Akmareul Boatda (I Saw the Devil)
July 4th 2011 05:08
K
yung-chul (Choi Min-sik) is a serial killer. Soo-hyun (Lee Byung-hun) is a secret agent. I Saw the Devil (2010) is a tale of murder and madness, as savage and poetic as an avalanche in spring. Jee-woon Kim, who directed A Tale of Two Sisters (2003), tackles the revenge movie with a no-holds-barred approach, delivering a pitch black study of evil pulling morality into the abyss. This movie takes no prisoners, its cheeks wet from tears of sorrow, its eyes glistening with the moisture of hell. I Saw the Devil shares with fellow South Korean movie Oldboy (2003) the mantle of being two of the most powerful and visceral vengeance movies ever made.
Joo-yeon (Sun-ha Oh) is the daughter of a retired police chief, and in the movie’s opening sequence she becomes Kyung-chul’s prey. She is savagely beaten and abducted. Later in the killer’s warehouse lair she pleads for her life, tells her attacker she is pregnant, but to no avail. He kills for pleasure, butchers her, her engagement ring becomes stuck in the drain. Joo-yeon’s fiance happens to be Soo-hyun and her appalling murder transforms him into a relentless machine bent on what he sees as true revenge. He will stop at nothing to make sure her killer suffers as much, if not more, than she did.
He has seen the devil, and soon the devil will see him.
The screenplay by Hoon-jung Park is superbly constructed and is thoroughly gripping for its two-and-a-quarter running time. Beautifully shot by Mogae Lee and featuring stunning set-pieces, especially the uncompromising level of violence. I Saw the Devil is one of the most brutally violent movies out of Asia in a long time. The violence is extreme, but is far from cartoonish the way a lot of other Asian horror movies are. This is a very Scorsese-esque depiction of violence; sudden and horrendous. Hats off to the special effects team, a sly combo of special effects makeup and CGI methinks.
Choi Min-sik played the protagonist in Oldboy and did a brilliant job. Here he is playing the personification of pure evil. His serial killer character reminded me a little of Scorpio in Dirty Harry (1971), his psychopathic masochistic streak. Director Kim cleverly manipulates the audience into feeling a perverse sense of empathy for him once the secret agent transmogrifies into a monster of sorts. The villain has become the victim and the damaged collateral victim has turned into a cold-blooded mercenary, ruthless and reckless, torturing the murderous culprit in a series of relentless ambush attacks. The killer thinks he’s one step ahead, when in fact he’s being slipstreamed.
The cat and mouse game becomes more and more dangerous and deadly. A cannibalistic couple becomes involved when Soo-hyun tracks his wounded animal to their out-of-town hideaway. Things only get messier. Has the killer met his match?
I knew I Saw the Devil would tickle my dark fancy. Se7en (1995), Asian-style. I was expecting to have to purchase the movie from overseas, but much to my surprise I found the DVD at my local JB Hi-Fi store. Seems the movie received a sly local release. Pity it didn’t get to play on the big screen. Apparently Jee-woon Kim was forced to cut several minutes from the movie in order to appease Korean censors who threatened to slap it with the dreaded Restricted 18 certificate, which in Korea is essentially banning the movie as no theatre is allowed to screen it, and no video store can exhibit it. The director complied, shaking his head in despair, irony hanging heavy over his art, as he had purposefully made a movie designed to challenge the country’s status quo on morality, to show audiences that the evil of the world wasn’t “pretty” like the Hollywood action movies.
The version released on DVD in Australia appears to be a mix of both the original Korean version and the international cut which was released to America and other countries. All the graphic violence is intact, however a scene where Kyung-chul engages in rough sex with the girlfriend of his cannibal colleague has been completely cut out. Apparently the scene begins as what appears to be rape, but is revealed to be consensual. This would further illustrate the borderless psychology of these unhinged fringe-dwellers of society, but it seems the NSW OFLC have deemed that scene pushed things too far, just as they deemed some scenes in A Serbian Film (2010).
Although it was released overseas last year, I Saw the Devil is up with my favourite movies of 2011. Along with A Serbian Film and Kidnapped (2010), you’re unlikely to see a better “realistic” nightmare movie. These are shocking studies of aberrant humanity and the futility of vengeance, not for the squeamish, but for the horrorphiles they are the coal-black Darkness we love to descend into, and examples of masterful filmmaking.
NB: Apparently Hollywood is remaking the movie, with Edward Norton playing the secret agent and Russell Crowe playing the serial killer. The violence will be toned down, as will the perversity, and the ending will be changed. Fucking typical.
Here’s the trailer:
Choi Min-sik as Kyung-chul
Lee Byong-hun as Soo-hyun
He has seen the devil, and soon the devil will see him.
US DVD cover art
Here’s the trailer:
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Comment by Simon cobos
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Simon cobos
Comment by Simon cobos
Comment by Anonymous
HOWEVER, a movie with Edward Norton and Russell Crowe has been a dream of mine and my best friend's, so I gotta ask - are you sure?? I haven't found any information anywhere about them doing this movie together.
- Irene
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Irene, I read it as a Tinseltown rumour, so that's what I used the word "apparently" .. As we know Hollywood movies can get the green light, and then get shelved, all the time.
Comment by JMD
I'm pretty sure they are going to try and remake this. Been hearing more about an Oldboy remake too. I just can't understand why US audiences can't handle subs? I could be wrong, but I usually don't hear other countries remkaing US films (at last the sparsely few good ones). The audiences watches them subbed or dubbed.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Impressive review of an impressive film...not quite Old Boy standard, but close.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
If you have to remake perfection then grab Nicolas Winding Refn or Aronofsky,types to do it.
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Tom Hardy (killer) and Aaron Eckhart (cop) or maybe Viggo (killer) and Tim Roth (Cop)...I know Im encouraging them, but I agree, stop the fuckin' remakes!
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile