Kwak Yeon-soo is a digital editor at The Korea Times creating, editing and curating digital content for the newspaper’s website, mobile app and social media. She previously covered a diverse array of cultural, political and business topics.
In Yeon Sang-ho's 'The Cursed' spinoff, the dead return to life
From left, actors Oh Yoon-ah, Jung Ji-so, Uhm Ji-won, Kwon Hye-hyo, director Kim Yong-wan and writer Yeon Sang-ho pose during a press conference for the film “The Cursed,” Tuesday. Courtesy of CJ ENM
By Kwak Yeon-soo
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Occult thriller “The Cursed: Dead Man's Prey,” a film spin-off from the 2020 tvN drama “The Cursed,” unravels the mystery surrounding the revival of the dead.
The screenplay was written by Yeon Sang-ho, who also penned the hit zombie thrillers, “Train to Busan” (2016) and “Peninsula” (2010), and was directed by Kim Yong-wan of the 2018 sports drama flick “Champion.”
The film revolves around Jin-hee (Uhn Ji-won), an investigative journalist who now runs an independent news media outlet. One day, she makes a guest appearance on a live radio show and receives a message from a killer, who claims that he will commit three more murders by manipulating dead corpses.
Along with So-jin (Jung Ji-so), a teenage girl who has the ability to curse evil spirits, using a person's name, photo and one of their belongings, Jin-hee tries to uncover the evil force hiding behind a serial murder case.
Yeon, who wrote the screenplay for “The Cursed,” said he wanted to give a contemporary twist to an Asian ghost story, and the idea of a dead man coming back to life through a shaman captured his heart.
“It's a continuation of the TV drama, but I wanted to create a powerful plot and characters in the form of a mystery thriller. The film version is more intuitive and contains a lot of bizarre action sequences, as well as mind-blowing car chase scenes,” he said during an online press conference for the film, Tuesday.
The writer-director is set to direct Netflix's new sci-fi blockbuster, tentatively titled, “Jung Yi.” Set in the 22nd century, when Earth is barely habitable, the film revolves around people who try to replicate the brain of a legendary mercenary in order to build military robots to fight in a civil war.
Acclaimed actress Kang Soo-yeon, the first Korean to win the best actress award at the Venice International Film Festival for her role in the 1986 film “The Surrogate Womb,” is set to return to the big screen for the first time in eight years, since appearing in “Jury” in 2013.
Actress Uhm Ji-won in a scene from “The Cursed: Dead Man's Prey / Courtesy of CJ ENM
Kim explained that the concept of the dead coming back to life is different from that of zombies.
“Compared to zombies, which have the purpose of infecting humans and turning them into flesh-devouring monsters, these dead corpses move in groups and have a special target because they are under a shaman's control. Also, they are indistinguishable from ordinary people, except for the fact that they have dark hands and feet. Just like humans, they're able to talk and drive,” he said.
The director revealed that he strongly recommended Jung for the role of So-jin, a girl with the mysterious power to issue curses.
“It was difficult to find an actor to express the character who is small but has a lot of charisma. Jung had a very strong aura when we first met. She was amazing in the film,” he said.
Uhm explained that Jin-hee is a cool-headed, rational character who becomes more proactive in her approach. “Jin-hee is a tenacious reporter who tries to uncover the mystery behind the revival of dead bodies. She comes to embrace shamanism as she teams up with So-jin,” she said.
Jung talked about seeing a ghost while shooting for “The Cursed.” “When we were filming inside a haunted building, I saw someone with the same hairstyle and wearing the same outfit as Uhm sitting on the stairs and drinking coffee. She had this serious look on her face, so I passed her to enter into the monitoring room. But Uhm was sitting inside that room, talking with the director. It was a very peculiar experience,” she said.
Actors Kwon Hye-ho and Oh Yoon-ah newly joined the project, although their characters are being kept under wraps. However, Oh hinted that her character initiates the story and holds the key to solving the mystery.
“The Cursed” will hit local theaters, July 28.