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Train to Busan Director Yeon Sang-ho Brings The Ugly to VOD in May

Yeon Sang-ho, director of Train to Busan, has made The Ugly, a murder mystery about loss, grief and memory, out on VOD and Blu-Ray in May

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Article Summary

  • The Ugly, directed by Train to Busan's Yeon Sang-ho, releases on VOD and Blu-ray in May 2026.
  • This Korean murder mystery explores themes of generational grief, guilt, and family secrets.
  • The film stars Park Jeong-min, Kwon Hae-hyo, and Shin Hyun-been in a harrowing psychological drama.
  • The Ugly was a 2025 Toronto International Film Festival selection and scored 10 Blue Dragon Award nominations.

Acclaimed filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan, Peninsula) comes The Ugly,  a story of generational grief and guilt, debuting on Digital March 10from Well Go USA Entertainment. When a documentary filmmaker discovers his missing mother's remains after forty years, he is determined to find the truth behind her disappearance, embarking on a harrowing journey to uncover his family's dark secrets. The Ugly stars Park Jeong-min (Harbin, Dr. Cheon and Lost Talisman), Kwon Hae-hyo (Peninsula), Shin Hyun-been (Revelations), Im Seong-jae (Emergency Declaration), and newcomer Han Ji-hyeon. The film lands on Blu-ray and DVD exclusively through Amazon on May 26th. Well Go USA has released the trailer.

Train to Busan Director Yeon Sang-ho Brings The Ugly to VOD in May
Poster art: Well Go USA

The Ugly is a story of generational grief and guilt. One day, while overseeing a documentary crew filming his blind father at work, Im Dong-hwan gets a phone call that his missing mother's remains have been found after forty years. Determined to find the truth of her disappearance, Dong-hwan embarks on a twisted odyssey through his family's traumatic past, uncovering dark secrets along the way.

Train to Busan Director Yeon Sang-ho Brings The Ugly to VOD in May
Poster art: Well Go USA

Korean horror and action films have a particular visceral edge that sets them apart from any other country's films in those genres. Yeon Sang-ho, like many filmmakers, is preoccupied with intergenerational trauma and dark histories as drivers of horror, and Train to Busan was one of the best zombie movies of the 21st Century. Its sequel, Peninsula, was a "more is more" zombie saga that tried to make the biggest zombie blockbuster movie on a budget smaller than Hollywood's, with a videogame narrative dynamic. With The Ugly, director Yeon seems to have narrowed his vision to a more intimate form of horror, which is what K-horror is particularly good at. Here, Director Yeon is examining themes of grief, loss, and memory, and the more intimate tone might fit him well.

Following its debut as an official selection at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival,  The Ugly received 10 nominations at the 2025 Blue Dragon Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Yeon Sang-ho), Best Actor (Park Jeong-min), Best Screenplay (Yeon Sang-ho), Best Supporting Actress (Shin Hyeon-bin), and Best Supporting Actor (Kwon Hae-hyo).

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Adi TantimedhAbout Adi Tantimedh

Adi Tantimedh is a filmmaker, screenwriter and novelist. He wrote radio plays for the BBC Radio, “JLA: Age of Wonder” for DC Comics, “Blackshirt” for Moonstone Books, and “La Muse” for Big Head Press. Most recently, he wrote “Her Nightly Embrace”, “Her Beautiful Monster” and “Her Fugitive Heart”, a trilogy of novels featuring a British-Indian private eye published by Atria Books, a division Simon & Schuster.
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