For many people, cinema remains a lens into the rest of the world, and that's doubly true when it comes to horror. This week on the Certified Forgotten podcast, Matt Donato and Matthew Monagle were joined by Kate Sánchez, the But Why Tho? editor-in-chief. Their conversation is a deep dive into the idea of horror as a passport, with Sánchez sharing how her own Mexican heritage was deeply intertwined with the horror genre from a very young age. Finally, the three discuss Kim Hong-seon's Metamorphosis, a South Korean exorcism film with a surprising approach to the genre.
When Father Joong-Soo (Bae Seong-woo) is called upon to perform an exorcism on a teenage girl, he does not expect his extended family to be caught in the crossfire. But when the girl dies despite his best efforts, the final words from the departing demon are that Joon-Soo’s family will be next. Meanwhile, Joong-Soo’s brother and his family are facing their own hardships, relocating to a new part of the country to avoid the bad publicity that haunts their uncle. It turns out they got a great deal on a new place - and like most horror movies that open with cheap real estate, the entire family will soon pay a terrible price for their religious interference. Among other festival accolades, Metamorphosis was a Blue Dragon Film Awards nominee, one of the highest awards for films in its native South Korea.
In this short excerpt from the podcast, Sánchez shares why the emphasis on Catholic exorcism rituals in Metamorphosis is such a departure for this particular slice of national cinema:
You have this very sharp mixing of Korean horror and Korean horror tropes, and larger Asian horror tropes and American horror. And I think that it is pretty - I don't want to say pretty rare, but it's very distinct ot have that type of approach to exorcism in Korean film and Asian film more generally.
The Metamorphosis episode of the Certified Forgotten podcast with Kate Sánchez is now available to stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, or the podcast platform of your choice.
