Director Kim Hong-sun returns with spine-chilling 'Project Wolf Hunting’

Not too long after presenting his Netflix series “Money Heist: Korea -- Joint Economic Area,” director Kim Hong-sun is back with a bloody gore film, “Project Wolf Hunting.”

“Project Wolf Hunting” opens with Korean police officers on a mission to bring heinous criminals to South Korea from the Philippines via a ship.

Looking for an opportunity to escape are Jong-du (Seo In-guk), a cold-blooded killer, and Do-il (Jang Dong-yoon) who has an Interpol red notice on him.

Meanwhile, a mysterious presence created in a secret lab onboard puts everyone's lives at risk.

Two different news inspired the film, according to the director: news about Korean criminals extradited from the Philippines in 2017 and news about the Imperial Japanese Army’s infamous medical research unit 731 having a base in the Philippines.

“I mashed up two different stories and created ‘Project Wolf Hunting,'” the director said during a press conference at CGV Yongsan on Monday.

During the press conference, actor Seo said he has been longing to play a villain like Jong-du, who kills without any reason.

“To me, he seemed like a purely evil character. How he bites off a police officer’s ear and then stabs him again to make sure that he is dead show that. He has his own goals but in the process he kills unnecessarily. It is like he kills for fun and does not feel guilty,” he said.

Explaining that it is rare for him to get scripts with such an evil character, Seo said he thought the role would be a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

Seo has to drastically change his appearance for the role.

“I have tattoos all over my body and also have the eyes of a crazy person. I also yellowed my teeth and drew on freckles. I am sure many viewers will be surprised to see me like that,” Seo said.

The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, an experience that Seo shared at the press conference.

"In Toronto, many audiences loved my character Jong-du so I felt proud,” Seo said.

“It was my first time at the Toronto International Film Festival and it was an interesting experience. People cheered for different films and also shared their opinions about them. It was a special cultural experience,” Seo added.

 

Actor Jang, who played Do-il, a quiet and calm criminal, said taking on the role was more difficult than he had imagined.

“When I first read the script, I thought my role would be easy because he does not have many lines. But it turned out to be the most difficult role,” Jang said.

Jang said he found a solution through having an indepth conversation with the director, who had already finished writing a prequel of the film and also the outline for a sequel.

“Before shooting the first scene, I asked the director for a meeting at night and we talked for two hours. He had all the answers ready for all the questions that I asked, even the details that were not in the film. That was really helpful,” Jang said.

The film will hit local theaters on Wednesday.

Separately, director Kim has signed with US agency William Morris Endeavor, the US agency representing director Bong Joon-ho.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)