You are doing yourself a great disservice if you have not yet fully immersed yourself in the strange, amazing world of Park Chan-Wook. Those who know the name will tell you that the man is one of the no-bullshit visionaries working in film today, possessing a wholly unique style and an unusual knack for injecting tragedy, comedy, horror, action, suspense – hell every genre under the rainbow – into all of his works. I don’t toss around words like “genius” or “artist” too often when discussing filmmakers (because there are so few of them out there), but this man qualifies for both of those titles. (I guess I should mention he’s the guy who directed OLDBOY, SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE, SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE, JSA, and the terrific “CUT,” from THREE EXTREMES).
Okay, now that I’m fully up the man’s butt, let me pass on the news: Park is directing a vampire picture for CJ Entertainment, which is currently selling foreign rights at the American Film Market (the article claims the film is untitled, but I’ve heard it referred to as EVIL LIVE). Yes, sounds like he’s really going for the jugular this time (pardon the awful, awful pun) – although you never really know what you’re going to get from him, so don’t expect your typical vampire thriller.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the film will star Song Kang-ho (great in THE HOST) as a priest who turns into a vamp as the result of a failed medical experiment. This, somehow, leads him into an affair with the wife of his childhood friend.
Park’s last film was the romantic comedy I’M A CYBORG BUT THAT’S OKAY, which has yet to hit DVD over here, and confounded even his biggest fans overseas. I’d personally watch a documentary about paint drying if he directed it, if only because I’d be guaranteed some kind of revenge subplot and at least one achilles tendon slicing.