Director Lee Sang-min of the film ‘Salmokji’. Photo ㈜Showbox

He is a horror film director, but he is easily frightened. As a child, he was scared every time he went to the cinema, yet he could not give up the fun. Even while shooting this film, he was frequently tormented by nightmares. Images of many ghosts came and went, and he even dreamed that the staff forced him to undergo a ghost encounter. Yet he showed the will to put even those nightmares to use in the film. This is the story of director Lee Sang-min of ‘Salmokji’.

Opening on the 8th, ‘Salmokji’ is like the final piece of the ‘horror trilogy’ that has adorned early spring Korean cinema. Starting in February with ‘Ghost-Seeing App: Yeong’, then March with ‘Samakdo’, and now ‘Salmokji’. The challenge by genre films, which are a minority within horror and within Korean cinema, continues. Must a horror film only be watched in summer? You can watch it with friends you have just made in the new semester. The timing of the release is also related to director Lee Sang-min and his own experience.

“On timing, I discussed it with the distributor. Horror films tend to be watched a lot by young audiences, and our film has a strong experiential character. Early in a new semester, it helps people bond with new friends. After it ends, there are cases where you talk it over again and get a burst of dopamine. I was the same.”

Director Lee Sang-min of the film ‘Salmokji’. Photo ㈜Showbox

‘Salmokji’ is a horror film named after a real reservoir in Yesan, South Chungcheong Province. It also drew an unprecedented response as the subject of the MBC variety show ‘Late-Night Ghost Stories’, which has been popular among young people since 2022. The film ‘Salmokji’ takes as its pillar the theme of a ‘bewitching water ghost’ from that ghost tale and depicts the process by which the protagonists enter a space and undergo an experience from which they cannot escape.

“After the preview, there were many comments about the plot. People asked, ‘What happens before and after that’. We did have detailed scenes that lay out the story, but I also wondered whether showing all of that would ultimately break immersion. I wanted to focus on the space called ‘Salmokji’. I decided to scatter only the nuances for the rest.”

The director recalled the film ‘Alien’, especially the first installment, which he has long enjoyed. A water ghost is not something you can recognize only by going into the water; it is a kind of spirit that affects you once you enter its domain. Placing many creatures of fear, he plants diverse presences as in a monster movie. ‘Salmokji’ was like one big horror amusement park that the director unfolded.

Poster for the film ‘Salmokji’ by director Lee Sang-min. Photo ㈜Showbox

“Along with the spatial fun, what the MZ generation likes are ‘ghost hunters’, creators who chase ghost tales. I put in a lot of the gear they like and planned to actually use it. I also cast many young actors. (Kim) Hae-yoon is famous for ‘Carry Seon-jae and Run’, but I liked the feel she showed in ‘SKY Castle’ and ‘The Girl on a Bulldozer’. I am fond of the voice of (Lee) Jong-won. I liked the lovable quality of (Jang) Da-ah, and in the case of Yoon Jae-chan, he is lively, yet in an instant his eyes can turn (?), which I liked.”

From the middle onward, the narratives of the protagonists recede, and full-fledged experiential horror begins. The so-called technique of startling, known as ‘jump scares’, unfolds in variations by offsetting timing, changing direction, or increasing the number. The visuals also feature many kinds. Each time, it caused me stress, and I even dreamed about it.

“When I was young, I was a coward. Even so, I liked watching scary things. If I had time alone at home, that was when the code of fear that stimulated my imagination was at work for me. That is how I fell for scary things. There are series like ‘Alien’ and ‘Jaws’, and a 2023 film called ‘Talk to Me’. ‘Gonjiam’ is also a film I fear.”

A scene from the film ‘Salmokji’ by director Lee Sang-min. Photo ㈜Showbox

In the end, he thinks the virtue of horror lies in a battle of wits with the audience. Viewers go in already knowing the genre and content, so they prepare to be surprised. Yet when that moment comes, they want to escape. In the end, the audience anticipates the scare in the film and braces so that it feels less frightening, and the director must turn that psychology on its head. There are visuals and many directorial elements, but what draws Lee Sang-min is that psychological game.

“I find the psychological game the most fun. It is about seeing the right timing to show something intuitively before a ‘jump scare’ happens or in a fearful hallucination. Character psychology is also relatively free, which makes expression good. That ‘push and pull (give and take)’ is fun.”

Because it is the least defined genre, many young directors and young actors take on the challenge. More and more, new elements are coming in rather than familiar scares. ‘Salmokji’ also features a navigation application company. For now, such freshness is appealing. For the time being, the director plans to immerse himself in horror.

Director Lee Sang-min of the film ‘Salmokji’. Photo ㈜Showbox

“Not forever, but for a while I want to make horror films. I would love it if you watch and enjoy it like riding a roller coaster, screaming along the way.”