It’s not often a near death experience helps conjure up a TV series, but that’s exactly how the initial seed of Night Bloomers first came about for Andrew Undi Lee, after suffering a near fatal coma in 2014. “When I came back out of that coma… I didn't really process the trauma or the terrible side of what had happened to me,” says Lee. “I needed to get something out of me”.
A horror anthology series encompassing five short stories, Night Bloomers looks at the Korean Australian experience through a blood-soaked lens. Most of the shorts are told in Korean, with some sections of English spoken dialogue.
Greenlit as part of SBS’ Digital Originals initiative, the series is not only a shot in the arm for the horror genre, but also an inspired look into a community which has for too long been underserved on our screens.
For Lee (Melon Grab, Troppo, Born to Spy), the series represents a kind of validation, after a long journey from that initial brush with death to the difficulties he had trying to bring the project to life over many years. “Once Parasite won (the Oscar), my phone was ringing for a lot of work, but when I started pitching, the feedback was… you just need to relax a little,” recalls Lee. “But through the Digital Original programs, it was the first time that I could really say what I wanted to say and to tell stories from our experiences and our perspectives.”
Andrew Undi Lee, right, on set with actor Joshua Park. Credit: Turn About Entertainment
With Night Bloomers having started out as a film and then later a digital comic, Lee’s concept would eventually morph into a series of smaller stories made in collaboration with a team of other talented Korean Australians. Over the course of the five shorts (interwoven by a series of haunting vignettes featuring the traditional Shamanic dance of Salpuri) Lee and his writers touch on themes of Korean identity, fractured relationships, and inter-generational trauma.
A long-lost ancestor reaching out from beyond the grave, a young woman stuck in a purgatory between her Australian and Korean selves, and a teenage boy grappling with an overbearing father – these are just some of the topics Lee and his creative team have expertly adapted using their own unique brand of horror. “Every character deals with death in some sort of way,” explains Lee. “We have to resolve our conflict within our relationships so that we can heal and pass on to the next world.”
Helen Kim and Young Shin Lee in Night Bloomers tale 'Passing On'. Credit: Turn About Entertainment / Dane Howell
Death may loom large over Night Bloomers, but there is still room for some light amidst the darkness – as evidenced by the array of fantastical creatures that take on the characters inner-most thoughts and fears, manifesting themselves as physical beings.
Not only does this lend the series an added layer of authenticity, it harks back to a type of storytelling Lee remembers from his own childhood – where supernatural archetypes were portrayed in a much different light than what Western audiences may be familiar with. “Each creature and monster and evil machination of what's going on in the series represents a real deep issue that I feel my community must overcome.”
This recontextualisation of Korean culture and traditions helps elevate Night Bloomers above mere schlock and into a special tier of genre storytelling. Presenting a compelling narrative and imbuing it with a deeper meaning has always been a potent mix in horror – from classics like Dawn of the Dead and The Twilight Zone, to more recent examples like Get Out and Hereditary. It’s this approach which Lee and his team knew was the key to drawing in both Korean and non-Korean audiences alike.
“I just want (the audience) to have a bit of fun watching this”, says Lee. “Even though there’s darker themes that we're exploring about immigration and war and belonging, we are doing it in a light and fun way through goblins and ghosts and monsters that hunt in the dark.”
As for the future of Korean representation on our screens, Lee remains cautiously optimistic. “I think in Australia there is a mentality that we’re not ready or we need more experience…which is still a barrier. But I do think the tide is turning.”
“We have a lot of stories to tell from our community.”
Night Bloomers premieres Saturday 28 October on SBS On Demand; the full five-part anthology will also air at 9:30 pm on SBS VICELAND.
