South Korean cult horror series Hellbound returns to BIFF

Netflix’s Korean cult horror thriller Hellbound The highly anticipated second season returned with a world premiere at the Busan International Film Festival and featured intense performances from the new cast, especially Moon Geun-young.

Created by Yeon Sang-ho, known for zombie films Train to Busan, the first season of Hellbound achieved critical and commercial success by depicting a world in which supernatural beings suddenly appear to announce their impending death to humans, followed by monstrous beings who drag the condemned to hell.

Yeon, whose early work included a dark animated film about a Korean cult organization, elevates the dystopian thriller into a more philosophical realm in its second season, but still delivers the spectacle of creatures, violence and collective religious hysteria.

“I believe that the concept of catastrophe in the work ‘Hellbound’ refers to a mental or ideological catastrophe rather than a physical catastrophe,” director Yeon said at a BIFF event late Friday.

The series had to fire actor Yoo Ah-in, who played a key character in the first season, after he was accused of illegal drug use. Yoo was subsequently found guilty.

Taking on the role of the charismatic leader of a cult that emerged amid the horrific supernatural deaths that sparked a wave of social media frenzy, Kim Sung-cheol delivers a compelling portrayal of this complicated character.

But the second season’s most compelling – and heartbreaking – performance may come from Moon Geun-young, a popular former teenage actress in South Korea, who portrays a young woman who gradually turns into a deranged cult fanatic.

Yeon said he decided to cast Moon after seeing her in a 2021 television drama in which she portrayed a tormented woman who succumbs to alcoholism while caring for her alcoholic husband.

Moon did not attend BIFF this year, but fellow actress Kim Hyun-joo said, “Moon Geun-young made a huge contribution. I already knew it (she was hugely talented), but I was pleasantly surprised and pleased with her performance.”

The series was shown at BIFF in its major cinemas, although the festival has faced criticism from cineastes for choosing a streaming title. uprising, also from Neflix, as the opening film this year.

Cinephiles blame OTT streaming platforms for some of the challenges facing the traditional theater market and independent filmmakers.

“BIFF has been a key player in showcasing fresh Asian films from young, emerging talent in the region and that has been their priority,” Kay Heeyoung Kim, owner of film studio K-Dragon, told AFP.

“But the lines between traditional independent cinema and big-budget streaming titles have been blurred at this year’s festival, which is unfortunate.”

Yeon, who began his career as an independent animator with his work “Hellbound,” is credited with increasing the global visibility of South Korean content in recent years, alongside works such as “Squid Game” and “Pachinko.”

His works explore human struggles, apocalyptic worlds and religion, and Yeon brings the theme of resurrection to the second season of “Hellbound,” where “sinners” begin to return after their visits to Hell.

“I think hell isn’t just an afterlife destination,” actress Kim said of season two’s themes.

“Depending on the choices you make in life, you could end up living in hell while you’re still alive.”