Folks attending this year’s Berlinale are just days away from the world premiere of Byun Sung-hyun’s killer-looking new thriller, Kill Bok-soon. The Netflix exclusive is back in the headlines as of late Wednesday with a brand new trailer that definitely cranks things up with hard-hitting violence to entice the genre fandom a bit, and with none other than Jeon Do-yeon leading the charge. Just check out the programming notes as written at the Berlinale website:
Gil Boksoon leads a double life. She is both the mother of a teenage daughter, whom she is raising on her own, and a legendary professional killer at top-tier killing agency MK Ent. One could even say that she is better at killing people than raising them. But one day, either out of motherly instinct or simply because there are limits to what even the ruthless Boksoon is willing to do, she refuses to complete an assignment. In doing so, she herself becomes a target.
In Kill Boksoon, director Byun Sung-hyun invites us into an astonishing, chilling world in which a killing agency offers an elite path to success and wealth, and talent scouting is all about spotting promising psychopaths and orphans who have nothing to lose. While Boksoon’s daughter is immersed in feelings typical of teenage turmoil, the emotional thermometers of her elders drop to sub-zero temperatures. The leading figures among these cold-blooded assassins are played by the brilliant Jeon Do-yeon and Sul Kyung-gu, in roles that are a million miles away from their cult melodramatic performances in filmmaker Lee Chang-dong’s work. Their characters’ almost preternatural fighting skills allow for some spectacular set pieces that will blow your mind – hopefully not literally.
Kill Bok-soon also stars Sol Kyung-gu, Kim Si-ah, Esom and Koo Kyo-hwan for the film’s launch beginning March 31. Watch the trailer below, and be excited!
