South Korean Film 2022
Project Wolf Hunting (South Korean Film Review & Summary)
Project Wolf Hunting poster
- Genre: Action, Crime Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi
- Release Date: 21 September 2022
- Origin: South Korea
- Film: 112 minutes
Cast
- Seo In-guk as Park Jong-doo
- Jang Dong-yoon as Lee Do-il
- Choi Gwi-hwa as Alpha
- Park Ho-san as Lee Seok-woo
- Jung So-min as Lee Da-yeon
- Ko Chang-seok as Go Kun-bae
- Jang Young-nam as Choi Myeong-ju
- Sung Dong-il as Dae-woong
- Son Jong-hak as Soo-cheol
- Lee Sung-wook as Kyung-ho
- Hong Ji-yoon as Eun-ji
- Jung Moon-sung as Kyu-tae
- Lim Ju-hwan as CEO
Snippets
- It started filming in the summer of 2021 until April 2022. The location shoot was the Philippines and South Korea.
- It premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival on 16 September 2022
- It was released in South Korea on 21 September 2022.
When I first heard of this film, I immediately thought that it was only right that it was also filmed in the Philippines because most South Korean dramas seemed to send their criminals to lie low in the Philippines. So it was only fair to come and pick their heinous criminals. The Philippines appeared in the first part as the criminals were packed onto a cargo ship for return to Busan.
We found this a very violent movie from the beginning. In fact, I think this is the most blood and gorefest film I have ever seen. It has the premise of an interesting story but at times descends into so-called ‘schlock horror.’
One scene that was rather hilarious was when the Frankenstein-like monster after escaping from the ship’s hold attacts a convict & pulls the arm from a convict and used it to bash the convict to death.
The movie certainly gives classics such as Texas Chain Saw Massacre & Halloween movies a run for their gore.
Just be careful of neck whiplash as you would be moving your head so much to look away from the gory scenes.
The story/plot started in 2017 when South Korean convicts were being repatriated from the Philippines back to South Korea. But as the convicts started entering the Philippine airport, a Korean relative of a murder victim detonated a bomb killing at least 10 Korean police and many more bystanders.
So when they tried to reconvene the repatriation, the South Korean government decided for the vilest of convicts to be transported by water using a cargo ship bound for Busan.
The cargo ship also has a deadly secret hidden below decks.
A top cast of mainly K Drama TV actors in this movie. Some we have seen in completely different roles.
As the ship proceeds out to sea and is being monitored in a controlled room near the port in Korea. Suddenly a shadowy group appears to take over the control room and dismiss the staff.
Onboard the cargo ship, the convicts both men & women aided by hidden accomplices break free and carnage as they attack and kill their police guards and the crew.
Some of the police survive and those convicts that are not so murderous try and flee the marauding murderers.
Unknown to them, hidden in the ship and under sedation and guarded, is a World War Two Korean soldier, once human and now the result of heinous genetic experiments by the Japanese to create the perfect superhuman weapon. A hybrid Frankenstein monster type.
The creature is awakened by accident and then breaks out of its own prison. It then wreaks its own bloody mindless destruction on anyone in its way, those remaining convicts, crew, & police guards left alive on the ship.
The body count and body parts rise. On shore, the shadowy group in the control room and are is waiting to take possession of the creature to continue the medical research, realise what is going on and dispatch a helicopter with soldiers to contain the situation capture the creature, and kill any witnesses. The members of this group, part of a Korean organisation are also superhuman. They are the improved later results of these early experiments.
One of the convicts wrongly accused of his crime is also a secretly one of these results but as the good guy, fights with these soldiers and leader on board until one man is left standing and a possible sequel to the movie.
So far, the ratings & critique of the movie have not been high. Possibly too much violence may have proved unpalatable for audiences/viewers, despite the cast and interesting plot. For the actors, a chance to be something different from their normal TV, etc drama roles.