South Korean writer-director Jang Cheol-so made a big impression on the Fantastic Fest audience with his debut film Bedevilled, so much so that it was awarded Best Film by the attendees. It’s a beautifully shot and well acted portrayal of a strangely dysfunctional matriarchal family on a South Korean island. Hard to pin down into a single genre, the film spends a big section of its run-time establishing the hell it is living in the rural village, population maybe 12.

The second match of Round Two finds a Korean favorite up against a German award winner. The Good The Bad The Weird earned its spot with its sweeping beauty and strange cast of characters, as well as the defeat of Brides in Round One. Meanwhile, The Lives of Others got here by delivering politics and strong characters, and by eking out a victory against the favored The Proposition It’s a pairing that even the experts are having trouble predicting, so it’s really anybody’s ball game. Who will make it to Round Three?

The third match of Round One finds the insane Western The Good The Bad The Weird going head to head with stirring drama Brides. Both films are set in the early 1900s, and both are critically acclaimed, but Korea has the edge here because of it’s status with those who obsessively import Blu-rays and DVDs.

Imagine “Three O’Clock High” with Koreans. Only instead of a bully threatening to beat you up at the end of the day, you’re worried about a murderer trying to kill you before the end of class.

Murder, detectives, politics, gadgetry, circus workers, and at least one spectacular foot chase in a period piece!

Abuse, beat downs, unexpected friendships, emotional upheaval, more beat downs, simulated sexual thrusts against a child, drama, and even more beat downs!

Foreign Objects travels the world of international cinema each week to look for films worth visiting. So renew your passport, get your shots, and brush up on the local age of legal consent, this week we’re heading to… South Korea!

Foreign Objects travels the world of international cinema each week to look for films worth visiting. So renew your passport, get your shots, and brush up on the local age of legal consent, this week we’re heading to… South Korea!

Much like they did with the Western last year (the epic and excellent The Good The Bad The Weird), South Korea has ventured into other traditionally American genres with great success. This includes copying the teen sex formula highlighting America’s love of fornicating teenagers, physical comedy, and baby batter.

Bong Joon-ho’s blockbuster 2006 film, The Host, has found a home for its inevitable US remake. Gore Verbinski has brought the film to Universal Pictures.

Steven Spielberg is apparently in the process of acquiring the remake rights for Dreamworks, in the hopes of directing the film with Will Smith as the star.