Odd one out
This zombie flick draws laughter rather than scare.
ZOMBIE movies are scarce in the world of South Korean film, perhaps because domestic film budgets can’t compare to those in Hollywood. Then again, it may simply reflect the preference of moviegoers here. The Odd Family: Zombie On Sale,
Lee Min-jae’s directorial debut, takes a rare path as a horrorcomedy that draws laughs by focusing on the absurdity of the situation.
“Most zombie films would start with a (zombie) virus spreading from a populated area, but (The
Odd Family) is a story about a family living in a rural town who would not even recognise a zombie,” said Jung Ga-ram, who plays the zombie who just happens to bump into this very strange family.
Lee said his movie can be summed up as “what happens after an ‘unidentified’ man suddenly appears in a quiet countryside and meets unique people.”
From the get-go, the director said his focus was to make a movie that was funny, and actors Jung Jae-young and Kim Nam-gil said that’s exactly why they took on the project.
“The situation (of the film) was just brilliant. I personally love zombie films, but there aren’t that many in Korea . ... Other people may have noticed too, but the story was just brilliant,” said Jung.
Uhm Ji-won, one of the more recognisable faces on the screen, shed her sassy, urbane image and went for a more grounded look.
The patriarch in a Korea film is usually very stoic, but Park In-hwan’s character is the troublemaker in this one. He described his character as a “shameless” man who plays pranks even on his own family.
Actress Lee Soo-kyung’s character ends up in an unusual romance – with the zombie, of all people.
Zombie comedy is nothing new in the West but few Korean directors have toyed with the subject of zombies in Korea.
It is only after the smash hit
Train To Busan in 2016 that Korean zombie films began to get a reputation at all, with previous attempts mostly limited to short films. A few Korean films have attempted to mix comedy with elements of the supernatural – for example, the Detective K series, which garnered modest success.
The Odd Family: Zombie On Sale is currently showing at GSC cinemas nationwide.