I Saw the Devil

This movie is probably the heaviest one I have ever seen in terms of mental and physical brutality even though I know movies that touch me even more. Anybody that has problems with torture scenes, cannibalism, violations and explicit sexual content as well as repetitive harsh language should stop reading here and lock for something else. Anybody else is invited to watch a movie about a monster you have never seen before.

The movie turns around the question if one can and if so, how one could fight a monster. If two monsters fight each other can there be a winner and what are the consequences for other involved people. The movie hides in fact a lot of philosophical content and depth beneath the surface of blood and gore and is less superficial than it might seem at first sight.

The movie is comparable to the story of the great Korean vengeance trilogy around "Sympathy for Mister Vengeance", "Oldboy" and "Lady Vengeance". It has the same harsh language and great acting as the Korean crime masterpiece "Memories of murder". It has the same philosophical content as the Canadian "Les sept jours du talion". Those movies can be references but this flick isn't comparable to any Hollywood production. This movie is also much heavier than any of the mentioned movies and something like that could only be a success in a country like Korea because it would be cut or banned in Europe or North America. Be sure to catch the uncut version no matter how high the price because it's really worth it.

This movie doesn't only live from its shocking and gripping story and the numerous brutal scenes but also from the amazing acting. Choi Min-sik is one of Korea's greatest actors as he proved in "Oldboy" or "Lady Vengenace" but this time he is even more perfect than I expected. He plays his role with so much credibility and precision and is easily the best interpretation of a serial killer I have ever seen in a movie. Lee Byung-hun plays in a credible way a man that must become a monster to realize his promise and his revenge and he perfectly plays a broken person that goes through extreme changes. The other actors also deliver a more than solid job and remain credible. I must underline the acting of the weird cannibal friend of the monster and his strange wife (you should absolutely check out the deleted scenes).

The director also did a great and very detailed job. The acting is perfect, the settings work very well and a great atmosphere is created. Kim Jee-won already created the dark, calm and mind-blowing masterpiece "A tale of two sisters" and he shows in here that he can also create a heavy, pitiless and extreme movie like this. I happen to estimate him higher and higher and want to check out the rest of his movies.

In the end, this movie isn't maybe as gripping and stunningly original as my favourite Korean flicks "Oldboy", "A tale of two sisters" or "Memories of murder" but it surely is a movie you should check out if you like modern Asian cinema and if you liked the movies I've listed up in this review. It's a little masterpiece you won't forget after you have seen it and it's probably the best movie of the year to me. I would say that this movie underlines my opinion that the Korean cinema has become the best in the world during the last years.

There's a mad man around Jang Kyung-chul, whose favourite hobby is to maim and to cull, mainly defenceless girls, with a knife he unfurls, after they've taken a bash on the skull.

But he's taken the wrong lady on, and events are starting to go wrong, there's a rather keen cop, loved the girl he's just topped, and he's out for revenge Kim Soo-hyeon.

Kim Soo-hyeon likes to play with his prey, adds more value if the hunt can replay, starts with a forfeiture, then ends with some torture, Jang Kyung-chul has the devil to pay.

I Saw The Devil is a bloody masterpiece. Jee-woon Kim has proved himself to be a master storyteller. Beautiful shots, a creative script, perfect acting and intense violence make I Saw The Devil a must-see movie for anyone who calls themselves a horror fan.

It's a breath of fresh air in a seemingly stagnant genre full of the same old vampire and zombie stories being retold over and over. And yes, there have been loads of revenge movies before, but I Saw The Devil takes it to the next level.

Gritty, dark, gory and original: I loved this movie, and I don't like anything. I just hope an American company doesn't comes along to make a shallow remake (Let The Right One In).

Are most revenge stories totally complete? Is Hammurabi's Code not good enough? An eye for an eye, a life for a life? 'I Saw the Devil' doesn't think so, and I have to agree.

With top Korean names as Ji-Woon Kim (A Bittersweet Life, Tale of Two Sisters), Byung-hun Lee (A Bittersweet Life) and the always amazing Min-Sik Choi (everything), this film had some lofty expectations, and I can easily say that whatever expectations I had, they were smashed, bashed, and slashed into smithereens and finally, thrown out the window.

Wronged by the blood-thirsty psycho Choi, Agent Byhung takes vengeance into his own hands in unrelenting fashion. And boy howdy, we got some serious, flesh-ripping and bone-shattering revenge here. Mix in great direction, cinematography, choreography, music, and, of course, dynamite acting, you've got one fantastic flick.

Not long into the film, I began to wonder if Min-Sik Choi was delivering one of the all-time anti-hero performances, and for a minute or two, I was definitely thinking that this was the case. However, those anti-hero thoughts were quickly dashed away - he's straight up evil. Always the reliable actor, Min-Sik may have out-done himself; he successfully transformed into one of cinema's most memorable serial killer/villains.

Beyond wishing for a stronger emotional impact, this film is just perfect stuff in my eyes. Serial killer movies are being made brilliantly by our beloved brothers from South Korea, and I thank them from the bottom of my heart with big hugs and kisses.

While the Western half of the world (and Hollywood in particular) was still focused on making torture-porn horror movies with as sole purpose to show as many sickening, repulsive and shocking sequences as humanly possible, the Eastern part of the world (with South Korea as the usual pioneer) evolved to the next level already with "I Saw the Devil". In this fantastic film, perhaps one of the 10 best since the year 2000, the extremely explicit and uncompromising violence is only secondary to the character development and to writer/director Ji-Woon Kim's main message that revenge - contrary to popular belief - doesn't taste sweet at all, but sour instead, and that it leaves a horrible aftertaste in you mouth. You won't see that intensity and genius in a random "Saw" or "Hostel" sequel anytime soon...

Both Choi Min-Sik and Lee Byung-Hun give away stupendous and almost unsurpassable performances. The former as a mad dog serial killer of the cruelest and most disturbing kind. The latter as a special agent turned avenging angel, and at least as cruel and disturbing as the killer. The difference between them is that young Soo-Hyun is driven to blinding rage when his pregnant fiancé falls victim to the sadist serial killer Kyul-chul. Her death so agonizingly painful that Soo-Hyun pledges that her tormentor will suffer just as much and just as brutally as she did. And so, an unspeakably tense game of cat and mouse ensues.

"I Saw the Devil" isn't entirely without flaws, though. The script often requires an enormous dose suspension of disbelief, and according to all laws of human anatomy and pain-endurance, Kyul-chul should have been dead 2 or 3 times. Personally, I really don't like it when horror/thriller movies have running times of more than two hours (which is also why it took me 10 years to finally see it), and even though the film is never boring, it wouldn't have hurt if it was 30-40 minutes shorter. Still, based on the numerous amount of powerful sequences, the nail-biting suspense highlights, the pure evilness of the lead character and the realistic (and often downright nauseating) gore effects, "I Saw the Devil" is one of the most unique films out there, and an absolute must-see for genre fanatics with nerves of steel and a stomach of concrete.