Completed
reni
30 people found this review helpful
Jul 22, 2011
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 10
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
I watch this movie a few days ago. I thought it was amazing!! I love a good revenge movie~! (And trust me...after seeing what this villain does...you'll want to jump in the movie and kill him yourself!) The action scenes are GREAT!! Especially towards the end...and it had what many would call a "bow-tie" ending. So, If you like Koreans, action, revenge, a little mystery & suspense....WATCH THIS. But I warn you...The only reason I couldn't give this movie a 10/10 is because the graphics are "Saw" level and made my stomach turn...I had to look away a few times...soooo i guess you'll have to like gory movies as well...LOL

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Completed
Freezeframescreenkiss
10 people found this review helpful
Jul 14, 2012
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 10
The great director, Kim Jee-won does every genre he takes on justice. As expected, acting-veteran Choi Min-shik easily turns stomachs with his darkest performance since his Sympathy for Lady Vengeance role.


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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devitto
9 people found this review helpful
May 19, 2013
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
If you're very lighthearted, you should not watch this movie. It has some pretty horrible scenes I had to look away from.

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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Go-To-The-Extreme
20 people found this review helpful
Dec 22, 2011
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 5.0
This is definitely not for the weak hearted. It is absolutely horrifying at certain scenes where I just had to get away for a bit and breath. The storyline is gripping and the acting is just great. In fact it was so great that I detested the bad character! This is not suitable for everyone. It has sexually explicit scenes and nudity, much to my surprise. Can't say I didn't see it coming though. So if you're set on watching this movie then be ready, you're in for a bumpy ride.
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Completed
Soshrii
4 people found this review helpful
May 13, 2020
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
Well, it looks like I’ve started my slow ascension into the wonderful world of Korean cinema. Its been going at a rather leisure pace, but I’ve been trying to work my way up there. It just fascinates me how the same country that gave us kpop idols and a plethora of sappy, melodramatic romantic soap operas, continues to churn out stellar, gritty, nihilistic works of art alongside them.

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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Completed
cupicakefarah
5 people found this review helpful
Apr 25, 2012
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
THIS MOVIE IS GENIUUUSSSSS
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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Completed
Steve
2 people found this review helpful
Sep 3, 2015
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 10
I Saw the Devil stars well-known Korean actor, Lee Byung-Hun and is directed by the amazing Kim Jee-Woon who has done nothing but great films so far. I Saw the Devil is the ultimate Korean revenge movie. When the daughter of a federal agent is killed by a serial killer, he goes on a mission to exact his revenge and becomes a monster himself in the process. Despite some gruesome scenes, this movie explores the mind of someone who will do anything to get even. Some great performances by Lee Byung-Hun and Choi Min-Sik, this movie will always be at the forefront of what I consider to be great Korean cinema.

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Troy Feldman
2 people found this review helpful
Jan 20, 2015
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 9.0
Intense and dark thriller starring two of Korea's best action stars. Don't watch if you have a weak stomach. Or do. Because it's amazing. Whole movie kept me on the edge of my seat, from the shocking beginning to all the twists and turns, I could never expect anything. Definitely watch.
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Completed
Eintagsfliege
1 people found this review helpful
Sep 12, 2018
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
A brutal and painful movie to watch. It makes you think... what would you have done? Would you easily hand this psychopath to the police? It's not like other revenge-movies, where the protagonist tries to do the right thing and his goal being to just kill the antagonist - he wants him to suffer, to feel the pain and angst the victims must have borne.
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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loveofalifetime011293
1 people found this review helpful
Jul 2, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 8.5

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.

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Kerry
1 people found this review helpful
Mar 27, 2016
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.5
This movie is crazy and could possibly be used to scare people into never talking to strangers again much less taking a cab ever. The talented actors are off the chain and great, thumbs up to the actors. I think this is one of the movies that could haunt you in your sleep. It is gruesome, has action, slight sick twist in the comedy area, suspense and next to 0 on the romantic scale. lol. But it is worth the watch and may have you covering your eyes in certain scenes. Still great watch though. Just makes me scared that there may be actual people out there that commit these types of crimes. The question kinda lingers though, who was more crazy?Ahhh revenge will make you do some crazy things. Goes to show you though, you should never poke a sleeping lion.

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Completed
alex
1 people found this review helpful
Sep 10, 2023
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

This. Is the BEST movie ever made.

[ Original date written: Dec. 9th 2020 ]

You might expect it to be your typical revenge story but it isn't. Not in the slightest. It does not follow the formula you think it would at all. INSTEAD of the entire movie being about a man hunting down the man who's done him wrong and getting revenge at the very end, this film instead takes a 'cat and mouse' approach. Our (and I use this term lightly) heroine catches his target fairly early on, only to purposely let him go in order to catch him again. And again. And again.

It’s a very long movie but I found it went by quickly. I was so interested in what was happening and enjoying every single second that the runtime didn't even phase me.

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I Saw the Devil (2010) poster

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