The Odd Family: Zombie on Sale
기묘한 가족
Where Yeon Sang-ho's live-action Train To Busan and complementary anime Seoul Station (both 2016), and the television series Kingdom from this year, have made zombies a serious part of Korean entertainment, Lee Min-jae's feature debut (as writer/director) shows the funnier side of these flesh-eating fiends.
Like Kim Jee-woon's not dissimilarly titled The Quiet Family (1998), The Odd Family reveals domestic eccentricity and small-town mores through the prism of genre. For here the Park family sees the arrival of a zombified young man at their home/business as an opportunity for economic and erotic exploitation - not least because the zombie's bite, as well as eventually having its usual effect, also serves, Viagra-like, to bring old men's moribund libidos rising from the grave. The result is a silly yet savvy spin on familiar tropes - a zany rom zom com that keeps refusing to go where expected, while still delivering all the tense undead action a horror hound could need. (AB)
Director: Lee Min-Jae
Writer: Lee Min-Jae
Producer: Jang Jin-Seung, Eum Zoo-Young
Cast: Jung Jae-Young, Kim Nam-Gil, Um Ji-Won, Lee Soo-Kyung
Production Company: Cinezoo, Oscar 10 Studio
International Sales: M-Line Distribution
Family, Comedy / 2018 / 112 min / CERT. 12 / Colour / DCP
