Anthology stories come in all shapes and sizes. They can be horror-based, like Satanic Hispanics (2022) or Tiny Cinema (2022); offer a western twang, like The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018); or they can be mission-oriented, like Give Me an A (2022). Through stories long and short, they seek to entertain and, with a little luck, provoke something within their audience. Having its Canadian premiere at Fantasia International Film Festival 2024 is The Killers, a crime/horror/thriller/comedy from directors Kim Jong-kwan (Persona), Roh Deok (Glitch), Chang Hang-jun (Forgotten), and Lee Myung-Se (Nowhere to Hide). Enjoyment will absolutely vary from story to story, but there’s no denying the collective charm of this thrilling gathering of murder and mayhem.
Made up of four distinct stories, The Killers is comprised of a supernatural origin story (“Metamorphosis”), a contract killing that proves you should only work with experts (“Contractors”), a hunt for a deadly murderer (“Everyone is Waiting for the Man”), and a surreal journey into an alternate timeline (“Silent Cinema”). Each story shares only three things: the inclusion of Shim Eun-kyung (Train to Busan; Psychokinesis), death, and the painting Nighthawks from artist Edward Hopper, but more on that shortly. Beyond this, each one can really be treated as their own singular story from which no greater collective meaning can be derived beyond it’s really hard to be a hitman sometimes.
That said, it’s an excellent place to start a story and to build a world from. Whether it’s creating comedy by looking at contract killing via the lens of the gig economy and outsourcing or the chilling dangers of hunting a murderer for whom no one knows their face, by starting with the difficulty of being a killer, these four creatives manage to build full worlds within the scope of roughly 30 minutes a piece. So much so that one may find themselves hungering for more, such as the diabolical nature of Kim’s vampiric “Metamorphosis” with Shim as a bartender who knows how to execute more than a fine Manhattan or the intellectual maneuvering within Chang’s manhunt “Everyone is Waiting for the Man” with Shim as a magazine covergirl. Both of these stories come to the audience fully realized. It’s the neo-noir method of starting in black and white as “Metamorphosis”’s central character stumbles to down the street while narrating his plight, only to come to in an enclosed bar that may as well be a red velvet coffin. There’s such precision in the production design and in Shim’s performance, that it’s almost a disappointment when the section is over due to the allure to know more that emanates outward. Conversely, “Everyone is Waiting for the Man” is far less stylized and hyperreal, the production design of the near-single location tale of a small restaurant looking like the kind of dingy place that doesn’t get much foot traffic, a perfect spot for a faceless killer to hideout. These feel like real places in their construction and within the scope and purpose of their respective stories. Of the four, “Everyone is Waiting for the Man” is perhaps the only one which is so perfect as a short that to extend it into a feature would tarnish the thoughtfulness required to execute such an exacting and evocative story.
Shim Eun-kyung as the bartender in the “Metamorphosis” section of anthology film THE KILLERS. Photo courtesy of Fantasia International Film Festival.
So, let’s talk about Nighthawks. It’s a perpetual presence throughout the anthology either through reenactment, recreation, or display. The 1942 oil painting depicts three customers (two men and one woman) sitting at a bar with a bartender actively working behind the counter. Research indicates that Hopper was himself inspired by a 1927 Ernest Heminway short story titled, you guessed it, “The Killers,” which is the story of two hitmen and their resigned target. The shorts don’t follow this specific path, but each one covers murderous encounters, the killers and the prey shifting and changing in attitude and tone depending on the storyteller. For instance, Roh’s “Contractors” hilariously employs the childhood game of telephone to put into motion a comedic hit, one in which the further removed from the original client the latest hitman gets, the foggier the descriptions become and the more unpredictable the story develops. Conversely, Lee’s “Silent Cinema” very nearly recreates the original painting and plot of the short story, but does it with a wink and nod, incorporating surrealist elements, black and white cinematography, and a general sense that nothing matters, though not quite to the point of being completely nihilistic. So, while it would be easy to draw a correlation from The Killers to “The Killers,” it feels more comfortable to describe this anthology as though each director as interpreting Nighthawks, instead. What would their version of the story be given a killer, a target, and a barkeep? “Contractors” is the only one that defies this description, but it’s hilarious enough with its slapsticky dark comedy that it’s something the audience can roll with.
If anything is certain about The Killers, it’s a showcase for Shim’s flexibility as an actor. Whether she’s exuding allure and control as the barkeep, the terror of confronting death, or the resilience necessary to protect, Shim excels in each situation, making the circumstances even harder to grow disengaged from as an audience.
Mileage is going to very from short to short, especially if one doesn’t find the surreal stylings of Lee’s “Silent Cinema” as powerful a closer as Kim’s “Metamorphosis” is as an opener, but there’s no denying the quality of the direction, the composition (both visually and narratively), and the performances. Each short is a calling card upon which at least three of these (for this reviewer) will inspire seeking out other works. As a singular work, The Killers contains quite a great deal of charm that makes this one an easy recommendation, even if all the pieces don’t resonate on the same level.
Screening during Fantasia International Film Festival 2024.
For more information, head to the official Fantasia International Film Festival 2024 The Killers webpage.
Final Score: 4 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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