Project Wolf Hunting (2022) Review

“Project Wolf Hunting” Theatrical Poster

Director: Kim Hong-Sun
Cast: Seo In-Guk, Jang Dong-Yoon, Sung Dong-Il, Park Ho-San, Jung So-Min, Ko Chang-Seok, Jang Young-Nam, Choi Gwi-Hwa, Son Jong-Hak
Running Time: 121 min.

By Paul Bramhall

When it comes to cinema the concept of using one location for a narrative to play out in always produces intriguing results, usually lending itself particularly well to the action and horror genres. From the building that the SWAT team needs to fight their way out of in The Raid, to escaping the zombie masses trapped within the confines of a train in Train to Busan. Director Kim Hong-seon played with a similar theme in his 2012 debut The Traffickers, a dark and grimy black market organ trafficking thriller that mostly took place within the confines of a ferry operating between Korea and China. Hong-seon also scripted his debut, and while the end result showed some promise, the overly serious approach and a plot which frequently tripped up on its own attempted cleverness ultimately saw it fall short.

After the release of his debut Hong-seon took a step back from directing his own material, instead becoming a rarely out of work director for hire. He’d follow it up by helming the 2014 caper flick The Con Artists, with the senior citizen thriller The Chase coming next in 2017, and fully embracing the horror genre for 2019’s Metamorphosis. All are serviceable entries in their respective genres, however are also all fairly unremarkable, with nothing standing out in any of them to recommend a viewer proactively seek them out. Whatever small signs of promise that were shown in The Traffickers, indicating Hong-seon could be a force to be reckoned with if he can find the right balance, alas seemed destined to not come to fruition. So it was with a sense of tentative anticipation when I heard he’d be returning to direct from his own script in 2022 with Project Wolf Hunting, exactly 10 years later.

The plot of Project Wolf Hunting sees him stick to familiar territory. While The Traffickers took place on a ferry, this one takes place on a cargo ship, with the plot involving an operation between the Korean and Filipino police to repatriate some of the most reprehensible Korean criminals from Manila to Seoul. The ship is decided on as the means of transport after things don’t go well during an initial attempt, which sees the victim of one break across police lines and blow himself, and several others, to pieces. At this point we’re not even 60 seconds in and we’ve already witnessed decapitated body parts strewn across the screen. Rethinking their approach to one which is more low key, placing the hardened criminals under police guard on a cargo ship seems like the best option. It may take 3 days on the water, but everyone’s keen to avoid any further mishaps, and all they need to do is keep the criminals cuffed and fed for 72 hours.

Hong-seon lets the tension gradually simmer between the police, led by a grizzled Park Ho-san (Night in Paradise, The Call), and the convicts, of whom Seo In-guk (Pipeline, No-Breath) stands out as a tattooed mass murderer, as we wait for the inevitable to happen. The narrative wisely doesn’t leave the audience waiting too long, with a regurgitated paperclip allowing In-guk to free himself of his cuffs, which soon leads to more and more of the prisoners breaking free. I confess with Korean cinemas increasingly commercial leanings in recent years, I was poised for a more slickly produced take on Assault on Precinct 13 (albeit on a cargo ship), with the police holding themselves up against the rioting prisoners. It was somewhat of a gleeful surprise then, when a monkey wrench is smashed full force into one of the poor cop’s heads, sending a gratuitously messy geyser of blood spraying everywhere.

Less than 10 mins later, and without exaggeration for the vast majority of the remaining 90 minutes, there’s not much of what you see onscreen which isn’t covered in the red stuff. In an era where we often see both action and horror movies come with a need to validate their existence via some kind of underlying social commentary, there’s a certain guilty pleasure to be had basking in a production content with causing as much gory onscreen mayhem as possible. It almost feels like Hong-seun recently watched The Night Comes for Us and The Sadness, poured himself a shot of soju, and decided “I can do better than that.”

The economy of the storytelling essentially strips away everything that could be considered superfluous. Characterisation is minimal, likely working under the assumption that most who appear onscreen are either going to end up with multiple fatal stab wounds, riddled with bullets, or inflicted with blunt force trauma to the head. There are a couple of sub-plots thrown in the mix which provide some brief respite from the bloodletting, with the always reliable Sung Dong-il (who featured in both Metamorphosis and The Chase) heading a special unit that takes over the onshore control centre once things go wrong. Lee Sung-wook (Spiritwalker, Microhabitat) is also onboard as a doctor who finds himself summoned to look after a mysterious patient in the lower decks of the ship, in a scene which feels straight out of a horror movie.

As entertaining the simple premise of hyperviolent criminals massacring everything in sight on a ship where there’s no place to escape may be, Hong-seon proves to have an ace up his sleeve that’s revealed at the halfway point. To reveal what it is feels like it’d be a massive spoiler, so I’d simply say that the best way to enjoy Project Wolf Hunting would be to go into it knowing as little as possible beforehand. Sure, it may be for different reasons than when a similar recommendation was given for the likes of Parasite and One Cut of the Dead, however when a surprise literally drops onto the screen almost bang on the 1-hour mark, it was so preposterous that I couldn’t help but find myself grinning from ear to ear. Rather than easing the foot off the gas a little to offer up some story or deeper characterisation, instead Hong-seon decides to spend the final hour attempting to outdo what’s already an outrageous blood bath.

Frankly, Project Wolf Hunting won’t be for everyone. For those who have become accustomed to the finesse and layered stories that Korean cinema is associated with, chances are they’ll be left with their jaws on the floor for all the wrong reasons. For those who recall a time when Korean cinema wasn’t so self-conscious, then chances are their jaws will be on the floor for the right reasons, although even I struggle to think of a production which could be considered comparable. If anything the main criticism that could be levelled towards Hong-seon’s latest is that, like how the action almost became exhaustive in the recently released Carter, a slight feeling of repetition does creep in towards the end of the 2-hour runtime. A result of there perhaps being only a certain number of ways someone can be killed on a cargo ship, however this is a minor gripe in a consistently entertaining massacre.

While much of the discussion around Project Wolf Hunting will inevitably be around the gore factor, it’s worth noting that as pulpy as it may be, the ensemble cast do a fantastic job and never once act like the material is beneath them. Ultimately everyone may be there to contribute to the 2.5 tons of blood that was spilled during the production (a number confirmed by Heong-seon himself!), however there’s a shared chemistry between both the key and supporting players that allows their characters to feel well rounded despite a distinct lack of characterisation on paper. It may be a detail that’s taken for granted, but without it Project Wolf Hunting could have just been a bunch of dull cardboard cut-outs wondering around on a ship.

Considering the revelations that come out in the latter half, Heong-seon has already confirmed that both a prequel and a sequel are in development. While I’d be up for a 2^nd (and 3^rd) dose of onscreen mayhem as much as the next person, it’s fair to say that if Project Wolf Hunting ends up as a standalone movie, then as a director he’s arguably created his masterwork. Shamelessly gratuitous, with no other intention than to splatter the screen with mindlessly entertaining violence, Project Wolf Hunting achieves its purpose with ruthless commitment and no compromises, and that’s something to be celebrated.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 8/10