Directed by: Shin Jeong-won (신정원) Starring: Lee Jung-hyun (이정현), Kim Sung-oh (김성오), Seo Young-hee (서영희), Yang Dong-geun 양동근), Lee Mi-do (이미도) Release Date: September 29th, 2020
In times of much needed laughter, director Shin Jeong-won (To Catch a Virgin Ghost, 2004; Ghost Sweepers, 2012) delivers his latest supernatural dark comedy Night of the Undead (2020) as one of the 2020 Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) new release offerings. Much in line with his previous work, Night of the Undead is ripe with oddball characters and otherworldly charm as it puts a comedic spin on the traditional paranormal activity and ghost encounter experience. Far wackier than it is scary, Night of the Undead delivers moderate laughs as it pits the bonds of sisterhood against an extraterrestrial threat of undying alien predators.
Seo-hee (Lee Jung-hyun) lives a happy life of luxury as she’s pampered by her sweet and hard-working husband Man-gil (Kim Sung-oh) every day. One night after coming home late from a friendly reunion, Seo-hee becomes alarmed when salacious text messages from an unknown number appear on her husband’s cell phone. To calm her fears of a potential affair taking place under her nose, she hires an eccentric private investigator and jack of all trades, Dr. Jang (Yang Dong-geun), to secretly follow her husband around and take notes of his daily routine. Through his investigations, Dr. Jang relays a bizarre truth about her husband’s activities that go way beyond anything she could have imagined.
It turns out Man-gil spends most of his time working out at fitness centers and attending night clubs where he picks up multiple women each day to take somewhere privately. If that weren’t bad enough, Seo-hee learns that she’s Man-gil’s fourth wife and that he does other things that defy explanation like secretly guzzle down liters of gasoline at fueling stations. Dr. Jang concludes that Man-gil must be a member of an alien race called ‘unbreakables’ secretly living among humans to steal their DNA. And while Seo-hee is shocked, she decides to seek her own form of vengeance. With the help of her closest school friends, Sae-ra (Seo Young-hee) and Yang-seon (Lee Mi-do), the girls become involved in a night like none other where no one seems to be able to die.
The title Night of the Undead might suggest yet another zombie horror offering from Korea, but it is more a silly sci-fi comedy that blends story and style aspects from Men in Black (1997-2019), American Psycho (2000), and First Wives Club (1996). There’s an extraterrestrial conspiracy at play where predatory aliens disguised as humans living among us for study are being tracked by a secret international organization. Lead alien Man-gil (Kim Sung-oh) is suave, in perfect shape, and appears to have a moderate level of OCD and an addictive personality that drive his hunting practices of luring beautiful women into his clutches. And the three powerful women are driven by a thirst for vengeance that throws a monkey wrench into everyone’s plans with great comedic effect.
While I applaud the silliness and outright bizarre nature of the story, the entertaining ensemble cast in Night of the Undead is its best feature. The three leading ladies all bring a unique style and charm that when together on screen make for a well-balanced trinity of laughs. Leading the narrative, actress Lee Jung-hyun (Peninsula) portrays the sweet and naïve housewife Seo-hee, who’s delicate and more reserved nature requires the assistance of her strong-willed companions to see her revenge plan through. Seo Young-hee (The Wrath, Bedevilled) plays Sae-ra, older in age due to being held back a couple years in school and now working as a butcher, adds confidence and determination with her cold and calculated personality. And Lee Mi-do rounds out the threesome as Yang-seon, a bold, boastful and hilarious struggling actress that provides much of the film’s biggest laughs as she finds herself out of the loop and playing catch-up most of the time.
Full of eccentricity, many of the men in Night of the Undead are quite literally from another planet and their on-screen behavior raises the bizarre factor to new levels. Mostly known for his impeccable performances playing villain characters, Kim Sung-oh (Door Lock, Unstoppable) as lead alien Man-gil is oddly quirky, and his innocent sense of playfulness and childlike wonder as he enjoys the human experiences of playing a dutiful husband while being a serial killing playboy makes for a good anchor to the trinity of ladies and is sure to be one of the more unique characters you’ll see this year. Yang Dong-guen (Days of Wrath) as the unconventional Dr. Jang or “Broccoli” as he’s referred to by his lover, becomes the butt of many gags and links the alien and human world in Night of the Undead that helps to provide some sense of boundaries and rules in such a far fetched reality.
Night of the Undead has at least two very well-developed sequences, particularly the tension-filled mock birthday scene for Mang-il at Seo-hee’s home, as well as the hilarious encounter with police after the first attempt to dispose of Man-gil. But much of the film’s humor was too on the nose or felt forced. For instance, the multiple close up shots of breakfast sausage or uncooked intestines being cut with knives and scissors as the girls contemplate revenge is one of those cutaways that feel overplayed today.
Many of the gags with the largest set ups in Night of the Undead also fall flat. I hate to say it but for an undead comedy, the movie theater was quiet like a graveyard for much of the film’s duration. The action sequence during the climax was also a huge let down in terms of quality as the choreography with its cartoonish special effects as the humanoid aliens throw people around like Hulk smashing Loki in Avengers: Assemble. So while the ride is occasionally entertaining, Night of the Undead fails to provide any sense of thrilling conclusion.
In terms of overall style and feeling, I couldn’t help but be reminded of an old Korean action comedy I saw many years back while watching Night of the Undead called Romantic Assassins (2003). It turns out director Shin Jeong-won worked on the art department for that film and has perhaps retained some of that style and sensibility to be worked into his films today. Far from intellectually demanding, Night of the Undead is pure goofy escapism full of darkly comedic gags and other physical humor that is sure to bring smiles and perplexed brows to house party guests, or simply something to mentally check-out to after a had day’s work.
If you enjoy this content and would like to support our ability to continue to update and increase the quality of our content.
