Monster (2014 film)
| Monster | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Hwang In-ho |
| Written by | Hwang In-ho |
| Produced by | Kim Min-kyoung Ahn Sang-hoon |
| Starring | Lee Min-ki Kim Go-eun |
| Cinematography | Jung Yong-gyeon Kim Ki-tae |
| Music by | Lee Jae-jin |
| Distributed by | CJ Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 113 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
Monster (Korean: 몬스터; RR: Monseuteo) is a 2014 South Korean thriller film written and directed by Hwang In-ho, and starring Lee Min-ki and Kim Go-eun.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Plot
Independent and aggressive, Bok-soon is known around the neighborhood as a "psycho bitch" because of her weird behavior. She is "slow" and not very smart due to a developmental disability, but is nonetheless a brave young woman with a happy inner world. Bok-soon manages to make a living by running a street stall at the local market with her younger sister Eun-jeong, whom she loves more than life itself. The name-calling doesn't affect her at all, and she only cares about working hard and saving up money for Eun-jeong's education. Their relatively peaceful life is disrupted when Tae-soo, who lives alone in a deserted forest, kills Bok-soon's beloved sister because Eun-jeong may have stumbled upon the truth of his murderous lifestyle. Bok-soon is completely consumed by her grief, madness and uncontrollable rage. Despite her limited mental ability, she begins planning her revenge, and joins up with Na-ri, another girl who is being chased by Tae-soo.
Tae-soo is a merciless, unpredictable serial killer who commits brutal murders for no reason, then methodically covers up his tracks. He cares deeply for his adoptive family, stepmother Kyeong-ja and older brother Ik-sang, who took him in as a young boy. But it was his family's opportunistic attitude to exploit Tae-soo despite their disgust and fear towards him that only aggravated the loneliness and monstrosity within him. Out of love and loyalty, Tae-soo gladly accepts Ik-sang's request to kill a man as a favor to him, but discovers a witness to his crime, Eun-jeong, so he also murders her in cold blood to tie up loose ends.
Eventually, Kyeong-ja and Ik-sang secretly bring in some gangsters in an attempt to kill Tae-soo. With his animalistic senses, Tae-soo escapes death, but ends up getting terribly injured. Bok-soon finds Tae-soo just then, and a deadly battle unfolds between this frail but strong young woman and the bemused, ruthless killer that ruined her life.[7][8][9]
Cast
- Lee Min-ki as Tae-soo
- Kim Go-eun as Bok-soon
- Kim Roi-ha as Ik-sang
- Kim Boo-seon as Kyeong-ja
- Ahn Seo-hyun as Na-ri
- Kim Bo-ra as Eun-jeong
- Nam Gyeong-eup as Boss Jeon
- Han Da-eun as Yeon-hee
- Park Byung-eun as Kwang-soo
- Bae Seong-woo as Seong-moon
- Kim Gyung-ae as Bok-soon's grandmother
- Heo Joon-seok as leader of demolition team
- Yoo Jae-myung as country police constable
- Park Chul-min as Boss Park (cameo)
Reception
Monster was released in theaters on March 13, 2014. Writer-director Hwang In-ho experimented by combining thriller and comedy elements and pushing genre conventions to their extremes with strong stylistic overtones, but some reviews called the film "awkward," "unharmonious" and "almost schizophrenic" as a result, while others criticized a perceived misogyny beneath the film's ostensible message of female empowerment.[10][11] This negative criticism seemed to affect its early run, drawing 88,995 viewers on its opening weekend, behind Elegant Lies and 300: Rise of an Empire.[12] It recorded 357,000 admissions and ₩2.85 billion (US$2.66 million) for its first week.[13]
References
- ^ Song, Soon-jin (28 March 2014). "HWANG In-ho, Director of MONSTER: "I Want to Think Free of Genre"". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
- ^ Song, Soon-jin (24 February 2014). "Press Conference Held for MONSTER: Actor Transformations Front and Center". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
- ^ Tae, Sang-joon (24 January 2014). "KIM Go-eun, Star of Monster and Memories of the Sword: To be Remembered as a Good actress, Not as an Overnight Star". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
- ^ Kim, Hee-eun (7 March 2014). "Eun-gyo takes on Monster role". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
- ^ Lee, Claire (16 March 2014). "Eun-gyo returns as a Monster". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
- ^ Son, Bo-kyung (22 March 2014). "Interview: Lee Min Ki Transforms into Killer for Monster". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2014-04-27.
- ^ "Monster (몬스터)". CJ Entertainment. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
- ^ Conran, Pierce (27 January 2014). "Monster". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
- ^ Lee, Claire (21 February 2014). "Kim Go-eun to come back in vicious revenge tale". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
- ^ Song, Soon-jin (24 March 2014). "In Focus: Monster". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
- ^ Conran, Pierce (11 March 2014). "Review: Tone-deaf MONSTER Exhibits Unusual Cruelty Towards Women". Twitch Film. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
- ^ Tae, Sang-joon (24 March 2014). "Box Office: March 6-19, 2014". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
- ^ Ma, Kevin (18 March 2014). "Thread of Lies tops South Korea B.O." Film Business Asia. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
External links
- Official website Template:Ko icon
- Monster at the Korean Movie Database (in Korean)
- Monster at IMDb
- Monster at HanCinema