The goriest action movie I’ve ever seen is now available to watch at home

This week, I saw someone refer to Project Wolf Hunting, the recently released South Korean genre mashup that just arrived on VOD platforms, as a narrative nesting doll of gore. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that description since.

Another way to describe Project Wolf Hunting is “Con Air meets Predator on a boat.” From these two summaries, you likely have a great idea about whether this movie is your jam. It definitely was mine.

The setup is simple: A group of dangerous criminals are being transported on a cargo ship from the Philippines to South Korea. They’re being escorted by police officers, but none of them realize that a monster is lurking as a stowaway in the decks below. And even before the monster wakes up, all hell breaks loose as the prisoners attempt a violent escape.

Project Wolf Hunting thrives on easy characterizations for its cops and criminals alike, with evocative costuming, makeup, and the general attitudes of the characters. (One standout criminal, seen above, has sick scale tattoos all down his neck.)

But the real highlight is the violence. The kills in Project Wolf Hunting are absolutely brutal — the movie revels in the blood and gore, and the director has said they used 2.5 tons of fake blood while filming. It shows. It’s definitely the goriest action movie I’ve come across (that’s a compliment), and I say this as a big fan of Timo Tjahjanto’s particular brand of blood-soaked action in movies like The Night Comes for Us.

But it isn’t just the blood that elevates the violence. The sound design of the movie whips, especially the metallic noises used when the “stowaway” wakes up, adding to the sheer terror and otherworldliness of this unknown creature.

Project Wolf Hunting hits all the beats it needs to well, and doesn’t worry too much about trivial things like “plot coherence” or “deep characterization.” Instead, it uses all the tools at its disposal to create a fun genre piece for people with an appetite for dozens of visceral, bloody kills. If you’re like me, that’s a recipe for a great time.

Project Wolf Hunting is available for digital rental or purchase on Amazon, Apple TV, and Vudu. It is also available for free with a library card on Hoopla.