Directed by Yoon Eun-kyong The Tenants is a dystopian, darkly comic Korean thriller. Set in a futuristic version of Seoul which is facing a terrible housing crisis office worker Shin-dong (Kim Dae-gun) is facing eviction from his home. In an attempt to not become homeless, he rents out his bathroom to an eccentric couple setting off a surreal chain of events.
A pitch-black look at South Korea’s housing crisis and environmental issues The Tenants plays out like South Korea’s answer to Yorgos Lanthimos. Brutal and savage in its denunciation of capitalism The Tenants is a Kafka-esque absurdist horror. Filmed in crisp black and white the visual style is unshowy whilst evoking the agonising claustrophobia of the character’s lives.
Bleak, sharp and surprisingly funny The Tenants marks Yoon Eun-kyong as a director to watch.
The Tenants played at the Fantasia International Film Festival