Horror, unlike just about every other genre, has a unique relationship with the sillier things in life. Given how macabre the subject matter often is, that might be considered a bit ironic. The American movie industry is notorious for embracing this almost contradictory approach to movie-making, with franchises like Sharknado somehow getting away with six installments before calling it quits.
Night Fishing
In Asian Cinema, there isn’t as much emphasis on leveraging the meme power of stupid plots. Sharknado got by purely on its viral potential, which, inevitably, had worn off by the sixth film. In fact, based on the numbers, audience numbers were in freefall after the second movie. There’s still apparently much to be said for fish and fishing as a plot device, as 2011’s Paranmanjang (Night Fishing) demonstrates.
Telling the tale of a fisherman who catches a dead body instead of that evening’s dinner, this South Korean creation is about as low budget as it’s possible to get. The entire spectacle was filmed on an iPhone 4. That might have made it look pretty good back at the turn of the decade but, today, it gives it an eerie, otherworldly feel. Put another way, the degradation takes nothing away from the imagery.
Night Fishing earned praise and a Golden Bear award at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival, appearing in the Best Short Film category. At just 33 minutes long, it’s more of a taster than a true feature. Oddly enough, it has its origins in quite a commercial venture. Night Fishing was created to promote the device it was recorded on by telecoms company KT.
Unconventional
Night Fishing’s choice of setting might seem a little unconventional, but movies simply don’t take advantage of this pastime as much as other parts of media do. Fishing is ubiquitous in video gaming, for example. Minecraft, Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, and Final Fantasy XIV and XV all include fishing as a relaxing counterpart to the hustle of the main game.
This idea is replicated in online casino gaming, where the Buzz Bingo slot Fishin’ Frenzy offers something different from the many games about cowboys and leprechauns. Accompanying it are fellow piscine playthings, Lucky’s Fish & Chips and Fishin’ Reels. Having said all that, though, South Korea’s 2006 movie The Host does frighten fans with a rampaging sea monster.
Night Fishing is currently available to watch in its entirety on YouTube, where commenters have praised its poignancy and depiction of traditional shamanism. Unfortunately, other reviewers weren’t as keen on this Chan-kyong Park production. Overall, visitors to IMDb gave it a score of 6.5 out of ten. Night Fishing was Park’s second short after his 2000 debut Sets.
As a final point, ten years ago, Night Fishing represented something of a brief shift in movie-making trends. The idea of making films with mobile phones was an exciting one, though it never quite caught on. Still, the movie Age of Milk (Kim Dae-woo) stands as evidence of this brief craze, too.
