Here’s the trailer for a chilling supernatural horror short called Koreatown Ghost Stories. The story, based on a Korean ritual, follows a woman who accepts a terrifying offer that allows her to pursue her dreams, for better or for worse.
The writer and director of this film is Minsheng Park and Teddy Tenenbaum it stars Margaret Cho and Lyrica Okano.
The trailer is shared in partnership with FilmQuest Film Festival, where we hope to showcase some of the fantastic indie genre films and shorts filmmakers are creating. We have also included interviews with the following directors.
Please tell us, without spoiling anything, what your film is about, its characters, and its themes. Is it a proof of concept, or a standalone story?
In this supernatural horror story based on a Korean ritual, starring Margaret Cho and Lyrica Okano, a woman accepts a horrific marriage proposal. This will allow her to pursue her dreams, whether they are good or bad. “Koreantown Ghost Stories” is a short film that we sold to Paramount Pictures through an agreement to make a feature version.
What was the inspiration for your film? How did you come up with this idea?
Minsun Park is a Korean-American filmmaker who created the film inspired by personal stories. In Korea (and many other Asian countries) it is seen as a great tragedy when a young person of marriageable age dies, that the deceased was unable to marry during his lifetime and will be alone in the afterlife.
In some cases, the family of a deceased single may call on religious figures to marry the ghost to the other person so that they will have companionship in the afterlife. But what would happen if a living woman was invited to become a ghost’s bride?
“Koreantown Ghost Stories” incorporates this idea into a horror setting while exploring themes of immigration and a generation of Americans trapped between the traditions of their father’s country and the pressure to conform to mainstream (white) American culture.
Tell us about yourself. What is your background? How long have you been a filmmaker?
Minsun Park and Teddy Tenenbaum are a writer/director team with extensive experience in features and television, including pilot sales, staff writing, feature spec sales, and feature and television assignments. They have written individually and together, and currently write as a team and as individual writers.
They specialize in genre writing, including horror, thrillers, and action films, often with a sense of humor. They recently wrote and directed an episode of Hulu’s Bite-Sized Halloween . Minsun is an Asian American woman born in Korea and Teddy is a white man from Ohio, their backgrounds run the gamut.
What inspires you to work in genre films and tell these kinds of stories?
We find that horror movies are the best Trojan horse for exploring modern social and political themes while still entertaining audiences. We believe horror is a way for audiences to safely explore the real horrors of modern society.
What was your favorite part of the filmmaking process on this project?
Working with the talented Margaret Cho has been a professional dream, and being able to watch Lyrica Okano create rich three-dimensional characters from words on the page has been an exciting experience. There is nothing more valuable in filmmaking than having an incredible cast and crew use their art to capture a story and bring it to life.
What are you most proud of about this film?
The imagination and talent of our cast and crew make us extremely proud to work with them.
What’s your favorite story or moment from the making of the film that you’d like to share?
We shot Koreatown Ghost Stories in a historic house that was once part of a monastery. In fact, the house next door, the famous American Horror Story murder house, is part of the same complex owned by the nuns.
During one shoot, many crew members saw people in the film who weren’t supposed to be in the shot. But when we reviewed the footage, we couldn’t find the person. Most of the crew believed we had a ghostly visit.
What was the most challenging moment or experience you had while making the film?
Cramming 15 pages and two sets into a 3-day shoot was a great adventure that we don’t want to go through again.
Who are your collaborators and actors in this film? How did you start working together?
When we wrote the character of Lady Moon, we had Margaret Cho in mind. We contacted her agent and manager, sent her the script, invited her to join us as a producer, and luckily she wanted to be a part of Koreatown Ghost Stories. From that point on, everyone we wanted to work with, from the amazing actress Lyrica Okano to the amazing photographer Jon Keng, was eager to sign on.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received as a filmmaker?
If you’re a writer, try directing. Writing is designing a house, directing is building it. If you can design a house, you can hire the best people to help you build it.
What are your plans for your career? What stories would you like to tell in the future?
We love horror novels, although we also write thrillers and science fiction. We are currently working on an animated sci-fi/action show for a video game and film production company and continue writing a new horror feature. But from now on, we want to direct them, not just write them.
Where can we find more of your work? Do you have a website or YouTube/Vimeo channel? Social media handle?
Our Bite-Size Halloween episode is titled “Ride or Die” and is the season three finale on Hulu. Due to our contract with Paramount, Koreatown Ghost Stories is not yet available to the public, but we believe we have resolved this issue and hope to have Koreatown Ghost Stories available on a public website soon. You can also follow us via: IG: EctoplasmEnt IG: NotSoSunnyPark IG: TeddyTbaum TikTok: TeddyTbaum
Bonus Question #1: What is your favorite movie?
Rosemary’s Baby is our favorite horror movie of all time. Put your hands down.
Enjoy the trailer!
