Parasite

Bong Joon-ho has made for an unlikely auteur after breaking out big with the 2006 creature feature The Host. There’ve been some bizarre twists to his career since then, but now the South Korean director has gone back to his trashy roots to make an upscale Pink Flamingos by way of Buñuel. The plot of Parasite is pretty believable, too – right down to the lowlifes of the Kim family refusing to think of themselves as conmen as they worm their way into the home of a wealthy family while ruining the lives of former employees. One of those will come back to haunt them in a wild turn that plays fair as a way to get Parasite lurching into a proper horror movie. The story’s only real clunker is the notion that the conniving Kims don’t move out of their crappy basement apartment once the money starts to pour in from their various fakeries. That’s certainly forgivable as the movie keeps winding tighter after starting out more like a lovable sitcom. The Host had a similar trick, and it’s exciting to see Bong return to his sweetly sadistic roots after the saccharine charm of the made-for-Netflix fantasy Okja. Parasite also makes amends for Snowpiercer’s totally moronic take on class warfare. Capitalism isn’t pretty, folks, and Bong’s cruel comedy of terrors ends on a chilling note of hope.

[R]