BEASTS CLAWING AT STRAWS is South Korea's latest crime-thriller. Thanks to lots of fascinating characters who will keep you guessing, this is the kind of movie that works exceptionally well. South Korean films are already considered to be very character-driven sometimes and this crime-thriller is another great example of why that is.

Thanks to all the characters – even if I do feel that especially one female character really kicks ass!

The cast of Beasts Clawing at Straws is full of well-established South Korean stars. We have Jeon Do-yeon starring as Yeon-hee. If you’ve watched the 2010 South Korean thriller Hanyo (aka The Housemaid), then you’ll know her from that one since she played the main character.

Also, Youn Yuh-jeong is part of the cast, and fans of Sense8 will definitely recognize her. Youn Yuh-jeong was also in Hanyo and apparently, once Jeon Do-yeon was cast, she managed to convince her former co-star to join as well. Quite the scoop!

While there are many awesome actors and characters in this movie, my favorite very quickly became Yeon-hee. I’m sure you’ll see why when you watch the movie. She is definitely a badass in all the right (and wrong) ways!

Beasts Clawing at Straws is yet another little gem from South Korea (org. title Jipuragirado japgo sipeun jimseungdeul) and it has already been nominated for (and won!) several awards. Including a Special Jury Award at Rotterdam International Film Festival 2020 where it had its world premiere in January of 2020.

In other words, it’s not just in South Korea this movie has won over audiences and critics alike.

The movie premiered in its native South Korea in February 2020, which was at the height of the pandemic outbreak. It was the box office “winner” during a time when very few tickets were sold. The number of tickets sold in South Korean movie theaters was only half as many as the previous weekend.

However, it should still be able to reach a huge audience worldwide now. Just not in movie theaters, unfortunately.

Watch Beasts Clawing at Straws on VOD

Kim Yong-hoon is the writer and director of Beasts Clawing at Straws which is adapted from the Japanese novel by Keisuke Sone. This is the first movie from Kim Yong-hoon who has made quite a few changes to the original story from the novel. Both due to taking place in South Korea instead of Japan and to make it better fit his own style.

The result is a noir thriller with wonderful use of very dark comedy and quite a lot of violence – of course, what else would you expect from this plot?! If you enjoy South Korean genre movies in general such as the Academy award-winning Parasite, then this one should be added to your watch-list.

Beast Clawing at Straws has a runtime of 1 hour and 48 minutes, which is almost short for a South Korean movie. However, that just means there’s less of a slow-burn and much more of a punch. Definitely worth checking out if you like a good crime-thriller with a mystery!

Beasts Clawing at Straws is out on VOD from December 15, 2020.