I have been growing more impressed with Director Joon-ho Bong’s films and I am the most impressed with his newest release, Parasite. This movie is a comedy, drama and thriller that tests many limits as well as offering some expected and unexpected outcomes. Bong’s trademark of making films that are socially and politically conscious remain a big factor with Parasite. The film is filled with people taking advantage of one another, telling lies to get positive results, and thinking of strategies to impact an individual but also benefit the other. The film gets chilling as those elements go on throughout the movie.

The film centers on Kim Ki-taek (played by Kang-ho Song) who is unemployed and trying to maintain a better livelihood for his family since they have little income and can barely afford the necessities that are needed to get by in the world. With this inconvenience in his life, he starts to express an interest in working for wealthy families to gain access to more elegant factors. He has his son Kim Ki-Woo (played by Woo-sik Choi) act like a top-notch tutor for the daughter of a wealthy family, and then after that he has his daughter Kim Ki-jung (played by So-dam Park) be another form of support for the youngest son of that wealthy family. Finally, Ki-taek has his wife Kim Chung-Sook (played by Hye-jin Jang) play a part in being the new housekeeper for this family. The funny part is that the wealthy family has no idea that they are all related.

The Kim family takes advantage of the fancy household because the wealthy family is rarely ever around. They eat the fancy food, use the fancy technology, and even get other workers fired to have even more space for themselves. Parasite makes it seem that the Kim’s are being cheapskates, however, they are just finding resources to have things they cannot afford in life. They normally live in a basement home that is claustrophobic and can flood easily. Also, they have a spotty internet connection where they often need to roam other corners of their home just to get WiFi on their phones. Bong incorporates the family’s level of poverty descriptively where audiences start to understand why they are trying to become part of this wealthy family’s life.

During the movie, there are some scenes where the film may seem like a funny comedy but then it transitions into a dark comedy.  That is an element that viewers need to see for themselves by watching Parasite. The title alone is something viewers will understand when certain conflicts come around. However, the title is just one small part of the film’s central conflict. The main conflict is where things becoming haunting. The house may seem nice and cozy, but it has some dark secrets which relate to the wealthy family’s past.  Later, the Kim family falls into this realization when they are confronted with these various dark alleys.

Parasite is one I label as a top film 2019 on my list and that is because of its unexpected surprises. I went in with excitement, but my enthusiasm grew as I was watching the movie   and the crazy surprises started to occur. Bong tests his viewers by offering shock value with Parasite. The film will have viewers laughing and wondering as new clues to weird scenarios arise. I am giving Parasite four stars.