Korean Horror: Week 3 - Foreign Devils & Monsters

Korean Horror

October 23, 2023

The fear of the other is one of the most central terrors animating human history. This week, we’ll discuss two films that plant this fear squarely within South Korea’s history under Japanese colonization and American military imperialism. Featuring The Wailing (2016), we’ll discuss the film’s depiction of traditional shamanism through the subgenre of folk horror and the lenses of tradition, modernity, and religion. As well, we’ll examine the monstrous consequences of military imperialism as literalized through The Host (2006), the film that drew global attention to director Bong Joon-ho (Parasite).

In conjunction with this film talk, SIFF will present The Wailing at SIFF Cinema Egyptian on Sunday, October 22.

FILM TALK TICKETS

Individual Talks: $25 Sustainer | $15 Regular | $10 SIFF member

Tickets

The date of this event has passed.

SERIES PASS

Class Pass including all classes and screenings: $120 Sustainer | $100 Regular | $75 Member

Buy Pass

CLASS SPECIFICS

7:00–9:00pm PT
SIFF Film Center (live) + Streamed via Zoom Webinar

SUPPLEMENTAL VIEWING

The Host can be rented from Scarecrow Video or Amazon Prime. Content Advisory: Violence and mild gore.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Hannah Baek is an independent film programmer specializing in Asian cinema and interactive film screenings. She received a master’s degree from Harvard’s Regional Studies East Asia program, where she studied gender queerness in the "Dark Ages" of 1970s South Korean cinema. Most recently, she has worked with the Sundance Film Festival, the Harvard Film Archive, MUBI, SIFF, and Spectacle Theater.

The Wailing

Film Screening - The Wailing

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 22 | SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN | 2 PM

(Na Hong-jin, 2016)

When a rural town is suddenly plagued with a bizarre and violent disease, the local police begin to suspect a foreign newcomer. But who can be believed, and what can you believe in?