Bong Joon Ho Was Inspired by This ‘60s Horror Movie for ‘Parasite’ — As Well as a Real-Life Murder
Bong Joon Ho's Oscar-winning Parasite was inspired by the 1960 horror movie, The Housemaid, as well as the Papin Sisters murders.
One thing people don't give Bong Joon Hoenough credit for is how he can seamlessly weave horror elements into his films that reside comfortably with all the other genres at play. The Hostcan be a pretty mean monster movie when it isn't a dysfunctional family comedy, and Snowpiercer and Okjaboth ramp up the scares to drive home their sharpest anticapitalist barbs. Bong can attribute that dexterity to his deep knowledge of the Korean cinema he grew up watching, most notably a twisted cult classic called The Housemaid, which has been a major inspiration to Bong. This is most evident in his 2019 Best Picture winner and masterwork, Parasite.
