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South Korean Cult-Horror Series ‘Hellbound’ Returns at BIFF

In this picture taken on October 2, 2024, (L-R) South Korean actors Im Seong-Jae, Kim Hyun-joo and Kim Sung-cheol arrive on the red carpet during the opening ceremony of the 29th Busan International Film Festival in Busan. (AFP)
In this picture taken on October 2, 2024, (L-R) South Korean actors Im Seong-Jae, Kim Hyun-joo and Kim Sung-cheol arrive on the red carpet during the opening ceremony of the 29th Busan International Film Festival in Busan. (AFP)
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South Korean Cult-Horror Series ‘Hellbound’ Returns at BIFF

In this picture taken on October 2, 2024, (L-R) South Korean actors Im Seong-Jae, Kim Hyun-joo and Kim Sung-cheol arrive on the red carpet during the opening ceremony of the 29th Busan International Film Festival in Busan. (AFP)
In this picture taken on October 2, 2024, (L-R) South Korean actors Im Seong-Jae, Kim Hyun-joo and Kim Sung-cheol arrive on the red carpet during the opening ceremony of the 29th Busan International Film Festival in Busan. (AFP)

Netflix's Korean cult-horror thriller "Hellbound" returned for its much anticipated second season with a world premiere at Busan International Film Festival, showcasing intense performances from the new cast members, particularly Moon Geun-young.

Created by Yeon Sang-ho, known for zombie flick "Train to Busan", the first season of "Hellbound" achieved critical and commercial success with its portrayal of a world where supernatural beings suddenly appear to tell people of their impending death, followed by monstrous entities that drag the condemned to hell.

Yeon, whose early works included a dark animated film about a Korean cult organization, elevates the dystopian thriller into a more philosophical realm in its second season, while still delivering the spectacle of creatures, violence, and collective religious hysteria.

"I believe that the concept of disaster in the work 'Hellbound' refers more to a mental or ideological catastrophe than to a physical disaster," director Yeon said at a BIFF event late Friday.

The show had to let go of actor Yoo Ah-in, who played a key character in season one, after he was charged with illegal drug use. Yoo was subsequently found guilty.

Kim Sung-cheol takes on the role of the charismatic leader of a cult that arose amid the horrific supernatural deaths that triggered a wave of social media frenzy, delivering a convincing portrayal of this intricate character.

But the most captivating -- and gut-wrenching -- performance of the second season arguably belongs to Moon Geun-young, a much beloved former teen actress in South Korea, who portrays a young wife gradually transforming into a deranged cult fanatic.

Yeon said he decided to cast Moon after seeing her in a 2021 TV drama where she portrayed a tormented wife who succumbs to alcoholism while caring for her alcoholic husband.

Moon did not attend this year's BIFF, but fellow cast member Kim Hyun-joo said: "Moon Geun-young made a tremendous contribution. I already knew (she was immensely talented), but I was pleasantly surprised and delighted by her performance."

The series was featured at BIFF in its big-screen theaters, even as the festival faces criticism from cinephiles for selecting a streaming title, "Uprising", also from Netflix, as its opening film this year.

Cineastes blame OTT streaming platforms for some of the challenges encountered by the traditional theater market and independent filmmakers.

"BIFF has been a key player in showcasing fresh Asian films by young, emerging talents in the region, and this has been their priority," Kay Heeyoung Kim, owner of the film studio K-Dragon, told AFP.

"But the lines between traditional independent cinema and big-budget streaming titles have blurred at this year's festival, which is unfortunate to see."

Yeon, who began his career as an independent animated filmmaker, along with his work "Hellbound," is credited with increasing the global visibility of South Korean content in recent years, alongside works like "Squid Game" and "Pachinko."

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Javier Bardem on Gaza: ‘We Cannot Remain Indifferent’ in Call for Hostage Release and Ceasefire

Javier Bardem appears at the 94th Academy Awards nominees luncheon in Los Angeles on March 7, 2022. (AP)
Javier Bardem appears at the 94th Academy Awards nominees luncheon in Los Angeles on March 7, 2022. (AP)
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Javier Bardem on Gaza: ‘We Cannot Remain Indifferent’ in Call for Hostage Release and Ceasefire

Javier Bardem appears at the 94th Academy Awards nominees luncheon in Los Angeles on March 7, 2022. (AP)
Javier Bardem appears at the 94th Academy Awards nominees luncheon in Los Angeles on March 7, 2022. (AP)

Javier Bardem was no longer comfortable being silent on Gaza.

The Spanish actor spoke out about the Israeli-Hamas conflict upon accepting an award at the San Sebastian Film Festival last week. In his nuanced remarks, Bardem condemned the Hamas attacks as well as the "massive punishment that the Palestinian population is enduring."

He called for immediate ceasefire, Hamas’ release of hostages and for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Hamas leaders — some of whom are now dead — who ordered the Oct. 7 attacks to be judged by the International Criminal Court.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Bardem explained why he chose to speak out.

"I believe that we can and must help bring peace. If we take a different approach, then we will get different results," Bardem told the AP, speaking prior to Iran’s attack on Israel Tuesday. "The security and prosperity of Israel and the health and future of a free Palestine will only be possible through a culture of peace, coexistence and respect."

Israel’s offensive has already killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents and destroyed much of the impoverished territory. Palestinian fighters are still holding some 110 hostages captured in the Oct. 7 attack that started the war, in which they killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Around a third of the 110 are already dead, according to Israeli authorities.

The war has drawn sharp divisions in Hollywood over the past year, where public support of Israel or Palestine has provoked backlash and bullying, with accusations of antisemitism and Islamophobia, and cost people jobs. Even silence has had its consequences. The #blockout2024 movement pressured celebrities who hadn’t said anything — or enough — to take a stand.

"Why now?" Bardem said. "Because to continue to stall negotiations and return to the previous status quo, as they say, or as we are seeing now, embark on a race to further violations of international law would be to perpetuate the war and eventually lead us off a cliff."

Bardem stressed that while antisemitism and Islamophobia are real and serious problems in the US, Europe and beyond, that the terms are being used to divert attention away from the "legitimate right to criticize the actions of the Israeli government and of Hamas.

"We’re witnessing crimes against human rights, crimes under international law, such as, for example, the banning of food, water, medicines, electricity, using, as UNICEF says, war against children and the trauma that’s being created for generations," Bardem said. "We cannot remain indifferent to that."

The Oscar-winner, who was born in the Canary Islands, has spoken up on global issues before, signing an open letter calling for peace during a 2014 conflict between Israel and Hamas. He's also an environmental advocate, and spoke to the UN in 2019 about protecting the oceans.

"My mother educated me on the importance of treating all human beings equally, regardless of skin color, ethnicity, religion, nationality, socio and economic status, ability or sexuality," Bardem said. "Actions inform us and that alone interests me about people. That's why I have always been concerned about discrimination of any kind. That includes antisemitism and Islamophobia."

Bardem is married to Penélope Cruz, with whom he shares two children.

He said that beyond a fear that the framework of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is in danger, he has seen the effects of the conflict up close and the promise of a different approach. Two of his close friends, one Israeli, one Palestinian, both lost daughters to violence years ago and have bonded together in their shared pain and desire to help create positive change.

Those fathers, Bassam Aramin and Rami Elhanan, are members of a nonprofit organization called The Parents Circle Families Forum that emphasizes reconciliation. They wrote a letter that Bardem shared: "What happened to us is like nuclear energy. You can use it for more destruction. Or you can use it to bring light. Losing your daughter is painful in both situations. But we love our life. We want to exist. So we use this pain to support change. To build bridges, not to dig graves."

Bardem added: "That’s what it should be about: Building bridges, not digging graves. That’s why it’s urgent and important."