A nautical thriller with a surprisingly nasty mean streak, Shim Sung-Bo’s Haemoo is an impressive debut feature for the South Korean screenwriter. Shim, who has a working relationship with director Bong Joon-Ho—Shim co-wrote Memories of Murder, and Bong shares a writing credit on Haemoo with Shim—doesn’t reach the same levels as his masterful collaborator, but Haemoo shows Shim has plenty of potential to reach those same heights one day.

Taking place in the late ’90s, shortly after the Asian financial crisis of 1997, Haemoo immediately establishes a tone of desperation with its characters. On the old, rundown fishing ship “Junjin,” Captain Kang (Kim Yoon-seok) finds himself in a bit of trouble. With his crew not catching enough fish on their most recent trip, and his boss trying to sell off the boat to earn some quick cash, it won’t be long before he’s out of a job. With little to no options left for Kang and his coworkers, he takes a deal to smuggle Chinese-Korean immigrants on “Junjin” in order to stay afloat.

With that relatively brief set-up, Kang and his crew head off to pick up their illegal cargo. Kang’s crew is where Shim has the most trouble with his film, reducing the majority of the supporting cast to annoying, one-note characters. The only exceptions would be Dong-sik (Park Yu-chun), a young crew member who doesn’t seem to fit in too well, and Wan-ho (Moon Sung-keun), the ship’s elder and chief engineer. The rest of the crew is reduced to childish horndogs, excited about the trip for the chance to hook up with some of the female immigrants on board.

After an intense sequence showing the immigrants trying to jump on Kang’s boat during a storm, a small romance begins blossoming between Dong-sik and Hong-mae (Han Ye-ri), a young woman Dong-sik rescues from the sea after she falls in during the transfer. Chemistry between the two feels forced, but that’s kind of the point; Dong-sik’s feelings for Hong-mae resemble those of a high school crush, and Hong-mae certainly isn’t having any of it. Shim begins profiling some of the immigrants on board—including an agitator trying to cause a mutiny, and a woman sleeping with crew members in order to get better treatment—setting up what looks like an odd couple story between the ship’s hard-nosed crew and their wily cargo.

But anyone familiar with South Korea’s recent cinematic output, or any of Bong Joon-Ho’s films, knows that subverting expectations is this country’s bread and butter. Things take a shocking turn around the halfway mark, and suddenly Haemoo becomes a whole other film. As a sea fog rolls in—“Haemoo” literally translates to “sea fog”—the foggy haze covering the boat becomes symbolic. What was once clear is now hard to see, and under the cover of the fog, Kang and his crew succumb to their immoral, selfish survival instincts.

Surprisingly, given Shim and Bong’s previous writing credits, the biggest issues with Haemoo come from the screenplay. Both writers have an excellent handle on pacing, with the second half steadily ratcheting up the tension as things continue to take a turn for the worst, but their handling of characters leaves a lot to be desired. The forced romance between Dong-sik and Hong-mae transitions into a real one rather suddenly, leading to an incredibly awkward sex scene after one character is murdered in cold blood right in front of them. The underdeveloped supporting cast only get more grating once the stakes get higher, functioning as nothing more than barriers preventing the protagonists from reaching a happy ending. The poor characterizations wind up clashing with the mostly excellent structure and plotting of the screenplay, producing a final result that’s frustratingly flawed.

The same can’t be said for Shim’s direction, as he shows a remarkably assured hand behind the camera. He handles the film’s sharp tonal shifts with ease, and with the help of cinematographer Hong Kyeong-pyo sustains an eerie mood once the thick sea fog envelops the boat and its surroundings. Park does a serviceable job as the young Dong-sik, but Kim Yoon-seok is the cast’s MVP as Captain Kang. Kim, who some fans of South Korean’s new wave might recognize from The Chaser, makes Kang a likable yet intimidating force, a man fueled purely by his need to survive. And while the film has more than a few issues with its screenplay, Haemoo is still a fun ride for the most part. It’s yet another example of how South Korea continues to beat Hollywood at its own game, combining different genre elements into something appealing, entertaining and refreshingly mature.

It’s hard to watch Snowpiercer without thinking about the last several months of controversy surrounding it. The film, an international production by Korean director Bong Joon-Ho (Memories of Murder, The Host, Mother), had its distribution rights bought up by Harvey Weinstein for the US. The trouble started when it was revealed that Weinstein, feeling the film wouldn’t be understood by midwestern audiences, wanted to cut at least 20 minutes from Bong’s preferred cut. After months of small updates on the matter, an agreement was finally made. Weinstein would release the final cut of Snowpiercer without any alterations, but it would be a limited release instead of a wide one.

The story behind Snowpiercer‘s release, despite having a happy ending, unfortunately changed the way people approach the film. After months of battles over editing, viewers will quietly debate over whether or not Weinstein’s suggestions weren’t exactly so out of line. It’s a shame because, tossing all surrounding controversy aside, Snowpiercer is quite entertaining. It’s a blockbuster in a single location, with enough quirks and artistry to remind audiences how a film like this could only be made outside of the Hollywood studio system. It’s a flawed and sometimes messy film from time to time, but in a manner that’s more risky and exciting instead of frustrating and incompetent.

In the near future, a chemical intended to lower the world’s temperatures ends up working so well that it brings about a new ice age. It’s impossible to live outside, and the small number of remaining survivors live on the titular train. The Snowpiercer travels around the world endlessly, and a highly enforced class system is in place on the train to maintain order. The story starts in 2031, 17 years after the train began running, in the tail section. The tail is reserved for the lower class citizens, with its inhabitants living in squalor with nothing to eat but gelatinous protein bars. Curtis (Chris Evans) and Edgar (Jamie Bell) are in the process of leading a revolt against the oppressive forces from the front of the train, which we only get brief glimpses of from the bizarre characters that visit the back of the train from time to time (this includes a brilliant Tilda Swinton in a performance that single-handedly elevates the entire film).

Curtis and his cohorts (including Octavia Spencer, John Hurt and Bong Joon-Ho regular Song Kang-Ho) successfully overpower security forces in the tail section, thus beginning their journey to confront Wilford, the mysterious engineer making sure the train operates smoothly. Bong, who’s known for his masterful ability to throw abrupt tonal shifts into his work without losing audiences, thrives in his film’s setting. Each train car acts as its own little universe, giving Bong an excuse to change the film’s dynamic while expanding its scale. A huge action sequence can be followed with a bizarre, expository visit to the train’s school, followed by a tense fight scene with almost no dialogue. These sequences, which also show off the incredible set design, are handled with aplomb, and make sure that Snowpiercer never spares a stale moment.

Snowpiercer isn’t without its flaws though. The script, adapted from a French graphic novel by Bong and Kelly Masterson, isn’t exactly subtle with some of its ideas (Early on Curtis says “I’m not a leader”, a line that stamps LEADER in big letters on his forehead), and some elements are introduced for no apparent reason (one character’s clairvoyant abilities is ignored almost immediately after it’s introduced). Still, Bong’s political commentary on the need for oppression to survive is far more interesting of a topic for this kind of film, and the way he expands his film’s scope toward the end is quite entertaining. Snowpiercer may not be the masterpiece that people were hoping for, but that shouldn’t take away from the fact that it’s a hell of a fun ride.

Snowpiercer trailer

After a lengthy battle with film distributor Harvey Weinstein, director Bong Joon-Ho’s Snowpiercer‘s not only has an upcoming June 27th release date, but a new red-band trailer to show off its particular brand of craziness. This cut of the film nearly never saw the light of day as after Weinstein’s purchase of the movie in 2012, he and the filmmaker (whose previous efforts include Mother and The Host) began a dispute over the final cut of the movie that was ultimately resolved by Weinstein downgrading the release from a wide one, to a more limited rollout.

In Snowpiercer, an ice-age has forced all of humanity indoors, on a globe-spanning train that contains within it classrooms, armies, and classism. A man of the people, Chris Evans (Captain America), stars as the leader of a revolt on a train in what promises to be a uniquely claustrophobic and bloody Asian-import.

Snowpiercer Red-Band Trailer