23rd New York Asian Film Festival

July 12-28, 2024

Photo: ©2023 Studio Take Co., Ltd. all rights reserved

North American Premiere

The Guest

301호 모텔 살인사건

Welcome to the Bates Motel's seedier cousin, where the only thing on the menu is a heaping helping of depravity. This pay-by-the-hour den of iniquity isn't just content to rent rooms for quickies; it's in the business of peddling voyeuristic thrills to the highest bidder, courtesy of a network of hidden cameras. But here's the real kicker: the two poor saps manning the front desk and CCTVs are just cogs in a much more sinister machine, indentured servants to a cadre of Jabba the Hutt-like loan sharks. And just when you think this dark little corner of the world couldn't sink any lower, in walks a character straight out of a Rob Zombie fever dream, an unconscious woman slung over his shoulder like a macabre fashion accessory. What follows is a white-knuckle descent into the heart of darkness, as the accidental hero grapples with the kind of soul-rending moral quandaries that would give Dostoevsky night terrors. Director Yeon Je-gwang hits the ground running with this skin-crawling debut, a masterpiece of suspense that's made from the stuff of sweat-soaked nightmares.

Director: Yeon Je-gwang
Executive Producer: Jung Woo-sung
Cast: Lee Ju-seung, Oh Hye-won, Jeong Su-kyo, Han Min, Lee Ju-seung
Languages: Korean with English subtitles
2023; 77 min.

SCHEDULE:

Monday July 22, 9:00pm
Film at Lincoln Center

Intro and Q&A with director Yeon Je-gwang, actor Lee Ju-seung

Yeon Je-gwang
연제광

Yeon Je-gwang has an MFA in filmmaking from the Korea National University of Arts. He has been making short films since 2014 and they have played at film festivals internationally, including Cannes. A nail-biting thriller adapted from his 2016 short, The Guest, is Yeon’s feature debut.

Lee Ju-seung
이주승

Award-winning actor Lee Ju-seung studied theater at Seoul University and had his first starring role in a film at age 19. He garnered critical acclaim for his turns in the independent productions Shuttlecock (2014) and Socialphobia (2015). Other notable performances include the revenge thriller Broken and TV dramas Pinocchio and The Producers. In 2021 Lee tried his hand at directing with the short film Mast. He will next be seen as one of the leads in the upcoming film Dauren’s Wedding.