As I have told to many people before, Kim Ji-Woon's brutal 2011 masterpiece, titled 'I Saw The Devil', was my absolute favorite movie to come out that year. I'm a huge fan Korean revenge/thrillers, and this one is probably my favorite out of all of them. Probably even more so than Park Chan-wook's 'Oldboy'.
The opening scene is rather bleak, and sets the tone for the rest of the story that follows. A pregnant woman named Joo-yun is sitting in her car with a flat tire. The setting is winter time. She's on the phone with her husband, and he assures her everything is going to be all right. Soo-hyun, her husband, is a secret service agent. He sings her a short song to calm her nerves, and then has to go. Shortly after, a man in a yellow school van comes up to her, to ask her if she needs help fixing her flat. After telling him no repeatedly, the man retreats back to his vehicle. Or so she thinks. This man turns out to be a horrific serial killer by the name of Kyung-chul. He viciously kills her and cuts her body into pieces, and scatters her body parts. They end up finding her remains, and Soo-hyun is left severely angered and heartbroken. He decides to take matters into his own hands and track down this vile person, and take vengeance.
Now, if this was an American-made movie, most likely the story would play out this way: husband tracks goes after guy, tortures/kills him, takes revenge, movie ends. However, this movie is more than just that. So much more. The question(s) presumably being asked throughout the movie are, what would you do if the person closest to you was brutally murdered? If you had the power to get revenge, what would you do? How far would you go? And, most important, what exactly is true vengeance? A point is made during the course of the film, that if Soo-hyun were to just kill Kyung-chul, it wouldn't change the fact that his wife and unborn child are both dead. What results is a cat-and-mouse chase, of sorts, with Soo-hyun on the verge of becoming a monster himself. This movie is so much more than a revenge flick. Every scene is practically drenched in this horrific tension. Every line of dialogue, every action, every movement, is coldly calculated, giving you this feeling that something awful is going to happen, at almost every turn. In fact, I've never seen a movie where the whole time I just had my hand close to my mouth, waiting to see what happens next.
Kim Ji-woon is a masterful filmmaker, and the camerawork he displays in this film is just phenomenal. There's a scene that takes place inside of a taxi, that is just utterly intense and horrific. But that's not even the kicker. The camera spins around all throughout the cab as a vicious act takes place. Words don't really do it justice, but it has to be seen to be believed.
The acting is top-notch. Choi Min-sik (who you might recognize as the lead role from 'Oldboy'), does a chillingly convincing job at portraying pure evil. His very presence is enough to give you the chills. Lee Byung-hun, who portrays Soo-hyun, does a great job as well. His character does horrible things throughout the story, but he still has that sense of humanity, so you can still relate to his character. One of the things to keep in mind while watching his performance, is, is it possible, while seeking true vengeance, to become a monster yourself in the process?
If you have the stomach for it, this movie receives my highest of praises. There is some serious stomach-churning violence all throughout, brutal fight scenes, and the human emotions (or in some cases, lack there of) displayed only make everything all the more disturbing. But if you're in the mood for a seriously crazy revenge masterpiece, don't hesitate to check this out.
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