BORDER
경계 「Geyong-gye」
Release Date: 2023
Duration: 6 mins.
Director: Mai Nakanishi
Writer: Mai Nakanishi (Screenplay/Original Story),
Starring: Juhee Lee, Wanmin Chai, Sohee Lee,
Horror maven Mai Nakanishi provides a quick follow-up to her Taiwan-set supernatural story Swallow (interview) with a six-minute micro-budget short named Border.
Acting as writer, director, editor, and visual effects artist, she shot the film with a team half comprised of women and featuring sound effects from the team who worked on The Wailing. With Border, she has made what is her most violent vision yet, a twist on the home invasion formula where the safety of the domestic space is shattered in a nightmarish manner that surprises both the protagonist and the audience. Slight spoilers ahead.
We are in South Korea watching a young woman (Juhee Lee), home alone late in the evening. She is settling down to watch a drama after getting off the phone. On the screen, the handsome actor (Wanmin Chae) offers flowers to an actress (Sohee Lee). We listen to his honeyed words of love and togetherness. They move the woman watching their televised performance.
Genkinahito 