Summary
Train to Busandirector Yeon Sang-ho has a new crime-thriller heading straight toNetflix, and it’s executive produced byChildren of Men’s Alfonso Cuarón. The streaming giant has dropped its final trailer shortly before its March 21 release date to get fans of Sang-Ho’s emotionally weighted action flicks hyped up.
Acolytes of Yeon Sang-ho’s filmography will be happy to note he both wrote the script and was behind the camera forNetflix’sRevelations. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the title of the film,Revelationsfollows a pastor and a detective working angles on the same missing-person case. Fireworks are sure to follow and with names likeCuarónand Sang-ho behind it, cinephiles everywhere are waiting with bated breath over this one. They’ll certainly find lots to love about this project as this latest trailer promises a grisly treat for K-drama and Sang-ho fans.
Unlike in his other works, Sang-ho desired to maintain realism inRevelationsas much as possible. Instead of relying on less grounded themeslike zombies on a high-speed trainor other surreal/fantastical ideas, finding the more realistic madness in humans is what inspired Sang-ho to take this project on: “I wanted to depict psychological elements that can be found in reality, such as illusions, delusions, and traumas,” Sang-hoexplains to Netflix’sTudum. By focusing on the psyches of Pastor Min-chan and Detective Lee Yoon-hui as they each try and crack a new missing person’s case—with Min-chan written as an egocentric reflection of Yoon-hui’s selfless persona on the force—Revelationspromises to uncover how different personalities interact and engage with crises like missing-person reports.
Revelations Trailer Promises A Grueling Psychological Journey
It’s Safe To Say This Won’t Be The Happiest Film Around
Based on the comic of the same name written by Sang-ho and the film’s co-screenwriter Choi Gyu-Seok,Revelationsalso stars Shin Min-jae. With psychological torment at the forefront of Sang-ho’s newest production, the film’s leading trio each brings a unique deformity of sorts to their roles—Min-chan’s crippling narcissism oozes off him thanks to Jun-yeol’s magnetically insecure presence, for example. Regardless of its source material faithfulness,Revelationspromises cutting characters enmeshed in a world of deep themes about losing the mind (or fighting hard to keep it) to inner evils. Plus, Sang-ho has adapted other comic-like creations of his own,like the webtoonThe Bequeathed,into Netflix projects, assuaging doubts that he will go outlandishly far away from theRevelationscomic.
Judging from Sang-ho’s promise of realism,Revelations promises to be one of the most distinctive worksof the director’s career thus far. Aside fromTrain to Busan, Sang-ho has played with surreal elements and fantasy settings for years. From his time in the animated film world withThe King of PigsandThe Faketo his live-action but still surreal films such asPsychokinesis, Sang-ho tackled various societal and cultural issues through supernatural powers, zombies, and more.Revelationsthus looks to provide a refreshing spin on Sang-ho’s fantastical filmmaking style, sticking purely within the confines of the human imagination and the twisted consequences an unstable mind can harbor.
With only a few days before Yeon Sang-ho’s new crime drama drops, fans of his, the comic, and K-drama in general have plenty to look forward to. When Sang-ho creates original material (e.g.,notTrain to Busanprequels or sequels), he crafts compelling stories of wild plots that symbolize realistic societal issues.Revelationsseems likely to continue that trend in a more grounded direction.
