m actually watching and not be so overwhelmed.

Look at my completed list and compare it to last month. The difference is huge. I also can do fun things (I like pick dramas to watch because of themes!) and have time to space out things to accommodate for those fun watches that fall in a specific timeline.

Completed

• Sell Your Haunted House - 대박부동산: I loved this. So much. I really wasn’t expecting that I would, but the story was solid. The characters were written well, not only just the main cast but side characters, Jang Na Ra was amazing. It had a good mix of creepy and depth. One of my favorites for the year.

• Youth of May - 오월의 청춘: If you want to cry, this is your drama. While I obviously can’t say for sure, but I felt that the story was written respectfully with it focusing on the Gwangju Uprising. The story has a lot of heartbreak, but the cast and story really make it great.

• Dark Hole - 다크홀: This could have done so much more, and it really started off feeling like it would, but it fell completely flat. Story was laggy and drawn out. Should have been a movie.

• Taxi Driver - 모범택시: I do love a good revenge story, and I think Lee Je Hoon was incredible in the role. I really respected the way that the drama not only used his character to show the injustices, but the drama itself was an advocate. It chose the stories it did specifically, and added a lot of information to show the injustices within the law.

• Voice 2 - 보이스 2: I really didn’t like the main male lead, he was incompetent, clearly not okay mentally to ever be allowed to make decisions and hold a gun, and was generally terrible while making it so the main female lead just kept backseated unecessarily. The big bad was pretty boring. This season really crashed the drama when in comparison with the first season.

• Voice 3 - 보이스 3: The main lead was back for this season, so any part that he was on just drained the drama. The rest of the drama, however, really picked itself back up from the last season and I enjoyed the stories that focused more on other members of the team.

• Vincenzo - 빈센조: While I don’t like all of this drama (really, I didn’t need any of the comedy), there was such solidly written scenes that I can’t not talk about how amazing it was. The cast was stellar, despite it’s flaws it was a pretty solid drama. I picked this to finish the last week of the month in honor of 2PM coming back.

• Confession - 자백: Another drama picked because of 2PM coming back, I finally finished this after having it on my watchlist for a while. I started it when it was airing, but didn’t get back to it until my 2PMathon. And then that didn’t happen. I’m glad I finished it, it was a great crime drama with a lot of mystery and good reveals. It was pretty heavy with courtroom scenes in the last half of the drama, and it wasn’t immune to my dislike of that. But I definitely recommend it if you can get a hold of it.

Currently Watching
I used to only keep what I’m actively watching updated on MDL, but with my new organization have started to put everything I want to get to in the month whether it’s in a day or at the end of the month. Make sure to follow me there to see the full list, I won’t list everything here.

• Voice 4 - 보이스4: 심판의 시간

• Hospital Playlist 2 - 슬기로운 의사생활++

• Beyond Evil - 괴물

• Memorist - 메모리스트

New Dramas/Movies
Apparently I’m a fan of tvN and Netflix this month. I’ve talked about some of these in my latest horror news post, which you can find here if you missed it. I only picked movies to focus on here that I knew could be found on streaming.

Jun 1 The 8th Night (movie) - 제8일의 밤 // Netflix

Jun 3 Devil Judge - 악마판사 // tvN
I’m both intrigued but also wary of this one. I don’t actually prefer anything dealing with law and courts in my crime dramas, but there is some mystery behind this one with it’s alternate universe plot. I’m willing to give it a try.

Jun 5 You Are My Spring - 너는 나의 봄 // tvN (Netflix)
This one is also my other question of the month. It only came on my radar when they dropped the trailer and I found out that it’s not a romcom. Right now it’s a murder/romance/potentially fantasy drama and I’m interested in it.

Jun 16 Deep (movie) - โปรเจกต์ลับ หลับ เป็น ตาย // Netflix
The trailer looks pretty good, and looks like a fun thriller.

Jun 16 Witch’s Diner - 마녀식당으로 오세요 // tvN
So I haven’t really dived deep into what the premise of this drama is, but everything about it reminds me of the Haunted Mansion at Disney. And I’m very much into that. I also really like Song Jihyo, and haven’t been into a lot of her latest dramas so I’m hoping that this will dry that spell.

Jun 23 Kingdom: Ashin of the North - 킹덤 외전: 아신 // Netflix
I may or may not be doing a Kingdom celebration in July for my Korean Summer Horror series :)

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