Doctor (2013 film)
A psychopathic surgeon experiments on victims seeking perfection.
Neoclassicism Enthusiast · CC BY-SA 4.0
Doctor (Korean: 닥터) is a 2013 South Korean horror film written and directed by Kim Sung-hong. The film stars Kim Chang-wan as Choi In-beom, a psychopathic plastic surgeon who performs strange body experiments on his victims. It premiered at the 17th Busan International Film Festival and was released in South Korea on 20 June 2013.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Kim Sung-hong
- Starring
- Kim Chang-wan / Bae So-eun
- Released
- 20 June 2013
- Runtime
- 97 minutes
- Country
- South Korea
- Language
- Korean
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The cast includes Kim Chang-wan as Choi In-beom, Bae So-eun as Park Soon-jeong, and Seo Gun-woo as Yong-kwan. Bae So-eun made her film debut with Doctor and attracted audience attention due to her graphic nudity in the film.
Reader's Guide
Doctor is notable primarily for its extreme content and the controversy surrounding its production. Lead actor Kim Chang-wan later stated in a 2015 interview that his decision to star in the film was a mistake, made only to understand the mentality of those who attempt to create such films. Critical reception was largely negative: Paul Quinn of Hangul Celluloid wrote that while director Kim Seong-hong had shown promise with earlier work, Doctor was notable for largely wrong reasons. A reviewer at HanCinema noted that the film might be an interesting enough thriller while establishing its elements, but those elements are not groundbreaking. The film remains a minor entry in South Korean horror, remembered more for its graphic violence and nudity than for narrative innovation.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Doctor (2013)?
Doctor is a 2013 South Korean horror film written and directed by Kim Sung-hong. It follows a deranged plastic surgeon who conducts grotesque body experiments on his patients in pursuit of an unsettling vision of physical perfection.
Who plays the lead role in Doctor (2013)?
Kim Chang-wan takes on the title role of Choi In-beom, a psychopathic plastic surgeon whose obsessive drive to reshape human bodies drives the film's central horror.
Where did Doctor (2013) first screen and when was it released?
The film had its world premiere at the 17th Busan International Film Festival before receiving its South Korean theatrical release on June 20, 2013.
What makes Doctor (2013) a body horror film specifically?
The core premise revolves around a surgeon performing disturbing physical experiments on his victims, making the transformation and mutilation of the human body the primary source of dread rather than supernatural threats or jump scares.
Why is Doctor (2013) notable in the body horror genre?
It stands out as a South Korean entry in the body horror tradition, channeling the genre's focus on bodily violation through the specific lens of cosmetic surgery and a surgeon's twisted quest for aesthetic perfection.
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