The Fifth Thoracic Vertebra (다섯 번째 흉추)

The opening of The Fifth Thoracic Vertebra teaches that fungi generally have a very short life span. "But there are always variables." Whether that's the case in love - the ultimate bond - is something that a fungal creature tries to find out for itself in this unprecedented symbiosis between body horror and romance. Born into an abandoned mattress, the fungus longs to be released rather than vegetate. The curious organism travels and grows with them from owner to owner, mainly unhappy couples and lonely souls, feeding off the fifth thoracic vertebra in their spine. Don't let that gory detail keep you from giving this highly idiosyncratic love poem a chance. For his first feature, Korean director Park Sye-young has taken on just about every task, and his inventiveness with an extremely low budget is infectious.

“Heartbreak manifests itself as a vengeful fungus in The Fifth Thoracic Vertebra. Park Sye-young’s imaginative debut feature blends the body horror of early David Cronenberg with the witty eccentricity of Quentin Dupieux and adds its own flavours of melancholy and wistfulness.” - Screen Daily