Bakjwi (2009)

Director:

Chan-wook Park

Writers:

Seo-Gyeong Jeong (writer)
Chan-wook Park (writer)

Release Date:

30 April 2009 (South Korea)

Genre:

Drama | Horror

Plot:

A failed medical experiment turns a man of faith into a vampire.

Plot Keywords:

Virus | Priest | Vampire | Medical Experiment | One Word Title

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Kang-ho Song	...	Priest Sang-hyeon
Ok-vin Kim	...	Tae-joo
Hae-sook Kim	...	Lady Ra
Ha-kyun Shin	...	Kang-woo
In-hwan Park	...	Priest Noh
Dal-su Oh	...	Yeong-doo
Young-chang Song	...	Seung-dae
Mercedes Cabral	...	Evelyn
Eriq Ebouaney	...	Immanuel
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hee-jin Choi	...	Nurse
Woo-seul-hye Hwang	...	Girl with a whistle
Hwa-ryong Lee	...	Professor Ku
Mi-ran Ra	...	Nurse Yu

Also Known As:

Thirst (International: English title) (UK) (USA)
Evil Live (International: English title) (working title)
Untitled Chan-wook Park Project (International: English title) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic bloody violence, disturbing images, strong sexual content, nudity and language.

Runtime:

133 min | South Korea:145 min (director's cut)

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean | English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:18 | USA:R (certificate #45440) | Australia:MA (2009) | Canada:18A (British Columbia/Ontario) | New Zealand:R18 | Singapore:R21 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | UK:18 | France:-12 | Ireland:18 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | Finland:K-18

Company:

CJ Entertainment

Movie Connections:

References Sam gang yi (2004)

Soundtrack:

Ich habe genug

A solid, very enjoyable vampire movie

Do you like vampires? Forget the sappy Twilight and watch this South Korean take on this immortal topic.

A good priest is inadvertently infected with a disease that urges him to drink human blood lest he should succumb to it. Sounds pretty archetypal, right? It is. It is also quite innovative in the way it incorporates other classic themes into it. Thus we can enjoy the good vs. evil inner turmoil, the innocent love interest, the evil stepmother, the idiotic and abusive husband, the wise mentor ... all of these themes are introduced and subsequently reversed and re-examined.

Although this film is rather long for its genre, there is not a single dry (pun intended) moment. There is a minimum of cheap "heavy breathing, mortal danger lurks behind the corner" scenes, while there is a lot of actual blood sucking and sex (and both at the same time). It is not scary as it is at times abhorrent, but still, intriguingly so. Also, mahjong is played repeatedly.

An undercurrent of dark humor flows throughout the movie and keeps it refreshing.