Korean writer-director Jeon Woo-sung's wicked comedy-thriller, Bargain, imagines what could happen when dozens of sketchy characters become stuck together in the midst of a natural disaster.
"I don't think there are true heroes in the film. There are more 'abnormal' villains."
The six-part, Korean-language, English-subtitled miniseries premieres Thursday on Paramount+ and stars Jin Sun-kyu, Jun Jong-seo and Chang Ryul.
It follows illegal organ traffickers, desperate auction bidders, a shady medical staff and prostitutes and the men they've lured with the promise of underage sex. They all end up trapped in a remote hotel after an earthquake.
Alliances need to be formed, but trust and teamwork do not come naturally to these characters, making for some outrageous twists and turns in this survival story."The series itself is pretty dark. There are a lot of crimes happening," Woo-sung said.
"With the one-long take [filming] technique, we thought the audience might get a little tired, so we wanted to throw in some comedic elements that the audience can laugh at. I tried my best to put in as much dark comedy as I could."
"The original short film only dealt with one floor and one location and with the long-format TV series, I was able to expand the story into the whole building," Woo-sung said.
Filming in what is supposed to be a crumbling, multi-story building posed some physical challenges for the cast and crew, however.
"The hardest part of the whole [production] was dealing with water, so we actually built a life-sized pool on set," he said. "I think I could have done a better job of filming the scenes with water, so that is where my most regret is, because it was the hardest."
The show was a hit when it had its North American premiere last month at the Toronto International Film Festival.
"It got a really great reaction from the audience, especially to the humorous elements," Woo-sing said.
