"Detention" Director John Hsu turns The Game depicting the dark side of Taiwanese history, the era of white terror, into a movie [Director's Interview Vol.128]

Transitioning from comedy to horror, plans for next work

Q: I was surprised to see your previous works, but you have mainly made short comedy films up until now. "Detention" is a serious horror film and a political film, so it's quite an unusual work. How did your experience in comedy help you in this film?

Weather Report Of The End

Sue: It really is a completely different film from my previous style. I'm used to comedy, so to be honest, I was frustrated that I couldn't give it my all this time. So I think my experience will come in handy in my next film. I'm currently preparing a film that combines comedy and horror.

Q: I'm looking forward to it. What kind of work will it be?

Sue: The tentative title is "Ghosts Know," and it's about the internal politics of ghosts, or rather, the fact that there are many different types of ghost companies. I'm still writing the script, but I plan to start filming within 2021, and hope to have it screened sometime next year (2022).

The video currently available online is a concept movie, created as a standalone short movie. I made it to see if this kind of setting would be well-received, and to use the reactions I received from internet users in the script.

"Dead Talents Society" Concept Movie

Q: There are many fans of "Detention" in Japan, but I'm sure there are many audience members who are learning about Taiwanese history for the first time through this film. Finally, can you give a Arrival to your Japanese fans and audience?

Sue: "Detention" is set against the backdrop of Taiwanese history, but in fact even young people in Taiwan don't know much about this historical fact. So, just like in Taiwan, I hope that people overseas can experience history in a somewhat casual way through this psycho-horror movie. I hope that fans of The Game, as well as those who learned about it through gameplay videos on YouTube, will watch the movie and experience history once again.

Reserve "Detention" now ↓

Director: John Su

John Hsu, The Graduate of the Department of Radio, Television and Film at Shih Hsin University, won the Golden Bell Award for Best Director in 2005, Taiwan's largest television award, at the youngest age. His past short films have been shown at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. He is also one of the founders of AFK PL@YERS, Taiwan's largest machinima production group. His VR short film Your Spiritual Temple Sucks has been shown at over 40 film festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival, World VR Forum, Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival and Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival. His feature film debut, Detention: The Detention, is a film adaptation of an internationally acclaimed Taiwanese indie The Game, which was released in Taiwan in 2019 and became the highest grossing film in Taiwan. It was also nominated for 12 Golden Horse Awards and won five awards, including Best New Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Visual Effects. Su is currently working on his first interactive VR project, "The Great Hoax," which was selected for the 2019 Venice Film Festival's VR Gap Financing Market.

Interview and text: Takatoshi Inagaki

Writer/editor/dramaturg. His writing activities span across fields such as movies, dramas, comics, theater, and art. Contributes to theater programs such as the movies ``Tenet'' and ``Joker,'' edits web media, edits exhibition catalogs, and appears on radio. Major stage works include dramaturg for PARCO's productions of ``Kengyo Yabuhara'', Tristone Entertainment's ``Shoujo Kamen'', prosthetic assistant for Kinoshita Kabuki's ``Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan'', ``Sannin Kichizo'', ``Kanjincho'', and KUNIO's ``Greeks''. ”Literature.

"Detention"

Friday, July 30th: Nationwide release at TOHO Cinemas Chanter and other theaters

Distributor: Twin Promotional Production: Braintrust

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