Acclaimed Korean filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho has set mystery thriller The Ugly as his next feature, which Plus M Entertainment will introduce to buyers at the Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM) in Busan this week.
Yeon is known for directing Peninsula, which received a Cannes 2020 label and proved box office hit across Asia, taking $46.7m at the height of the pandemic; zombie thriller Train To Busan, which played at Cannes in 2016 and went on to take $140m at the global box office; and The King of Pigs, which became the first Korean animation to screen at Cannes when it was selected in 2011.
The Ugly will mark the director’s first theatrical release in five years, having previously co-written and directed internationally successful Netflix series Hellbound and Parasyte: The Grey. Hellbound returns for its highly-anticipated second season on October 25 and the directed recently signed to write a Japanese adaptation of sci-fi The Human Vapor for the streamer.
The Ugly is based on Yeon’s 2018 graphic novel of the same name, which he both wrote and illustrated, and follows Im Dong-hwan, the son of Im Yeong-gyu, a seal engraving artisan who is renowned for his craftsmanship despite having been born blind. Dong-hwan sets out to uncover the truth when his long-lost mother, thought to have been missing for 40 years, is found dead. A first look at the film can be seen above.
The cast is led by Park Jeong-min, who takes on a duel role as the son and younger version of the character’s father, and Kwon Hae-hyo, who plays the father in present day.
Park previously worked with Yeon on Hellbound and 2018 superhero feature Psychokinesis and will next be seen in Kim Sang-man’s Uprising, which is set to open Busan International Film Festival on Wednesday (October 2). He is also known for Smugglers, Deliver Us From Evil, recent Toronto title Harbin and Park Chan-wook’s Cannes 2022 award-winner Decision To Leave.
Kwon, who has collaborated with Hong Sangsoo on 11 films including recent Berlinale Silver Bear winner A Traveler’s Needs, has also worked with Yeon on titles including Parasyte: The Grey and Peninsula.
Shooting took place over the summer and the film is in post-production ahead of an anticipated festival premiere next year.
According to Yeon, The Ugly began with the question: “What does it mean to overcome and defeat societal hatred?” He elaborated that the question grew into a story about a woman whose face society has collectively tried to forget. After telling the story in a graphic novel, he became determined to adapt it as a live-action film.
The film is produced by Wow Point, the company behind Netflix series The Bequeathed, Parasyte: The Grey and Hellbound season 2.
Plus M Entertainment will handle international sales and launch the feature at the ACFM, which runs October 5-8 in Busan. The Korean development, production, financing, distribution and international sales firm is owned by Megabox, one of the biggest multiplex chains in Korea.
Its past theatrical slate includes critical and commercial hits The Roundup: Punishment, 12.12: The Day and Hunt. The company has also expanded into producing drama series, such as 2022’s I Have Not Done My Best and Gangnam B-Side, which is slated for release on Disney+ this year.
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