"Hive," invited to the Midnight Screening section of the 79th Cannes Film Festival, made a successful debut on Friday with an enthusiastic local response. Director Yeon Sang-ho, returning to Cannes for the first time in a decade since "Train to Busan" (2016), expressed his emotion at the audience's fervent reaction and shared his determination, saying, "I want to come back again." At the red carpet event held in front of the theater before the screening, director Park Chan-wook, who is serving as the head of the competition jury, greeted guests alongside Cannes Film Festival General Delegate Thierry Frémaux.
"Hive" depicts a mass infection outbreak that breaks out in a large urban shopping mall, with biotechnologist Kwon Se-jung (played by Jun Ji-hyun) and other survivors struggling to escape. Notably, the zombies are portrayed as beings that communicate as efficiently as ants or fungi, sharing intelligence as if they were a single body, delivering a fresh kind of horror. The idea of zombies with "collective intelligence" reportedly originated from director Yeon's interest in the differences between artificial intelligence (AI) and humans.
"AI is the sum of 'universal thinking,' an algorithm with no minority opinion, whereas humans are beings capable of voicing minority opinions," Yeon said. "To intuitively and easily convey the message that individuality can be a precious trait of humanity, I organized the content through a more difficult process than my previous works."
"Hive" is director Yeon Sang-ho's third zombie film, following "Train to Busan" (2016) and "Peninsula" (2020). Including "Peninsula," which made the official invitation list in 2020 when the festival could not be held due to the pandemic, all three films have been welcomed by Cannes. This film is being praised as more than enough to make up for the disappointment of "Peninsula," and as a work that expands the worldview of "K-zombie." In particular, the acrobatic zombie choreography, one of the biggest features of "K-zombie," draws attention. The diverse body movements, which seem to combine high-difficulty choreography with modern dance, often create unfamiliar scenes and add to the spectacle. According to Yeon's request that the help of Korea's top modern dancers was needed, 20 professional dancers reportedly participated in the zombie choreography.
"Hive," which made its debut at Cannes, will be released in Korea on May 21. Director Yeon and the "Hive" team are scheduled to return to Korea on Saturday to fulfill domestic schedules.
