Ranking The Films Of Bong Joon-ho From Worst To Best

7. Barking Dogs Never Bite

Bong Joon-ho's first feature was made on a modest budget and at the time was seen by very few people. It isn't terrible, and Bong is clearly trying a few artistic techniques he would later perfect, but Barking Dogs Never Bite struggles to find a tonal balance over the course of its runtime.

After an aspiring college professor is driven crazy by the sounds of a barking dog somewhere within his block of flats, he takes drastic action to deal with it. At the same time, an affable girl in the same block of flats is motivated by an injustice she witnesses and the two are drawn into each other's worlds.

Bong is a master at using both comedy and drama in his films but the shifts between the two are often so extreme in this film, it can be hard to know exactly how to feel. Animal abuse as a tool for humour is a brave choice but it is incredibly hard to sell.

No dogs were harmed during filming, but it doesn't make certain scenes any less undesirable to watch.