‘Parasite’ Review: No Genre in the Wild

Award Tour Flat out, Parasite is the highest reviewed film of 2019 and with good reason. From a unanimous win at Cannes to the lion’s share of indie film and critic awards around the world and across the U.S., the victory lap this year was immense. What multi-million-dollar blockbuster made all this noise? What over-hyped leading actor and overpaid supporting cast came together like a heist film crew to make this movie a runaway success? None of the above. The story of a working-class family scheming on the rich folks who look down on them. A masterful writer/director teamed up with one of their go-to actors and did the damn thing. The rest is cinematic history. At a time in history where income inequality is at an all-time high, it makes sense that this satire is impacting audiences the world over. No Genre in the Wild When you search for Parasite online in any database, you’ll find it listed under comedy, drama, and thriller. You know what? They’re not wrong. The last fifteen years of Korean films have demonstrated a mastery of genre specificity. Ju-On, aka The Grudge, would redefine horror for audiences globally and reintroduce folk horror as a successful vehicle. The Host, a monster movie done right and like never before. Snowpiercer, an entire action sci-fi that takes place ON A TRAIN! Which is a whole new genre, train movies! Which, wait for it, Korean filmmakers combined with horror to make Train To Busan. Which blended distilled genre perfection to train movies and zo…