The Korean trend for dark and violent drama continues with Kim (THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE WEIRD) Ji Woo bringing the OLD BOY Choi Min Sik himself into a serial killer film with a very different skew.
After the murder of the Police chief daughter her fiancé Kim Soo Yuen, a member of the Chief's protection staff, begins a hunt for her killer narrowing the suspects down to four men who have been involved in or suspected of similar crimes. When he does find his man he engages in an unusual game of cat and mouse or more like catch and release. Without the aid of some nifty GPS and bugging devices he is able to track the sick killer and stop him every time he tries to rape or kill again. Each time leaves the killer injured but let's him go persistently following and interfering with him until can take no more and has to find a way to fight back.
South Korean cinema is a hotbed of talent at the moment and for those seeking dark and intelligent horror and drama this is the place to go. I SAW THE THE DEVIL is violent and brutal which cause it some censorship problems in it's homeland but director Kim Ji Woo uses violence to equally express the ultimate frustration of seeking vengeance against those who have wronged as well as using it as a tool to keep the audience on edge and squirming in their seats. Also present is that dark stream of humour that has been observed in recent South Korean films such as THE HOST or MOTHER. It is not used to spoof or undermine the plot and the darkness at the heart of the movie but it does give I SAW THE DEVIL a disturbing grounding in reality
Glorious cinematography, pitch perfect performances and a smart script mean that I SAW THE DEVIL is a real contender for film of the year and we're only at February.
A full on errection and ejaculation for I SAW THE DEVIL.
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