Anyone bothered by the shift (spoilers)?

I felt the same way about 'Okja', which became a little too nasty for my tastes. Have you seen any of Bong Joon-Ho's other films?

All of them mix comedy together with dark themes to heighten the impact of the social commentary and character arcs.

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I dont get why people have an issue with change in tone in movies. It's been done many times before, it's very common.

And in this movie there is a logic in the storyline whereby the events develop naturally, albeit darker and at times shocking. It never felt like an uneasy shift to me at all.

In fact, the point where events start to change is where the movie gets more interesting and compelling, and I am sure many would agree.

I thought the shift to darkness and violence was done in too much of a comical effect so it never had that wow factor for me.

No - I saw the film many months ago and knew little about it. Having seen most of Bong's earlier films I admired the filmmaker very much but I was bowled over by Parasite, by the expert way he juggled genres and tones. For the first half hour or so it is just about the funniest film of recent years, then things become considerably darker, albeit with big laughs still to come (the tidying the house scene).

The final act was truly shocking, but seemed to me a perfectly logical conclusion to this story.

I've been watching Korean films for 20 years, so the sudden change in tone wasn't as jarring to me as it would be to newcomers.

I think the shift in tone was masterfully executed

More spoilers...

It was still difficult to watch how the Kim family got rid of the driver and the lifelong housekeeper. Although the Kims were talented in the services they provided, they were still very cruel. But it was still light comedy at this point and amusing. But like the end, harsh reality won over fantasy.

Just that small gesture where the Park father got a whiff of Kim in the last scene on the lawn cost him his life. An action so subtle stripped the Kim father of all his dignity. As far as the housekeeper’s husband in the basement, he had been tied up, his wife died, and his anger at the Kim family had reached a point.

So, Tarantino is completely different. This was a slow boil. And you almost thought the Kims had a chance for a better life - it would have been a completely different movie if they had succeeded. I almost thought the Park wife was going to be replaced by the Kim daughter and it was just go on and on and both families would end up living there.

It’s hard not to stop thinking about this movie.