Isla sangrienta

"Bedevilled" is the tale of two women.Hae-won is depressed by her empty corporate financial job.Close to an emotional break-down she decides to visit her childhood friend Bok-nam who is living on the tiny islet of Mundo.Bok-nam is often abused by her violent husband and his retarded brother.Finally this horribly victimised human being decides to retaliate against her tormentors."Bedevilled" is slow-moving and depressing drama that suddenly turns into bloody revenge movie.The cast is strong,especially Seo Young-hee gives a truly memorable performance as bullied Bok-nam.Consumed by growing anger she becomes a beast.The script is horrific with several scenes of sexual and verbal abuse and plenty of bloody violence.Very brutal pay-off has to be seen to be believed.Check out this savagely beautiful drama.8 islets out of 10.

This movie crosses the borders of Drama and Horror with an intense story of a young woman who is mistreated and almost slaved by her husband and the rest of the (few) people who live in a small island near the mainland, in South Korea. However the movie doesn't really start with this character but with another girl who lived in that island when she was a child but now lives in Seoul and is a "modern woman" in opposition to the people of the isle who live like farmers. The plot begins when this second girl after some problems in Seoul decides to take a rest and visit the isle. Is in that moment we met the girl who is mistreated and the paths of these two women cross again like in the past…

It's a crossed story about friendship, about courage, vengeance and redemption. The movie is intense mostly on the psychological side and shows us that when one person is mistreated to the edge can one day search for revenge! I appreciated the end and its message of redemption.

It is difficult to describe the movie. Actually to describe what is attractive and/or exciting about the movie for me. You could say that it begins more than slow, but will build up and be very disturbing toward the end. I'm not gonna give anything away from the story, but if you have seen some Korean movies, you might know what you are getting yourself into here!

It is sort of a character study and a very weird and dark social commentary to (if you want it to be). I liked the group dynamic, I liked the grey tones, I liked that it was different. I can't guarantee though that you will like it. And it might not be the ideal choice to start getting to know Korean cinema. I'm sure though that somewhere along the line, there is an US Remake waiting to happen (if they can pull it off ... they don't seem to be able to do so with Old Boy either).

"Bedevilled" is another and once again brilliant tale of revenge coming from South Korea which is in the vein of already now legendary masterpieces such as "Oldboy" and "I saw the devil".

What distinguishes this movie from the other ones and justifies itself to merit a place in the top notch of this genre can be told in three little points. First of all, this movie tells the tale of revenge from the point of view from a person that is neither the central evil nor the central avenger part of the movie. Thanks to many flashbacks and secondary story lines, the culpability and responsibility of the main actress is though revealed all over the movie and gives us philosophical and introspective insights while the person witnesses a tale of revenge.

Second, the movie takes its time to introduce all the important characters very slowly. This develops a dark empathy with the main victim that is treated and slowly becomes a monster. The movie creates cruel and gripping personalities and shows us the degree of culpability for all of them. The acting in this intense but slow paced movie is very well done and authentic and it's a very positive and refreshing aspect that the true revenge tale only kicks off after more than the half of the movie has already passed.

Third, this movie focuses especially on the relationship between the avenger and the person that introduces slowly us to the main story line. It's the first time I see two equally convincing female characters in this kind of tough, cruel and highly emotive roles in this kind of genre and they have done such excellent jobs that I'm looking forward to have a closer look at their filmographies.

As a fourth very positive point I might finally add that this movie is also intriguing because it takes places on an isolated island and is a huge criticism towards past and contemporary society in South Korea. This movie is much more than just a bloody tale of revenge, at first glimpse it's especially a very intense drama with gripping characters.

In the end, I highly suggest anyone that likes South Korean movies to watch out for this film that has only recently been released in North America. This is another masterpiece of a unique genre coming from a unique country and you won't find this kind of high quality in any cinema or contemporary American blockbuster. South Korea is the best place for original, gripping and extreme contemporary movies and this movie underlines the country's unique status and will hopefully inspire our culture to take some inspirations from them without dishonouring their creative pieces of art.

First of all, don't read anything about the story's content - it may ruin the experience for you.

What do the gender-themed Hollywood thrillers "Basic Instinct", "Fatal Attraction" and "Disclosure" have in common? 1. they all star Michael Douglas, 2. the female lead is the root of all evil. Whenever Hollywood takes gender struggle to bloody extremes, there's an irritating tendency to overly sympathize with the male - probably because the film industry is still pretty much a man's world, with the first female director winning an Academy Award coming around only last year.

In that light, "Bedevilled" - from an equally male-dominated media environment - is a different, surprising film which manages to convey a social message while delivering gruesome - and at times gory - entertainment. What we have here is a social drama/ slasher crossover with excellent production values and top-notch cinematography.

No wonder that the story often feels grossly exaggerated. The entertainment values somewhat linger in the background of an ever-growing tension in the first hour, and then dominate the finale. Therefore the psychological premise - unusually well-established for a mere shocker - appears constructed in the course of the ensuing rampage. Those who expect horror, however, may feel somewhat bored during the exposition, simply because it's so much better and less formulaic than usual for genre movies.

"Bedevilled" is a brilliant piece of entertainment if judged for what it is trying to achieve, pretty much on a par with the testosterone-driven "I saw the Devil". But it's not trying to please as much as the latter. So if you're looking for new angles on old formulas, this one is for you; if you'd rather have a good idea about what you're going to see, you may feel confused.