Parasite (2019) Review

Being a zombie movie lover, I went for the movie Parasite with the mindset that it was an apocalypse movie—especially because it appeared as a recommendation after I had watched a zombie movie. Also, the cover photo looked fishy, plus in my hood, there's something associated with anything called a parasite, and that’s “an animal eating the shelter.” So, I thought something of that nature was going to occur, but nope—it turned out to be a different perspective, yet still within the parasitic definition.

The first set of scenes almost got me dizzy because I was expecting to see a zombie breakout, probably in the big mansion that was emphasized in the movie. But no—it kept going and going until it reached a point where I was finally piqued. Not by any zombie outbreak, but instead by a real parasite—Kim’s family—slowly destroying Mr. Park’s family.

Kim’s family, comprising a father, mother, and two adult children, lived in a small, congested house. All of them worked to earn money to keep their lives running, but their earnings weren’t enough to let them live well. Kim Ki-Woo, the son in the family, got a recommendation from his friend—who was traveling abroad—to replace him as a home tutor for Mr. Park’s child. He went for the interview, got hired, and that was when they planned to have every member of their family employed in the Park residence. They wanted to live there, milk the family dry, and escape the poverty they were stuck in.

I won’t spoil it for you by mentioning how they managed to get all of them employed in the house. It was a trickish move, but they played it smartly and completely outsmarted Mr. Park, his wife, their children, and even the old nanny—until the real twist escalated.

The twist came when the old nanny returned one night while Mr. Park and his family were away on vacation. She begged the newly hired staff (Kim’s family) to let her into the house because she forgot something. And guess what? It was discovered that the old nanny had been secretly keeping her husband in the underground chamber of the house for many years. She had been feeding him regularly from the family’s kitchen, and no one in Mr. Park’s household was aware.

The old nanny refused to take her husband out of the house. She threatened that if she was forced out, she would report Kim’s family to the police—and they would all be swept away. But Kim’s family refused to let her stay either, because having both families in the house would ruin their plan of draining the Parks to their satisfaction.

In this movie, the suspense had me deeply interested, especially in the near-caught scenes. Kim’s family was on a wicked mission, but I found myself praying they wouldn’t get caught during those tense moments. That tells you how good the plot is.

The comic parts weren’t left out either. I’m someone who loves humor and laughter to the core. Even when I’m watching a very serious movie, I deduct points if it doesn’t have any comic relief. Parasite had a lot of comic scenes, and they were very entertaining.

I also love how the film introduced some ‘irrelevant’ parts and conversations that, in the end, added so much creativity to the story. A good example is how, once in a while, Mr. Park would complain about how his driver’s clothes smell—referring to Mr. Kim. That very smell was what almost exposed them during a critical scene in the house. That blend was so well done!

The characters did perfectly well, and Mr. Kim stood out for me. Every time he appeared in a simple, sweaty shirt, I found myself imagining the scent from his body. Lol.

It’s a good movie, and I would rate it 8/10. I initially wanted it to be a zombie movie, but though it turned out the opposite, I still found it very interesting to watch—and it wasn’t a waste of time at all.

Trailer; https://youtu.be/5xH0HfJHsaY?si=yW1Yx999nhgX5POB

Thumbnail: Imdb

Other photos are screenshots from my video player