Friday, November 18th Midnight
KOREA, 2022, 122 min
Language
Korean with English subtitles
Content Warning
Graphic Violence
Director
Hongsun Kim
Writer
Hongsun Kim
Producer
Gu Seong-mok
Cast
Seo In-Guk, Dong-Yoon Jang, Dong-il Sung
Preceded by the short film
Gnomes
Ruwan Heggelman, 6 mins, Netherlands
A jogger runs afoul of some particularly nasty gnomes.
Hard-core (said with a capital Haaarrrrrrrd) gangsters and criminals are being taken back to Korea on a makeshift prison transport, a freighter usually meant for high seas cartage. They break loose of their restraints and quickly overwhelm their police escorts. The remaining officers regroup and fight back with the same ferocity. With breathtaking speed, the situation on the ship goes all pear-shaped and just when you think it could not get any worse it does, it gets hell of a lot worse.
Heck, we’re sure Hell even looked away at some point when watching this movie. When there are not enough drops in the ocean, use blood. This appears to be Kim Hongsun’s mantra when he made this Korean action-thriller. Those walls look a little dry. Blood. The ceiling is squeaky clean. Blood. I can still see my reflection on the floor. Blood. We cannot even begin to guess as to what the fake blood and compressed air budgets were for this film. It gets everywhere.
With most of the action being close quarters combat you cannot help but feel caught up in each moment. This is a level of ferocity that we have not seen since last year’s bloodbath, The Sadness, except this is way more entertaining. Swearing out loud is permitted.
“Inspiring and uplifting in equal amounts, Harvey and Kummer’s fangs-and-all documentary is, like its subject, one of a kind.” – Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
“By the triumphant curtain call, as young Scott trots onstage for a very professional bow in full Xenomorph garb, it’s clear “Alien on Stage” has completely captured the hearts of the audience – film, theater, and Christopher Guest lovers alike.” – Jude Dry, Indiewire