This weekend, Na Hong-jin‘s (The Wailing) epic creature feature, Hope, arrives in theaters from NEON. I have seen it, and I can tell you…it rules. It’s like Mad Max: Fury Road with monsters, in that it sets up one long, utterly thrilling chase that immediately pulled me to the edge of my seat and never let go.

That said, there’s one glaring issue with Hope that viewers should know before going in…it’s the first part of what’s meant to be a bigger story. You’ll want to know that going in, because the film ends so abruptly that it left me dumbfounded. Especially since it follows an exhilarating banger of a finale.

I left my screening knowing there had to be more. That it couldn’t end like that. After sitting down with director Na Hong-jin, I can happily say he already has an exciting plan for what comes next.

SPOILER WARNING:

“I would say the story that comes afterward, of course, is that night falls, and the following movie will end before sunrise,” Hong-jin tells Dread.

“What we see in the very end of Hope is that the humans are protecting what’s theirs to the best of their ability,” he added. “And then the aliens are trying to do the same to save their offspring. And this collision will occur, and I would say that the audience’s perspective will shift completely to the perspective of the aliens, and that’s kind of all I can tell you.“

Ever seen the Before Sunrise trilogy with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy? Hong-jin’s plan reminds me a bit of that, but, you know, way cooler.

Obviously, that’s not a ton of detail to go off of, but it does assure that the filmmaker has big plans for Hope if successful. Now, it’s up to all of us to make sure we rush out to see it on the biggest, loudest screen possible. Trust me when I say, love the film or not, you’ll have a good time. I cannot overstate how jaw-dropping the action sequences are. Thank me later.

In my review, I called Hope “A thrilling throwback to the big, dumb monster movies of the 90s.”

Shot on an epic scale, Hope has already become one of South Korea’s highest-grossing box office releases of the year.

The film’s title comes from its setting, Hope Harbor, where something very strange has arrived.

“In the remote village of Hope Harbor, a mysterious creature has wreaked havoc on the village. Police and local hunters set out to track the beast and find themselves hunted instead. But not all is as it seems. As panic spreads and reality begins to unravel, the village finds itself facing something far beyond imagination.”

The absolutely stacked cast includes Hwang Jung-min (The Wailing), Zo In-sung (Moving), Hoyeon (Squid Game), Michael Fassbender (The Killer), Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina), Taylor Russell (Bones and All), and Cameron Britton (Mindhunter).

Set your sights on Hope as it lands in theaters today, via NEON.

Here’s to, er, hoping enough of us see Hope to get that sequel.

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