The Wildest Sci-Fi Movie Of the Year Finally Has a Trailer
What’s better than one monster? A bunch of monsters.
Film festivals may only be attended by a handful of people, but they can have massive effects on cinema as a whole. Festival reactions can make or break a film, and the word of mouth after a successful screening can do more for a reputation than even the most expensive marketing campaigns. But even more interesting than the movie that sparks universal acclaim is the movie that divides critics, leaving it to the viewer to decide which stance to take.
Back in May, Hope, a Korean sci-fi monster movie from Na Hong-jin, garnered comparisons to hugely influential films like Alien and Predator, while other critics were turned off by shoddy CGI. Thankfully, the first full trailer for the film allows viewers to judge for themselves, and it looks a lot more realistic than the early reviews would have you believe. Check out the trailer below:
“In Hope Harbor, a remote village near the Demilitarized Zone, police outpost chief Bum-seok receives word from locals that a tiger has appeared,” the movie’s synopsis reads. “As the village erupts into panic, Bum-seok is forced to confront a reality beyond belief.” According to early reviews, the first hour of this 2-hour-and-40-minute-long movie is one long set piece following a chase between a human and a creature.
But what’s new in this trailer is the fact it looks like there’s more than one creature wreaking havoc on Hope Harbor. There’s one that’s full of teeth and appears to have a red covering, a tall, lean, blue monster covered in spikes, a baby alien that appears to be the more classic grey alien design, and finally a giant creature with long black scraggly hair.
The trailer for Hope contains all kinds of aliens in various forms.
As for the criticisms of the CGI, it certainly looks believable — or at least passable — in this trailer. It’s possible that the filmmaker was able to take another pass at it before it was set for a theatrical release, as he was quoted as saying he considered the movie unfinished when it was released at Cannes. “I was thinking I should have more applause…I need to work on it harder,” he told Deadline. “To be honest with you, I didn’t have enough time to finish this film for Cannes. There’s still work to do. I was working on the sound just the day before traveling here.”
But that’s the perk of the festival circuit; it’s a great way to get feedback on a movie before officially distributing it to the masses. But even if the CGI is the same as at the Cannes release, the variety of monsters and aliens is enough to forgive a lot of sins. This movie may have divided critics back in May, but in September we’ll find out how much it divides audiences.
