The Quiet Family (1998)

The Quiet Family (조용한 가족, Joyonghan Gajok) is a 1998 South Korean horror-comedy film. It was director Kim Ji-woon's feature film debut. The story centers around a family who owns a hunting lodge in a remote area, whose customers always happen to end up dying. Among the film's main cast are pre-stardom Choi Min-sik and Song Kang-ho.

Kim presents an inspirational story about how tragedy can strengthen the bonds between the members of a very dysfunctional family, bringing them closer together in a rare display of domestic unity. The list of family-building deeds represented in this South Korean dark comedy includes murder, dumping the corpses into shallow graves, and invariably staying quiet about it.

The family in question are the Kangs, who have moved from Seoul to operate the Misty Lodge, a secluded mountain lodge. The family is dominated by no-nonsense father Tae-gu (played by Park In-hwan), with loyal wife (played by Na Mun-hee) always at his side. The younger members of the family include sex-obsessed son Yeong-min (played by Song Kang-ho), clueless daughter Mi-su (played by Lee Yeon-sung), and sullen daughter Mi-na (played by Go Ho-kyung). Finally, rounding out the Kang clan is Tae-gu's younger brother (played by Choi Min-sik).

"The Quiet Family" finds an easy middle between the two extremes of its story. On the one hand, with its unconventional camerawork and bouncy Western pop soundtrack, the energetic production underscores the individual quirks of each family member, as well as the increasingly absurd situations they find themselves in. However, at the very same time, director Kim pushes the horror aspects of the script, shocking the audience with some of the film's more gruesome moments.

Kim also adds an additional layer of subtlety to "The Quiet Family" by hinting that the events depicted may be apocryphal, being the product of an overactive imagination. Clues are provided in that the story is told from the perspective of Mi-na, a 17-year old full of cynicism and teenage angst.

Straddling the fine line between humour and horror, "The Quiet Family" has developed quite a following locally and on the international festival circuit, including being remade by cult Japanese director Takashi Miike as "The Happiness of the Katakuri's".