Bruce Khan is finally stepping back into the spotlight with Purgatory, a new South Korean action thriller that gives the martial artist a chance to unleash his trademark screen-fighting skills.
Set in a near-future South Korea devastated by an economic crisis, the story imagines a government using the Permanent Exile Law to control death-row prisoners. Those condemned are sent to Purgatory, a detention facility built inside abandoned nuclear power plants. Given limited self-governance, the facility eventually becomes a lawless world beyond the government’s control.
Khan plays Yu-seong, a police officer sentenced to death after seeking revenge for the murder of his wife and daughter. But he is offered one last chance at freedom. An NIS director promises a possible pardon if Yu-seong can eliminate Purgatory’s brutal leader — the man known as the king of the death center.
Khan is joined by Lee Chae-young, Kim Jae-hyun, Cho Sung-ha, Park Chul-min, Jo Jae-yoon and Ye Soo-jung. The actor also wrote and directed the film’s action sequences, making the project particularly interesting for martial arts fans.
Co-directed by Khan and Lee Hyun-myoung, Purgatory reunites the team behind Khan’s Revenger. If the recently released trailer is any indication, his return could deliver exactly the kind of hard-hitting action fans have been waiting for.
The film opens in South Korea on September 9, with international distribution already taking shape, including a U.S. release that has yet to receive a date.
