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A ravenous monster befriending a hoarder; paramedics sharing nocturnal desires; a midnight ritual honouring the dead \u2013 the twisted tales in screenwriter Andrew Undi Lee\u2019s five-part Korean-Australian horror anthology series Night Bloomers<\/i> tantalise and terrify in unexpected ways.<\/p>\n
For Ra Chapman, who wrote the first, Striking Hair Pin<\/i>, a Single White Female<\/i> spin on disconnection from culture, the series is an example of way that Korean entertainment can \u201cgenre smash with grace and ease\u201d.<\/p>\n
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Helen Kim and Deborah An star in Striking Hair Pin, written by Ra Chapman, which is part of the Korean-Australian horror anthology series Night Bloomers. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIn films like Parasite<\/i> and Train to Busan<\/i>, [Korean filmmakers] have this way of injecting blunt humour and sometimes even slapstick,\u201d she says. \u201cThey\u2019re so playful with genres and they don\u2019t conform. You don\u2019t even notice it. You\u2019re just along for the ride. That\u2019s what I would like to see us do more here in Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n Chapman is a familiar face on Australian television, with roles from Neighbours<\/i> to Wentworth.<\/i> In the latter, she played Franky Doyle\u2019s girlfriend Kim Chang, a role for which she was once recognised in a bubble-tea shop in Korea. But Chapman has also long been telling her own stories.<\/p>\n Her 2021 Patrick White Playwright Award-winning play K-BOX<\/i>, performed at Melbourne\u2019s Malthouse Theatre, where she is now writer in residence, reflects her experience as part of the inter-country adoption community. In Striking Hair Pin<\/i>, her character, Sophie, who, like Chapman, grew up in an Australian country town, forms an obsession with the women working at her local Korean grocery, a store that connects each narrative in the series.<\/p>\n In Striking Hair Pin, Ra Chapman\u2019s character Sophie develops an obsession with the Korean women working at a local convenience store. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMy intention\u2019s always to get across a particular feeling or psychological state in your body that is so hard to articulate just with words,\u201d she says. \u201cPeople talk about whitewashing and use all this zeitgeisty, strong terminology, but I\u2019m more interested in the complexity of being in a situation and not being able to understand how you really feel.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that\u2019s deeper than just talking about race or identity politics. I\u2019m more interested in the awkwardness. The drama and comedy that comes out of being in new territory, or not quite understanding other people\u2019s points of view. Sophie\u2019s desire to connect with her culture is very confusing for her, and she doesn\u2019t know if it\u2019s desire or lust.\u201d<\/p>\n The film explores \u201cthe horror already in humanity\u201d rather than supernatural elements.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t fully understand ourselves. There is so much pain and darkness there. That\u2019s one of the horrors of our lives \u2013 the things we don\u2019t understand about ourselves and the lengths we\u2019ll go to that we never thought we would.\u201d<\/p>\n The series marks the first time Chapman has worked on a project entirely run by an Asian-Australian creator. She grew up without watching any Korean content, or seeing herself represented on television.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been one of the highlights of being involved in this show. The people that the story was about were actually leading the project, so there\u2019s an inherent authenticity to that,\u201d she says. \u201cThat was so exciting for me \u2013 the feeling of being able to share stories and knowing your story is safe because the leadership is someone that deeply, deeply understands the show they\u2019re making.\u201d<\/p>\n Her lifelong visits to the country of her birth are bittersweet.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of emotion about going to a country that I feel so distant from,\u201d she says. \u201cSometimes it\u2019s a beautiful, wonderful experience. Other times, it\u2019s filled with a lot of sadness \u2026 Every time I go it becomes harder. The more you delve into something, the more you try to understand it, the more you realise there\u2019s so much more to understand. With Night Bloomers<\/i>, Sophie is a very disturbed woman, but I hope there are moments where you see the opportunity, if fate went another way, the beauty also for her to discover there.\u201d<\/p>\n Chapman\u2019s first comedy series, White Fever<\/i>, in which she stars, is due to air on the ABC next year. \u201cIt\u2019s funny, the reactions [to the title]. Already, some people are finding it divisive \u2026 Interestingly, Kim\u2019s Convenience<\/i> is made by Canadian Koreans, Andrew Undi Lee\u2019s making Korean Australian horror, and I\u2019m making Korean Australian comedy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n