Go. Watch. Now. (A List of Compelling Reasons to See Gwoemul)

1) It socks it to America for its role as policeforce of the world, but in a less obvious and didactic way than done in Children of Men.

2) The ensemble cast of hero/ines are hilariously bumbling and awesome.

3) This trailer does nothing to convey how funny this film is. So go see it.


4) Park Hyun-seo, the wee heroine who is captured by the monster and trapped in a sewer pit, is remarkably clear-eyed and brave given her situation. When another little boy who's been captured asks what she wants to eat when she gets out, she replies, "A beer." Awesome.

5) If you see this in the East Bay you can go to the Parkway and sit on their janky couches and sip beer and eat popcorn with brewer's yeast. And when you watch it in a theater everyone laughs and jumps at the same time. I love that.

6) The sister-heroine character is one of the top archers in South Korea!


7) The evil American doctor has a wall eye.

8) A lecture on the importance of serving customers squid with ten, rather than nine, legs.

9) Environmental message! (The monster is birthed from an American doctor's insistence that his assistant poor hundreds of bottles of formaldehyde directly down the drain.)

10) For a monster movie whose main character eats humans regularly, this is a decidedly nonviolent movie. Plus, the monster is a decidedly sympathetic character.