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This movie should have been a typical take on revenge executed in a typical 'cat and mouse chase' fashion and cushioned with a tons of gore and sexual violence.
HOWEVER!
It managed to be SOOO much more than that. Surprisingly deep and every act of violence has a purpose and a consequence. A story ultimately about how pain and grief can push one to the edge of humanity. Lee Byung-hyun makes us weep for him and not because of what he lost...but what he is willing to forsake just to get even.
Stellar cast, incredibly well plotted and an ending that stirs your soul.
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The story is basically a typical revenge story, but in a way I haven't seen yet. It goes back and forth between the two main characters, keeping the suspense really high and managing to surprise the viewer again and again.
The acting was really good and seemed natural. Everything looked extremely real.
It stayed on the high suspense level up until the ending which was amazing in itself. The title definitely fit.
Overall, a great movie for fans of the genre but definitely not something I'm going to watch again.
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I Saw the Devil is a dark, intense introspection of how serial killers and vigilantes would potentially function within the landscapes of South Korea. Directed by Kim Jee-woon (who worked on A Tale of Two Sisters, The Last Stand, The Good, The Bad, The Weird, A Bittersweet Life and the live action remake of Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade), the film centers around a secret agent, Kim Soo-hyeon, whose fiancé recently ends up being savagely murdered and her severed body parts cast out into the canals. Distraught, heartbroken and vengeful, he decides to take matters into his own hands and exact vigilante justice on the criminals he presumes to have had an involvement in the events leading up to her demise. To put it in shorter terms, he becomes a more violent version of Batman, except without the mask for some reason. What follows is an intense cat and mouse thriller between Soo-hyeon and the serial killer known as Kyung-chul, where the lines between good and evil become tremendously blurred.
And yes, this film does have a lot of torture scenes in it (I swear I don’t get off to this kind of crap you guys!). There’s a considerable amount of screentime detailing Kyung-chul’s, (for a lack of a better term) daily routine, and Soo-hyeon’s methods of delivering sweet justice to those he deems responsible are questionable, morally speaking that is. The interlude features a family of sick cannibals who kidnap innocent individuals to dine on their flesh, not unlike the iconic American hillbilly family seen in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Kim Soo-hyeon whets out his form of justice in such a way that would make even the least squeamish of audience members gag, no matter how deserving of it his victims are. There’s a strong reason why this film underwent multiple cuts by the Korean ratings board, the film was just that graphic.
Nonetheless, I feel this warrants a discussion as to how far a film can get in terms of how it depicts violence and bloodshed before it gets labelled as a vapid torture porn flick. How does this film differ from other torture filled horror such as Hostel or Switchblade Romance? For one, I don’t think I Saw the Devil should even be considered torture porn. Unlike the Saw films, I never got the impression that the violence here was intentionally made to entertain. The brutality here is harrowing and disturbing; there is no sense of entertainment to be had watching these torture sequences. And there’s a good enough reason for it: revenge is an ugly, senseless and unnerving action that only provides a short burst of catharsis to those partaking in it. It’s the kind of act that provokes you into asking yourself “was it worth it?” after that fleeting feeling of satisfaction soon dries out. It’s exactly why Kyung-chul is presented as if he’s the most despicable human being out there, and why Soo-hyeon goes overboard with his methods of exacting justice. They’re all done this way intentionally to emphasize how wrong it is to take revenge on somebody. This film differs from other torture porn flicks because of the context at hand. With Final Destination and Hostel, the main aim is to have all the kills be as over the top as possible to satisfying gore hungry audience members, but with I Saw the Devil its more so to question whether Soo-hyeon is doing the right thing. I Saw the Devil as a result delves into the darker nature of humanity and what even well-minded people are capable of when pushed to their breaking point. By hunting down Kyung-chul and exposing him to various forms of torture (as well as even going as far as to give him that short burst of satisfaction before doing so by letting his victims temporarily suffer before bursting in to save them), Soo-hyeon becomes no better than the man that killed his fiancé. Or, I dunno, maybe I need to see a psychiatrist.
The title I Saw the Devil reflects heavily on Soo-hyeon’s turning point and Kyung-chul’s view of the vengeful vigilante. To Kyung-chul, as far as he’s concerned, Soo-hyeon is the devil. He’s the man responsible for making his life a living hell. He ravages, tortures and sodomizes Kyung-chul’s body, inflicting pain beyond what’s imaginable, only to never actually kill him so he starts the cycle all over again. Much like how the denizens of most religious portrayals of the underworld find themselves brutalized repeatedly, only to spring back to life for the whole procedure to start over again, this is what Kyung-chul’s existence has turned into.
The acting is phenomenal, as is the case for most Korean flicks. Kyung-chul is portrayed by Min-sik Choi, who you’ll all notice as the guy who played the main role in the ever so popular Oldboy film that came out in 2003. And here, he gets lost in the role. Its like what people said about Heath Ledger portrayal of The Joker back in 2008, the fact that they pointed out how it felt nothing like the roles he played prior to that. Choi is given a lot of room to shine here, lacing his role with the malicious characteristics of a serial killer, a quality that distinguishes him from the vengeful Dae-su. Every shriek, every cry for mercy, every sense of sadistic glee glinting in his eyes feel genuine, as if he’s studied the art of serial killer long before he began acting this role. Byung-Hun Lee is also mesmerizing as Kim Soo-hyeon, his acting chops being put on full display here as the vengeful secret agent.
If you’re fans of films by Jeremy Saulnier, Gasper Noe and Lars Von Trier, be sure to check this flick out. I Saw the Devil is not for those with weak stomachs and there are going to be folks out there who will absolutely despise this. However, as a person who views revenge as something senseless and not worth pursuing, it’s a good examination of why that is the case. Plus, it’s a film about a serial killer, what else would you be expecting?
I Saw the Devil is available to stream on Netflix.
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how did they come up with a story like this
this was the first movie in my live which i found scary !!!
every thing is so well acted !!!
the story is a 10 in my opinion
there is one thing that i dislike about the movie and that is the part were that killer uhhh...XXX. if you watch the movie you'll get what i mean O.O'
EVERYONE WHO LIKES DRAMA AND A SCARY MOVIE WITH GOOD ACTING SKILLS AND A GOOD STORY .YOUU NEEEDDD TOOO WATCCHHH THISSSSS MOVIEEEEEE !!!!!!!
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This review may contain spoilers
I thought this movie would be something I would enjoy, plus I hadn't really seen anything with Lee Byung Hun in it. Sadly, I was not impressed by the movie and I was, especially, not impressed by Lee Byung Hun's acting. Sorry Rain unnie...Story: Typical eye for an eye kind of story. There was something that made it a bit different from the others, but mentioning it in the review would probably be kind of spoiler-ish for those of you who haven't seen it. I'll just say there's a "support group". That was interesting. And I definitely liked the scene prior to the closing one. Not the last one...*yawn* I fast forwarded that part until I saw the ending credits.
Acting: I definitely liked Choi Min Sik's performance. He pulled off his role. I truly believed he was unhinged. It was a nice surprise when I saw Chun Ho Jin appear since I like him. Although in this movie, he had a very minor role. I was not impressed with Lee Byung Hun, but I've already mentioned that, haven't I? I saw him too stiff and the way he said his lines, it was like he was reciting them. Almost as if he was reading from a teleprompter in front of him. I just couldn't care about he was going through.
Music: It wasn't memorable and it actually made the movie less appealing for me.
I will definitely not be watching this movie again.
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Outstanding actors.
I gave Rewatch Value "only" 7 points not because this isn't a great movie, but you definitely need some time to process this heavy topic.
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Most detailed movie ever
Ok first of all how did they even filmed this? it's a masterpiece. I just couldn't feel Lee Byunghun's emotion and anger that much because he didn't showed it like how Choi Minsik did, but they both did great. Lee Byunghun's action of revenge made me feel and it showed me how great this movie is! it's shocking, everything is shocking. But the chitchatting parts with the detectives are quite boring yknow, but the action scenes and the production of this movie carried everything! and though I never expected a film would be this detailed and gory ... I loved everything! and not to mention every scene is fucking cool and iconic I swear, from the green house fight to the clinic scene LMFAO.Was this review helpful to you?
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