I Saw The Devil – Review

Over the past few years, South Korea seems to be the go to country for intense, real life-like violent films with a meaning. From PARK Chan-wook’s Vengeance Trilogy (including OLDBOY) to KIM Jee-woon’s A TALE OF TWO SISTERS and so on. Jee-woon’s newest film, I SAW THE DEVIL, from Magnet Release, is one that can fit perfectly in that grouping.

I SAW THE DEVIL tells the story of a serial killer and the man that is seeking vengeance on him for killing his fiancee. On a winter’s night, Ju-yeon (OH San-ha) gets a flat tire on her way home. She calls a tow truck to help her. While waiting, she is talking on the phone with her fiancee, Soo-hyun (LEE Byung-hun from G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA) who is a secret service agent. While on the phone, a van pulls up and the driver goes to the window. The person tells Ju-yeon that he will take a look at the tire. She declines, but the person checks anyway. Soo-hyun tells his fiancee to just wait for the tow truck to show up. After they hang up, the person tells Ju-yeon that it’s pretty bad. We see that the person is a man, who we later learn is Kyung-chul (CHOI Min-sik from OLDBOY). He heads back to his van but doesn’t leave. As Ju-hyun turns on her headlights to see if the man is still there, he breaks the windows and drags her out.

Kyung-chul takes Ju-yeon back to his hideout and this is where the movie takes a turn for intense. Before killing her, Kyung-chul tortures her. He cuts her up into pieces. The next day a boy who is walking around a lake by the highway comes upon an ear. The cops are called in, and Ju-yeon’s head is found. This leads to a cat and mouse chase, as the vengeful Soo-hyun goes after Kyung-chul.

We, the viewer, know who the killer is, and Soo-hyun learns pretty fast who did it as well. The movie isn’t about Soo-hyun trying to find the murderer, but the torture he inflicks upon him once he captures the killer. KIM Jee-woon has masterfully crafted a torture film that makes the viewer both uncomfortable and eager to see what happens next at the same time. Once Soo-hyun catches Kyung-chul, he tortures him, but lets him go. Soo-hyun does this on 3 different occasions. Each time, he finds another way to torture Kyung-chul. Once thing that Jee-woon does that makes his movie a little unsettling is, when Kyung-chul tortures and murders his victims, Jee-woon never shows the torture on the women. He will show Kyung-chul knocking the women out, but that is the extent. When Kyung-chul kills men, we see everything on screen. Jee-woon holds the camera on the violence for an extra beat and it really makes the viewer uncomfortable. There is a great scene with an Achilles’s heel being cut that makes the one from HOSTEL seem like something out of a Disney movie.

The performances by both leads are something to behold. LEE Byung-hun as the man seeking revenge is amazing. He goes from a lively being to a soulless character seeking revenge for the murder of his beloved. CHOI Min-sik’s acting as the serial killer on the run is a work of art. It is a complete departure from his most famous part as OH Dae-su in OLDBOY. He is cold and calculating and very scary. With a tilt of his head, or a stare he makes you feel like you’ve just been killed 5 times before he does the deed.

If there is anything negative about the movie, it would be the running time. The film is 140 minutes long and at times, it feels that way. Once Kyung-chul is let go after the second time, you know where the movie is going. Also, Mowg’s score for the film seems a bit uneven at times. While chilling and beautiful, it is also a little intrusive. When the movie starts, you really notice the music, and this can be a bit disconcerting. It’s a beautiful score, but a little toned down to start would have made it perfect. In fact, KIM Jee-woon uses the score perfectly throughout the film. At times of torture, the score is either turned down, or not there. This adds a level to the film that makes it even more uncomfortable.

By the time the movie is over, the viewer realizes that the title has a double meaning. One way to take it it Soo-hyun sees the devil in human form, and that devil is Kyung-chul. The other meaning is Soo-hyun sees the devil in himself as he transforms from a fun loving, peaceful person into a man seeking revenge and not caring about anything but getting even. The first must see movie of 2011 for sure.

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