Slashing The Seats

Things take a turn for the Goth in Oldboy director Park Chan-wook’s latest, as a friendly priest (Song Kang-ho, last seen on Western shores in The Host) volunteers for a vaccine-testing programme (never a good idea) and finds him transformed into a vampire. This being a Korean movie, the bloodsuckers are about as far as you can get from Dracula or Buffy. Instead, our hero finds himself with an enormous sexual appetite and a plague of boils that only fresh blood can keep at bay.

It’s based in part on Emile Zola’s book Therese Raquin, so the initial slow-going is pardonable. Unfortunately, once the key points – adultery, suppressed sexuality – from the book are exhausted, the plot starts to circle pointlessly, devolving into an uneasy mix of infantile jokes and Chan-wook’s trademark visceral violence – but what violence!

Despite the weak narrative, the design and inventive shocks on offer more than make up for it. With some great technical creativity and performances that balance out the goofiness, the film manages to resuscitate some of the creeping dread Asian horror cinema does so well, with some startling imagery that sticks in the mind. Of particular note is actress-model Kim Ok-vin – previously best known for camp musical performances – throwing herself into wild sex scenes and grinning manically, her doll-like features perfectly suited to the role of a soulless killer.

The action scenes are surprisingly understated, even when dealing with supernatural combatants. There is wirework aplenty, but it’s tastefully done and works to enhance without distracting.

While the convoluted and often aimless story points may be off-putting to the more mainstream cinema-goers who came aboard for Oldboy, there’s much to savour here. A slightly slow but ultimately rewarding film, managing the neat trick of containing something for the aesthete and gore-hound alike.

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