There’s been a recent trend in Korea of blending period dramas with horror, with zombie thriller Rampant and Netflix’s zombie series Kingdom taking advantage of the visuals of the Joseon era to make for a different horror experience. So too does the creature feature Monstrum.
The film is introduced as “based on a true story,” and director Huh Jong-ho takes inspiration from the actual Annals of the Joseon Dynasty from the 16th century. Therein lies a passage that chronicles the sighting of a mysterious and unidentified creature that haunted the royal palace, forcing King Jungjong to abandon his quarters in 1527. From that vague description, Huh crafts an intriguing and exciting film with political scheming, romance, and bloody action, all topped off with a giant monster.
The story goes like this: During the reign of Jungjong (Park Hee-soon), the men are spreading rumors of a man-eating monster that is roaming Mount Inwangsan, causing panic. This news, combined with a terrible plague that ravaged the kingdom about a decade earlier, means the king is forced to take urgent action to find out if the so-called “Monstrum” is real, or a fabrication by the scheming Prime Minister Sim Woon (Lee Geung-young).
The king then sends for disgraced general Yun Kyum (Kim Myung-min) to find out the truth and hunt down whoever’s responsible for the killings. Yun Kyum is joined by his trusted right-hand man Sung Han (Kim In-kwon) and his adopted daughter Myung (Lee Hye-ri in her film debut), as well as about a hundred disposable soldiers and farmers.
Monstrum is many things at once. At first, it keeps playing with the political intrigue of the Joseon Dynasty and the king’s many enemies. About 70% of my notes during the film were “the monster isn’t real,” “never mind, it’s real,” and “no, wait!” as Huh keeps you guessing whether the monster is real or just a fearmongering tactic, and it mostly works. The film’s message about the use of fear and panic for political gain is interesting and well done, even if you sit there impatiently waiting for the damn monster to start eating people on screen. There is also a big comedy side to Monstrum, as Yun Kyum and Sung Han are about the funniest pair of soldiers you’ve seen in a film recently. Both actors have great chemistry, and their dynamic is a welcomed respite from the political maneuverings of the first half of the film.
That being said, is the monster real? Absolutely, and it looks fantastic. The best part of Monstrum is without a doubt the monster design that resembles the legendary creature “haetae” from Chinese and Korean mythology. It’s a sort of giant scaled lion with the body of a bear, covered in bloody pus. The result is a terrifying creature, capable of a great deal of carnage and thrilling action sequences. The film relies a bit too heavily on CGI, but whenever we see desperate soldiers try and fight the titular Monstrum, audiences will find themselves cheering in excitement as the giant beast devours everything in its path. It helps that the film employs long takes to make the action look seamless and feel real.
Monstrum may spend too much time trying to fool the audience into thinking the monster isn’t real, but its funny buddy-cop-esque comedy, the compelling father-daughter relationship between Yun Kyum and Myung, and the electrifying fight scenes involving the monster make this a highly entertaining creature feature.
Monstrum is now streaming on Shudder.
Editor’s Note: This Sitges review was originally published on October 21, 2018.
