Project Wolf Hunting


Project Wolf Hunting is a 2022 South Korean science fiction action horror film directed by Kim Hong-sun, starring Seo In-guk and Jang Dong-yoon. The film takes place on a cargo ship used to transport dangerous criminals from Manila, Philippines to Busan, South Korea. It premiered in the 2022 [Toronto International Film Festival#Midnight Madness|Midnight Madness section at the 47th Toronto International Film Festival] on September 16, 2022, and was released in South Korean theaters on September 21, 2022.

Synopsis

The film opens in 2017 with the extraction of 47 Korean criminals from the Philippines, which turns chaotic when an elderly man detonates a bomb, killing seven officers and wounding about 30 travelers. Five years later, a similar group of criminals is transported via cargo ship to Korea to prevent a repeat of the previous incident.
After the detectives walk the prisoners onto the ship, the Busan VTS has been given orders to track the ship while it makes its trip to South Korea.
Onboard the ship, law enforcement led by Lee Seok-woo confronts the criminals. A confrontation with Lee Do-il, a tattooed criminal, escalates into violence, triggering a brutal beating. Meanwhile, Lee Seok-woo aboard the ship loads a bag full of syringes and other medical equipment under the guise of food. He makes his way down the into the ship, where two men monitor vitals and guard a man in a prison jumpsuit with a breathing apparatus. The doctor hands the medical equipment over and administers the sedative to the prisoner.
Chaos ensues as the ship sets sail. Shady and his men, under Tattoo's control, launch a violent spree, while Tattoo's gang picks the locks to their handcuffs to set themselves free.
A series of brutal killings reveals the presence of Alpha, a superhuman with extraordinary strength and resilience. Alpha's origin is linked to disturbing experiments during World War II. Tattoo's gang tries to escape Alpha's wrath but faces annihilation.
Alpha goes on a relentless rampage, confronting Park Jong-doo and his team. A fierce battle ensues, resulting in Cop Leader's demise.
The film delves into Alpha's history, revealing his transformation due to inhumane experiments. Alpha pursues Lee Da-yeon and Go Kun-bae in a tense showdown.
In the climax, Kyung-ho arrives, revealing his superhuman strength and history with Lee. A battle between Lee and Kyung-ho ensues. Alpha confronts super soldiers brought by Commander. A final confrontation unfolds between Lee and Commander, with a shocking revelation about Commander's past actions that caused the life of Lee's wife and child. Turns out Lee was a gangster taking down in a gang war only to be saved and expriemented on, by Kyung-ho, with other members, which no one survives except for a few exceptions, including Lee. Meanwhile, the doctor attempts to escape to only being killed by one of Kyung-ho's team members.
The film concludes with Lee's victory over Commander, washing up in Korea. It is later shown that Kyung-ho did not kill Lee's child because the superhuman gene had shown to be passed down.

Cast

On April 14, 2022, it was reported that the filming had ended.

Release

The film had its world premiere in the Midnight Madness section at the 47th Toronto International Film Festival on September 16, 2022. It was released in South Korean theaters on September 21, 2022 by The Contents On, and had a limited release in North America by Well Go USA Entertainment on October 7. Finecut acquired international distribution rights for the film. The film's rights were sold in 41 countries. It was released on VOD by Well Go USA Video on May 31, 2023.

Reception

Box office

Project Wolf Hunting grossed $20,541 in North America, and $3.8 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $3.9 million, against a production budget of about $9.1 million.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 88% based on 49 reviews and an average rating of 7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Project Wolf Huntings slight story takes a back seat to all the action -- and for fans of all-out cinematic mayhem, that's exactly as it should be." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 53 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Accolades