Sabu, the Japanese actor and director who has at times enjoyed cult status, is to direct his first Korean-language film, a thriller called “Under Your Bed.”
In doing so, Sabu (real name Tanaka Hiroyuki) joins a growing list of international directors attempting to catch their own piece of the Korean wave by making movies in South Korea.
The film is a Korean adaptation of a Japanese novel of the same title, originally written by Ohishi Kei. It tells the tale of a lonely man pulled into a whirlwind of twisted and destructive love.
The Mystery Pictures production will star Lee Ji-hoon, alongside Lee Yun-u as the female love interest and Shin Soo-hyang as the woman’s husband. Lee Ji-hoon’s career has largely been in television to date, with roles including “School 2013” and “River Where the Moon Rises.”
Sabu is known for directing crime comedy “Postman Blues,” “Drive,” “Blessing Bell” and literary adaptation “Kanikosen.” His “Chasuke’s Journey” appeared in competition at the Berlin film festival. As an actor he has appeared in Miike Takashi’s “Ichi the Killer” and “Josee, The Tiger and the Fish.”
Other foreign directors who have recently made Korean films or Korean-set titles include Japan’s Kore-eda Hirokazu with “Broker,” which appeared in competition in Cannes this year, Cambodian French director Davy Chou who made “Return to Seoul” and Singapore’s He Shuming, whose “Ajoomma” depicts a K-pop-fixated woman on a journey of discovery. The prolific Miike also recently completed a Korean-language series “Connect,” produced by Studio Dragon and playing on the Disney+ streaming platform since last week.