Yeon Sang-ho has made a name for himself in the dark fantasy genre with his films and series like “Train to Busan” (2016), “Hellbound” (2021-) and “The Bequeathed”. Once again, the director offers a variation on the genre with Netflix’s upcoming original horror-thriller series, “Parasyte: The Grey.” However, the series stands out from Yeon’s previous explorations of the apocalypse or the supernatural. This time, Yeon’s work addresses a philosophical theme — coexistence.
“Parasyte: The Grey” is based on the Japanese horror manga series “Parasyte” by Hitoshi Iwaaki. Yeon, who directed and co-wrote the series, reinterpreted the original with a new plot adapted to the Korean context.
“Parasyte: The Grey” follows Su-in, played by actress Jeon So-nee, who is forced to share her life with a parasitic creature named Heidi who partially inhabits her body. The two are compared to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, as Su-in and Heidi are diametric opposites.
“I would describe Heidi as an extreme thinker”, Yeon said during a press conference for the show at Seoul Dragon City in Yongsan district, central Seoul, Tuesdayi. “Heidi is emotionless, but since Su-in is human, she is more sentimental and closer to type F [feeling]”, Yeon said, using the famous Myers-Briggs personality test to explain the characters. “The story is about how these two learn to understand each other.
“Before Heidi came into his life, Su-in lived in solitude,” Jeon explains. “Life was dull for her, but since a different being entered her life, she learns that there is more to life.”
The series also stars Koo Kyo-hwan, Lee Jung-hyun, Kwon Hae-hyo and Kim In-kwon. Koo plays the role of Kang-woo, who searches for his lost sister among the parasites. Kwon and Kim are inspectors who try to protect Su-in and where she“identifies”, Yeon said.
Perhaps the most notable change in Yeon’s version of “Parasyte” is the introduction of Lee’s character, Jun-kyung, a profiler who hunts parasitic creatures after her husband disappears. She is the head of The Grey, a task force whose goal is to exterminate parasites.
“Jun-kyung is definitely not a normal character”said Lee. “She kills parasites for fun. For this role, I had to build up my muscles during the three months following my birth. I rehearsed the action scenes with our martial arts team. »
The main cast, especially Jeon, Koo and Lee, revealed that they were fans of the Japanese comic, and all agreed that the reason they decided to work on “Parasyte: The Grey” was because they were intrigued by Yeon’s new storyline.
Before I started my career in animation, since I was little, the original comic “Parasyte” was like a bible for me and my friends,” Yeon said. “ I was such a fan that I started imagining what more I could create based on this comic. I sent a handwritten letter to Iwaaki and luckily I got his blessing. To anyone who is going to watch my series, I highly recommend reading the original books first. They will blow your mind. »
“Parasyte: The Grey” arrives on Netflix on April 5.