Fantastic Fest Adds THE MERCILESS and VIP

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Fantastic Fest Adds THE MERCILESS and VIP

Sep 11, 2017

Writer by Pierce Conran
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Korean Thrillers Infiltrate Top US Genre Fest in Austin

The 13th edition of Fantastic Fest in Austin, TX, the leading genre film event in the United States, will welcome two new Korean thrillers when it opens its doors on September 21st. Both BYUN Sung-hyun’s The Merciless and PARK Hoon-jung’s V.I.P. will screen at the festival.

Featuring SUL Kyung-gu (Public Enemy, 2002) and IM Si-wan (A Melody to Remember) as prisoners who form a bond before leading a life of organized crime on the outside, The Merciless debuted in the Midnight Screenings section of this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The crime drama was released in Korea in May and marks the third outing for Director BYUN, after the music drama The Beat Goes On (2012) and romantic comedy Whatcha Wearin’ (2012).

The third title produced and distributed by Warner Bros. Korea, after KIM Jee-woon’s The Age of Shadows and LEE Zoo-young’s A Single Rider, V.I.P. is a tale of a North Korean serial killer being either protected or chased down by members of various international agencies. The project, which is currently on release, is the fourth by New World (2013) and The Tiger (2015) director PARK and features JANG Dong-gun (Friend, 2001), KIM Myung-min (Deranged, 2012), PARK Hee-soon (The Suspect, 2013) and LEE Jong-suk (Hot Young Bloods, 2014).

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