MONSTRUM (2018)
Label: Acorn Media International
Region Code:
Rating: Cert. 15
Duration: 120 Minutes
Audio: Korean and English-dubbed DTS-HD MA with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD widescreen (2.39:1)
Director: Huh Jong-Ho
Cast: Hyeri Lee, In-kwon Kim, Myung-Min Kim, Woo-sik Choi
Monstrum (2018) is a terrific Shudder original creature-feature set in 16th Century South Korea where King Jungjong's (Hee-soon Park) reign is threatened by a plague sweeping through his kingdom, made worse by reports of a fearsome beast (monstrum) that is ravaging the countryside. The king believes these reports of the monster are untrue and are merely rumors spread by his political opponents. He recruits a former general, the exiled Yoon-gyeom (Myung-Min Kim), to hunt the monstrum, or at least expose it as a fraud. Yoon-gyeom is assisted by his reluctant brother Seong-han (In-kwon Kim) and his very capable adopted daughter Myeong (Hyeri Lee). Monstrum is a gorgeous period film with plenty of palace intrigue, humor, political scheming and plenty of swashbuckling martial arts action, plus some killer Kajui-styled action featuring a beast that has grown to immense size after feasting on the corpses of plague ridden villagers! This one feels large in scope with fantastic sets and costuming, plus some solid digital effects to bring the fearsome monstrum to life. A solid gem of a creature-feature, if you're a fan of monster stuff along the lines of The Host and Brotherhood of the Wolf I think this is a flick worthy of a space on your movie shelf, highly recommended. The Blu-ray from Acorn Media is region-free, and while we get zero extras it's an attractive presentation, and includes the original Koran audio in addition to an English dub for those adverse to reading subtitles.
