LAAPFF 2025: TRANSPLANT , a heart pounding thriller
The 41st Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) has concluded bringing another year of cinematic works. This year, it was a weeks worth of films that was nothing short of outstanding. There were documentaries that showcased the fragile balancing act of providing medical care and educational support while respecting the culture of a nomadic group in WHERE THE LIGHT ENTERS YOU. Or enjoying a sneak peek of an upcoming series on community stories tied to the heart of various ethnic grocery stories with THE GROCERY LIST SHOW hosted by Chef Chrissy Camba. There was a lot to experience in a week!
Now that the festival has concluded and video interviews have been edited (all interviews are available to watch on Youtube), plenty of time has past to reflect on which film has stood out the most. It was a film that catered to two “guilty” pleasures: a thriller starring Eric Nam.
Eric Nam is a Korean solo-ist with a multi-faceted background in almost every pop culture corner. When he’s not headlining sold-out concerts, he’s hosting various reality shows including interviewing kpop artists on his Daebak show with Dive Studios. It was also just reported that he will be voice-acting in the upcoming animated Avatar the Last Airbender movie.
Nam is noted for being cheery, charismatic, with an absolutely sunny charm. So it was a complete cultural shock to see this incredibly dark and intense side of Nam. His performance was so intense that it locked you in the seat. Even with the bloody organ bits, you were locked on.
Surgery is one of the most invasive and frightening parts of medical care. Patients teeter on the edge of life and death, trusting the skillful hands of the surgeon and attentive medical team to pull through. How does it feel to wield the scalpel knowing that a person’s life is literally within their hands? It wouldn’t be surprising to feel that inflated egos may be involved.
Or what if these surgeons just think of patients as just fleshy pawns in their narcissistic journey of climbing up the ladder? This is the medical drama that enfold between the relationship between a rookie and veteran surgeon in Jason Park’s movie TRANSPLANT. A movie so tense that audiences may develop actual heart palpitations from watching it!
There is only one word that can describe this film: Intense. TRANSPLANT is movie that changes your breathing rhythm as you volley back and forth in anxiety between two of the most terrifying people that should wield sharp objects. Resident Jonah Yoon (played by Eric Nam) spends his residency with infamous Surgeon Dr. Harmon (played by Bill Camp). Yoon’s focus on elevating his surgeon career begins to stumble as he rapidly finds out that Dr. Harmon is not the calm and collected surgeon that he appears to be. Dr. Harmon surrounds himself with skilled surgeons creating a fraternity built upon fear, bullying tactics, and manipulation. Will Yoon be able to complete the residency? If he is able to complete the residency, how much of himself will remain intact?
Medical movies and shows are not a genre that this reviewer can watch leisurely. They’re usually avoided at all cost. During the opening sequence, it was recognizing the soft cadence of Eric Nam’s voice behind the surgical mask that kept the finger from pressing pause. TRANSPLANT is Eric Nam’s acting debut and it is a completely unpredictable debut Never would I have associated “terrifying” and “chilling” with Eric Nam but that is what he delivered and it is spine-tingling.
Nam’s chilliness is equally played against the eerie demeanor of Bill Camp. Camp plays Dr. Harmon like every professor of your nightmares. He’s calm, he’s collected, and he can get away with anything. Even murder. Camp’s voice is enough to make the back become ramrod straight and listen with no question. He’s scary. He’s absolutely scary..
, TRANSPLANT is very generous on showcasing the very visceral visuals of open bodies and organs spurting out blood. Vincent Van Dyke Special Effects is credited for bringing these organs to the screen and to cause many eye clenching moments. For anyone who is squeamish about graphic depictions of surgery, this may be uncomfortable and horrific to watch.
Now it might seem strange to describe this movie as a thriller. There is no serial killer hiding in the shadows taking down victims. This is a thriller weaved among multi levels of tense moments orchestrated by two killers. Two killers under the guise of surgeons. What makes them so frightening as killers is that they don’t kill because they have any personal connection to their victims. They may just kill to tip the scales in their favor of gaining that prestige of being top surgeon.
TRANSPLANT is a movie that centers around organ transplant but it also plays around with the other definition of transplant, which uprooting something from one thing to another. As Resident Yoon is able to cleanly slice apart dermal layers, he is able to neatly cleave himself from his own family and moral values. His initial intention of becoming a surgeon was to help and protect his family. With every progressive step Yoon takes in the surgical world, he leaves behind an ailing mother and turning his back on his own community. It is pure tunnel vision to be the top.
It’s not really clear why Yoon would go through so much in his career. What is compelling him to be so hyper focused on obtaining top position. Is it the intoxicating feel of being in absolute power? Is it just simple greed? Or is there an even deeper reason that no reasonable person would be willing to explore?
There are two genuinely frightening characters in this movie. Both are equally focused on elevating their own career, both are highly skilled surgeons, and both harbor wildly short fuses. It’s a battle of the old guard versus new as we watch in mesmerized horror two surgeons stage their battle of wills while wielding scalpels over open body cavities. TRANSPLANT is a highly gripping story that makes you rethink the power of the one who wields the blade. Especially the one as sharp as the scalpel blade.
To follow up on news and updates on TRANSPLANT, check out https://jasonhpark.com/transplant or follow the director, Jason Park on instagram (@jasonhpark07).
Interview with Director Jason Park on TRANSPLANT during Los Angeles Asian American Pacific Film Festival:
