The homicidal hog movie
"Chaw" is one of those films that takes a seed of truth and grows it into Jack's beanstalk. This tall tale of horror and adventure proves to be a fine addition to the local stock of computer graphics-ridden monster flicks ― offering a believable, rather than realistic, experience that persuades the viewer with more than just flesh-gnawing gore.
Dubbed the Korean Tim Burton for the punk horror flick "To Catch a Virgin Ghost" ("
Sisily 2km"),
Sin Jeong-won transforms familiar settings into an atmospheric space, where the narrative is propelled by suspense, dramatic counterpoints and solid character development (including some spoofs by a most memorable madwoman).
In recent years, there have been news reports of how deforesting and dwindling food sources drove ravenous wild boars to ravage dead bodies in tombs and attack villages. It took three years to design and realize via CG ― provided by the creative team behind "Star Wars Episo...
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Known for its innovative and daring use of genre combinations, Korean cinema breaks new ground yet again with
"Chaw", a black comedy thriller about a killer pig wreaking havoc on a small mountain town.
Directed by
Sin Jeong-won ("
Sisily 2km"), the film stars popular actors
Eom Tae-woong,
Jeong Yu-mi and
Yoon Je-moon. While the posters may lead one to think
"Chaw" is a chilling horror and gore flick, the f...
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By Kyu Hyun Kim
Kim Hye-ja marvels in an overwhelming thriller
Small country town, Korea. Do-joon (
Won Bin, returning to the screen after four years of military service) is a pretty-faced young man, treated as a village idiot and perpetually causing minor havoc with his ne'er-do-well friend Jin-tae (
Jin Goo). Do-joon's devoted mother Hye-ja (
Kim Hye-ja) is left to clean up the aftermath.
Then one day everyone is stunned to find Do-joon arrested for the murder of a high school girl Ah-jung (
Moon Hee-ra). The evidence seems incontrovertible, but Hye-ja launches her own awkward investigation into the murder case, hoping to nab the real culprit. However, everyone in the town, including Hye-ja and Doo-jun themselves, seems to harbor some dark secret, threatened to be uncovered by her sleuthing.
While the film's plot and set-up superficially resemble Bong's based-on-real-life police procedural "
Memories of Murder",
"Mother - 2009" is even more emotionally shocking and devilishly manipulative of the viewer's expectations.
Director Bong spares no authority figure in his searing indictment of contemporary Korean society, all the more effective due to the black-comic tone it assu...
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The ultimate fight between five hunters and a bloodthirsty boar is set to hit screens on July 16.
"Chaw", which means "trap" in the Gyeonggi and North Chungcheong dialects, and seems to aspire to "chow" in English, is an action comedy that tells the tale of a wild boar gone bad that has developed a taste for human flesh.
The story begins in the tranquil town of Sammae, which has managed to stay crime-free for the last 10 years.
Things start to go horribly wrong after the townspeople find a body that has been ripped to shreds.
When it is discovered that the perpetrator of this horribly ferocious crime is none other than a mutant man-eating boar, the town is torn apart, with all of the bloodcurdli...
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Yoo Ha's searing crime melodrama deserves kudos
Kyu Hyun Kim (qhyunkim)
Byung-Doo, lanky and adorable, (played by TV drama star
Jo In-Seong from "
Something Happened in Bali") is a 29-year-old career criminal working for the middle-rank enforcer Sang-Chul (
Yoon Je-moon, a Molotov-cocktail-loving vagrant in
"The Host"). Burdened with a terminally ill mother and taking care of younger siblings, Byung-Doo is feeling financial pressure as a substitute patriarch. When the big boss President Hwang (
Cheon Ho-jin, "
The Big Swindle", "
Crying Fist") is cornered by a corrupt prosecutor, Byung-Doo volunteers for a whack job and wins the man's trust. However, his real trouble begins when friend Min-Ho (
Nam Goong-min), an aspiring movie director, asks him to be a "consultant" for the latter's debut film, a gangster epic not unlike "Dirty Carnival".
Yoo Ha's follow-up to the successful "
Once Upon A Time In Highschool" is another intelligent, fast-moving and ultimately poignant melodrama that actually reminds one of the classic gangster pictures from Hollywood's yesteryears. Despite its self-reflexive moder...
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