The New York Asian Film Festival runs from June 28th to July 14th, 2019. For more information, click here.
One of my favorite genres to check out at NYAFF is the horror selections. Last year gave us the instant cult classic One Cut of the Dead, and this year gives us a Korean film with an similar vibe: The Odd Family: Zombie on Sale. The horror comedy from South Korea is the feature length debut by Lee Min-jae and stars Jung Jae-young, Kim Nam-gil, Uhm Ji-won, Lee Soo-kyung, Jung Ga-ram, and Park In-hwan. Like One Cut, Odd Family also has a ton of heart and is a charming and comedic take on a family of misfits who attempt to find their way in the zombie apocalypse.
The film centers on the unscrupulous Park family that owns a gas station in the middle of nowhere. As the film opens we see them pop a passerby’s tires, only to immediately appear to tow and then overcharge their victim for repairs. Their lives are changed when their grandfather is bitten by a handsome zombie (Jung Ga-Ram) that looks like he belongs in a K-Pop band (probably because he’s a famous singer). In a meta move that goes in line with current trend in the genre, this universe is familiar with the concept of zombies. This adds a layer of self-awareness to the film, as one family member even cues up Train to Busan on their cell phone to prepare the others for their grandfather’s fate.
Instead of turning into a zombie, something different happens. The bite rejuvenates the old man, and the Park family begin to revitalize their gas station by charging the people of the town to get bitten by the zombie. The young teenage daughter of course falls for the ghoul she affectionately names Zzongbie thanks to his boyish good looks, shy demeanor, and his preference to munching heads of lettuce as opposed to human heads. The film is part underdog story and part love story, as it eventually falls in line with your more traditional zombie fare when we notice some side effects of Zzongbie’s bite begin to show in the town’s population. The Odd Family: Zombie on Sale is a genre film through and through, but the underpinnings about a family and their tumultuous relationships, much like its closest American counterpart Zombieland, are what keep you transfixed, wondering what will happen next.
I found The Odd Family: Zombie on Sale to be a surprisingly hilarious and moving take on the zombie genre that still traffics in the familiar tropes you’d expect. It’s no easy task, but one that Lee Min-jae pulls off almost effortlessly as the film really makes you root for these characters and even their zombie houseguest. Like the best films in this genre, it takes some real chances to give its own take on the undead, and almost all of them seem to pay off as you get a film that brings something new to the zombie genre by still being damn entertaining film to boot. If you get the chance to check this out on its festival run, definitely don’t sleep on this one.