By Adam Sarsfield
This full summary of Parasite contains spoilers about the plot. The movie includes bloody scenes and adult language, therefore, viewer discretion is advised.
Parasite is a 2019 comedy, drama, thriller movie set in Seoul, South Korea. The movie opens with a family trying to make enough money to survive. The protagonist, Ki-woo Kim, lives with his father Ki-taek, mother Chung-sook, and younger sister Ki-jung. One day, one of Ki-woo’s friends offers him a job as an English teacher for the daughter of the wealthy Parks family. The Parks family needs lots of help so Ki-woo convinces his family to take on jobs as well and act like strangers towards each other. Through manipulated events, the members of the family all succeed in taking positions in the Parks’ household. His family replaces previous employees, including former housekeeper, Moon-gwang. The family soon learns that the Parks plan to take a vacation for the son’s birthday. The Kim family uses the house as their own when the Parks leave. Through a series of struggles, the Kim family successfully fights off Moon-gwang, the previous housekeeper, who threatens to reveal to the Parks that the Kims were abusing their roles. Before the Park’s come home, the Kims try and clean up their mess. But, the Parks come home earlier than expected so they have to hide inside the house. The Kims narrowly escape the house and run all the way home only to find that the storm has flooded their house. They have to escape to a refugee site for displaced people from the ensuing flood. In the morning, the Kim family is invited to the Parks’ son’s birthday party, where the Parks are disgusted by the smell of the dirty Kims. During the party, Ki-woo wants to give the fortune stone to Moon-gwang’s husband but falls into a trap and accidentally releases him from his prison. The bunker dweller finds a knife and starts to attack people at the party but strikes Ki-jung and attempts to attack Chung-sook but she counters and fights back. The Parks’ son faints from shock so Ki-jung, Ki-woo, and the son all have to be rushed to the hospital. Chung-sook defeats the bunker man but is injured in the fight. After various more fight scenes and hospital visits, where Ki-woo goes into a coma. Ki-woo wakes up to find out his father has become rich and successful. He then one day buys the house and goes to see his father only for it to be revealed that Ki-woo is still poor and stuck in the Kims’ original house. The story ends with a fade away from Ki-woo reading the message from his father.