Netflix’s New Thriller from Old Boy’s Director is Officially a Global Streaming Hit

There is a new thriller that is dominating the global streaming charts, but it isn’t as easy to see in North America right now. There are many movies that hit streaming around the world, but are stalled from reaching American streaming services to allow them time to make money via theatrical releases. One perfect example is doing great on streaming right now globally, but if anyone wants to see it in the United States, they have to go to the cinema, and it is from a filmmaker who deserves the support on the biggest screens possible. The movie is from Oldboy director Park Chan-wook.

Park Chan-wook’s new movie is called No Other Choice, and it is a streaming hit right now globally, with over 1.4 million views. However, the good news is that it is in theaters right now, and for a director with Chan-wook’s reputation and filmography, this is one time viewers should leave the comfort of their homes and see it in cinemas. No Other Choice is a dark comedy thriller about a paper industry expert who decides to kill his competition so he can continue his way of life.

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What Do You Need to Know About No Other Choice?

Park Chan-wook has directed some dark movies over his career, with Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, and Lady Vengeance as his masterpieces. However, he also has some very off-kilter movies as well, with the dark vampire tale Thirst, the Gothic thriller Stoker, and the noir mystery Decision to Leave. Now, he is dipping his toes into a dark comedy thriller about a man who will do anything to ensure he has a job so his family doesn’t have to go without.

Critics praised the film, and No Other Choice has a Certified Fresh 97% Rotten Tomatoes score, with a 93% audience Popcornmeter score. The critical consensus praises Chan-wook’s direction and the acting performances, writing, “Directed with pristine precision by Park Chan-wook, No Other Choice is a wickedly clever takedown of the corporate rat race that finds a perfect avatar in Lee Byung-Hun’s skillfully hapless performance.” The film also has an 86 score on Metacritic, which stands for Universal Acclaim.

However, as mentioned, it is only available in theaters right now in the United States. While there is no word on whether this could be this year’s Parasite, it has the same darkly comic touches as that Oscar-winning movie, and that is no surprise considering Park Chan-wook’s past performance as a director. It should also be noted for fans of Chan-wook that this was a passion project that was years in the making. It took him almost two decades to get the funding to make the movie.

Chan-wook began developing the movie as far back as 2009, when he said he wanted to remake the 2005 French thriller The Axe, which itself was based on the 1997 Donald Westlake novel, The Ax. However, Chan-wook ended up putting it on the back burner when he had a chance to direct Stoker in 2013. The director said he wanted to make improvements on the novel and the previous movie by strengthening the moral dilemma and making the protagonist’s wife more important. From the sound of the reviews, he succeeded at this. While it is succeeding on global streaming platforms, it also has a $36 million worldwide take and a $9.2 million domestic take to date, and this is how Chan-wook can make more of his dream projects in the future.

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