Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by tinear (A) on October 04, 2009 at 08:53:22

from this Korean master after his astonishing trilogy of vengeance, the best of which is the mesmerizing, "Oldboy."
Unfortunately, this is as unsatisfying as Tarantino's, "Grind House:" both are mindless gore-fests though, in Park's defense, there seems to be a potentially good film inside what became an indulgent mess.
The story is a fascinating one: a priest, seeking to sacrifice himself to help researchers find a cure for a deadly disease, is infected but finds out that ingesting human blood temporarily will halt the disease and erase the symptoms. So here a man with a pious priest's sense of elevated morality suddenly finds himself a.... vampire. How does he "morally" supply himself? Certainly, he could just allow himself to die but that would almost be tantamount to the greatest of all sins, to a Catholic--- the mortal sin of suicide. Moreover, his "cure" has become known and the priest is besieged by gravely ill people who believe he can help them. Obviously, his reputation is a powerful example of "faith-healing."
I could go on and on about the plot, it really is quite complex, but since I yawned several times during the film and found my attention becoming distracted from the screen to several viewers around me---- well, I imagine reading about it would be even less riveting.
Recommended only for true Park or vampire-film fans.