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| From left, director Jang Kun-jae, scriptwriters Ryu Yong-jae and Yeon Sang-ho and actors Koo Gyo-hwan, Shin Hyun-bin, Kim Ji-young and Kwak Dong-yeon pose during an online press conference for the Tving original series "Monstrous," Friday. Courtesy of Tving |
By Lee Gyu-lee
Filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho, who is known for the hit apocalypse series "Train To Busan" (2016) and Netflix's dystopian fantasy series "Hellbound," is set to offer up his new project as a creator and scriptwriter of the new occult, romance series "Monstrous."
"When I started to develop 'Monstrous,' I wanted to write something in the genre of melodrama. I thought I didn't want to write anything with horror and said (the series) is going to be about a melodramatic story of a married couple," Yeon said during an online press conference for the series, Friday. "Then, I started to add in occult-genre elements to make the story more interesting and added some crows. So it came out not so much different from my previous works. However, it still has a melodramatic story."
The Tving's original series, which will premiere on the streaming platform on April 29, is about a small town that is swept up by a supernatural disaster. Jung Ki-hoon (Koo Gyo-hwan) is an archaeologist, who follows and researches supernatural phenomena. He goes to a town named Jinyang, where his ex-wife and fellow archaeologist Lee Soo-jin (Shin Hyun-bin) move after losing their child.
The two encounter a bizarre phenomenon in the town, caused by a cursed Buddhist statue "Gwibul" that leads people to face their darkest fear. Amid the chaos and horror experienced by the townspeople, the couple comes together to find the answer and solve the phenomenon.
The series is co-written by Yeon and Ryu Yong-jae, who scripted the Korean adaptation of "Money Heist" and the 2020 romance series, "My Holo Love," and is directed by Jang Kun-jae, who led the 2014 film, "A Midsummer's Fantasia."
Actor Koo said that he was thrilled to take part in the project and reunite with Yeon since starring in his previous apocalyptic film "Peninsula" in 2020.
"I was literally lying on my bed thinking about Yeon when I got the text message (about the series). I heard that director Yeon wrote a script for 'Monstrous' and director Jang will be leading the series," he said. "I've always been interested in working with Jang because he has this specific, captivating vibe … so I joined the project screaming in joy."
The actor shared that he found the character to resemble himself. "What makes Ki-hoon interesting is that he has invested a long period of time to research something he loves," he said. "And I also have experienced studying and focusing on something with keen affection."
Shin shared that taking part in this series was such an interesting experience, saying the great chemistry with Koo helped them through the dark genre series.
"It was a new experience as the concept of the series was something that I've never experienced and will never actually experience in real life," she said. "The scenes that we acted in together were dark and difficult, rather than bright and positive. But as we had such great chemistry, we were able to successfully work our way through them."
