A MERRY ZOMBIE X-MAS
Co-presented by New York Asian Film Festival
Free and unlimited run of the films for 15 days!
December 24, 2020 - January 7, 2021
In a world where the 3 Bs (Blackpink, BTS, Bong Joon-ho) are edging towards massive mainstream success, another phenomenon has been going viral and global: the zombie movie “made in Korea.”
Filmmakers from the peninsula have injected new life in the undead genre, bringing both a bit of a Midas touch! Original storylines spanning wildy diverse settings, from the Joseon era to our troubled times and even dark Mad Max-style dystopian futures, in-depth character development, and a clear-eyed look at today’s societal fears have raised the biters back from the realm of pop fiction.
As the holiday season approaches, it’s time to celebrate the reinvigorated genre, powered by the big guns of the silver screen (Gong Yoo, Hyun Bin, Jang Dong-gun, Gang Dong-won, Choi Woo-Sik, among others) and look far east: Korean Cultural Center New York (KCCNY) and the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) team up again to present a streaming series that highlights Korea’s singular take on the zombie genre through a selection of four major films of the genre from December 24 to January 7.
[Movie List] (Link will be live on Dec 24th)
* All films are in Korean with English subtitles
* These ratings are by the Korea Media Rating Board
Train to Busan
(부산행)
Director: Yeon Sang Ho (연상호)
Cast: Gong-Yoo, Jung Yu-Mi, Ma Dong-Seok, Choi Woo-Sik, An So-Hee,
Kim Eui-Sung, Kim Su-An
Running Time: 121 min
Genre: Horror, Drama, Action
Release Year: 2016
Rating: Film intended for audiences 15 and over (15세 관람가)
(Underage audiences accompanied with a parent or guardian is allowed.)
When a mysterious virus breaks out across South Korea, the infected transform into the murderous undead in wildly successful 2016 thriller Train to Busan, an official New York Times Critic’s Pick that Slant Magazine credits with scare tactics “among the most distinctive the zombie canon has ever seen.” As terrified travelers fight for their lives on a bullet train from hell, the result is a gory high-speed collision between the rich and the poor, the living and the undead, and the best and worst of human nature. When some among them prove willing to sell their soul for a shot at survival, trust may prove to be a luxury even the richest passengers cannot afford.
Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula
(반도)
Director: Yeon Sang Ho (연상호)
Cast: Gang Dong-won, Lee Jung-hyun, Kwon Hae-hyo, Kim Min-je, Koo Gyo-hwan, Kim Do-yoon, Lee Re, Lee Ye-won
Running Time: 116 min
Genre: Horror, Drama, Action
Release Year: 2020
Rating: Film intended for audiences 15 and over (15세 관람가)
(Underage audiences accompanied with a parent or guardian is allowed.)
Four years after South Korea’s total decimation in Train to Busan, the zombie thriller that captivated audiences worldwide, acclaimed director Yeon Sang-ho brings us Peninsula, the next nail-biting chapter in his post-apocalyptic world. Jung-seok, a soldier who previously escaped the diseased wasteland, relives the horror when assigned to a covert operation with two simple objectives: retrieve and survive. When his team unexpectedly stumbles upon survivors, their lives will depend on whether the best—or worst—of human nature prevails in the direst of circumstances.
RAMPANT
(창궐)
Director: Kim Sung-hoon (김성훈)
Cast: Hyun Bin, Jang Dong-gun, Kim Eui-sung, Jeong Man-sik, Lee Sun-bin, Seo Ji-hye
Running Time: 127 min
Genre: Horror, Action
Release Year: 2018
Rating: Film intended for audiences 15 and over (15세 관람가)
(Underage audiences accompanied with a parent or guardian is allowed.)
A darkness looms over Joseon-era Korea: murderous creatures known as Night Demons have overrun the country. Returning from a long imprisonment abroad, Prince Ganglim discovers that it will take the strength of his entire kingdom to stop the bloody rampage spreading across the nation in this fresh new take on zombie horror from the studios that brought you Train to Busan.
ZOMBIE FOR SALE also known as ODD FAMILY: ZOMBIE FOR SALE
(기묘한 가족)
Director: Lee Min-jae (이민재)
Cast: Jung Jae-young, Kim Nam-gil, Uhm Ji-won, Lee Soo-kyung, Jung Ga-ram, Park In-hwan,
Running Time: 112 min
Genre: Comedy, Horror
Release Year: 2019
Rating: Film intended for audiences 12 and over (12세이상 관람가)
(Underage audiences accompanied with a parent or guardian is allowed.)
When the illegal human experiments of Korea’s biggest pharmaceutical company go wrong, one of their “undead” test subjects escapes and ends up in a shabby gas station owned by the Park family – a band of misfits spanning three generations who hustle passers-by to make ends meet. When the Park family uncover their undead visitor, he bites the head of their household, who instead of transforming into an undead ghoul becomes revitalised and full of life! The family then hatch a plan to exploit this unexpected fountain of youth, allowing locals to pay to be bitten too, until things go wrong… With a cabbage-munching zombie who prefers ketchup over blood, and a dysfunctional family that gives the Kim family of Parasite a run for their money, Zombie for Sale will warm the deadest of hearts and breathe some new life into the zombie genre.
ABOUT NEW YORK ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL (NYAFF)
Now in its 19th year, the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) is North America’s leading festival of popular Asian cinema, which The Village Voice has called “the best film festival in New York,” and The New York Times has called “one of the city’s most valuable events.” Launched in 2002, the festival selects only the best, strangest, and most entertaining movies to screen for New York audiences, ranging from mainstream blockbusters and art-house eccentricities to genre and cult classics. It was the first North American film festival to champion the works of Johnnie To, Bong Joon-ho, Park Chan-wook, Takashi Miike, and other auteurs of contemporary Asian cinema. Since 2010, it has been produced in collaboration with Film at Lincoln Center.
ABOUT THE NEW YORK ASIAN FILM FOUNDATION
The New York Asian Film Foundation Inc. is America’s premier 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the exhibition and appreciation of Asian film culture in all its forms, with year-round festivals and programs, and a view to building bridges between Asia and America. The New York Asian Film Foundation’s flagship event is the annual New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF), which has been presented in collaboration with the Film at Lincoln Center since 2010. Now entering its 19th year, NYAFF is North America’s leading festival of Asian cinema.