Park Jin-hai primarily focuses on K-dramas, entertainment shows and actor interviews. Beyond that, she also pens articles covering the broader arts scene, with a particular emphasis on classical music, dance and various aspects of lifestyle. Since joining The Korea Times in 2013, she has made significant contributions in the realms of hallyu (Korean wave), industry news and international affairs.
Occult thriller starring Lee Jung-jae to hit theaters
Lee Jung-jae seen in his upcoming thriller “Svaha” / Courtesy of CJ Entertainment
By Park Jin-hai
By Park Jin-hai
Veteran actor Lee Jung-jae will star in a mystery thriller featuring a fictional covert Buddhist cult.
“Svaha,” a Sanskrit word used in Buddhism equivalent to the Christian “amen,” tells the story of a pastor, played by Lee, who runs a research center on religion and is involved in a mysterious murder case involving twin sisters. Lee investigates the mysterious Buddhist cult behind it called the “Deer Farm.”
The film is directed by Jang Jae-hyun, who received critical acclaim for triggering an Occult genre boom in the local cinema scene with his 2015 box office hit “The Priests” about Catholic exorcism.
In the wake of his film's commercial success that attracted nearly 5.5 million, many films and dramas have explored similar topics. Na Hong-jin's mystery thriller “The Wailing” (2016) and dramas “The Guest” and “Priest” that hit the airwaves last year are some examples that emulated “The Priests.”
“With the birth of 'it,' all things began,” reads the film's promotional material with an eerie-looking background of Buddhists gods, explaining “it” as the origin of exorcism. Director Jang says his film ― rated 15 ― is based on a true story that is “little known to many people.”
“It is my new project four years since The Priests. While I was doing my previous work, which included many elements of Shamanism, I also came across the Buddhist world and found there was abundant material to explore. So I did some research about it and my years of work led me to my newest film,” said Jang during a press conference at a local theater in southern Seoul, Friday.
Lee said, “The minister surnamed Park that I played might be a little different from what people may think of as a grim religious leader. He is in a way a down-to-earth and light character. But, as he walks deeper into the case, he is drawn into it and cannot get out.”
Rising star Park Jung-min plays the shady, dark character Na Han, a car repair man and murder suspect, while Jin Seon-kyu plays a Buddhist monk who helps the minister find the secrets of the clandestine cult.
Jang's focus was on keeping the tension tight throughout the film. “My foremost attention was to make a strong opening scene for the film. Then I tried to make all those small and big mysteries finely knit together, provoking curiosity from the audience,” the director said. “This film created a kind of hybrid religious view, which came from 70 percent Buddhism and 30 percent Christianity. It will feel familiar to audiences yet somehow alien and mysterious.”
The director said the film is about the competition between “humans and god.”
“In my film, the gender of actors is not important because it focuses on the human versus god structure.”
“Svaha” will hit local theaters Feb. 20.