HOPE Early Access Screenings Set for September 7

NEON is giving horror fans an early chance to see HOPE on the biggest screens available. Na Hong-jin’s new creature epic will play at 175 premium-format locations on Monday, September 7, two days before its nationwide theatrical release on September 9.

The one-night HOPE early access screenings begin at 6:30 p.m. local time and includes screenings in Dolby Cinema, 4DX, ScreenX, Barco HDR, D-BOX and Dolby Atmos. Dallas is among the participating markets, and tickets are on sale now through the film’s official website.

Na Hong-jin returns after The Wailing

Na Hong-jin wrote and directed HOPE, marking his return to feature filmmaking after The Wailing. The story takes place in the remote South Korean village of Hope Harbor, where police chief Bum-seok and officer Sung-ae investigate a series of violent attacks believed to involve a mysterious creature in the surrounding forest.

Hwang Jung-min plays Bum-seok, while Hoyeon stars as Sung-ae. The international ensemble also includes Zo In-sung, Taylor Russell, Cameron Britton, Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender.

The early-access announcement positions the film as more than a standard opening-night release. Premium formats should be an especially strong match for a 160-minute horror, action and science-fiction story built around a large-scale creature threat.

Watch the official HOPE trailer

What We Think

Na Hong-jin returning with a creature movie would already make HOPE one of the year’s most interesting horror releases. Giving it a coordinated premium-format event makes the scale feel even more deliberate.

We haven’t seen The Wailing yet, but we’ll be reviewing it prior and we’re excited. We’re really interested in HOPE because we’re fans of creature features and this has a very strong action element as well, which adds another layer. The 160-minute runtime is a commitment, but seeing what he does with a much larger canvas is the real draw here.

Sources: HOPE Official Site, NEON Press Materials