I Saw The Devil

7.4/10 Dropps.

Genre: Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense
Rated: Unrated
Running Time: 2 hr. 24 min.
In Theaters: Mar 4, 2011 Limited
Box Office:$13.6k
Directed By: Ji-woon Kim

I Saw the Devil follows the stories of Kyung-chul and Soo-hyeon, two vastly different characters whose lives become a brutal and gruesome game of cat and mouse when the former, a murderous psychopath, finds himself in the presence of Joo-yeon, the daughter of a retired police chief and pregnant fiancé of special agent Se-yeon. As Soo-hyun turns from the law in pursuit of his fiancé’s murderer, the result is a terrifyingly disturbing vision of a man on the brink of becoming what he hunts.

Director Jee-woon Kim (The Tale of Two Sisters) makes a heavy statement with his latest film, creating a cinematic experience that has the viewer questioning which character is portraying the “I” (which is “the Devil”). The cat and mouse relationship developed by Kim is both exhilarating and disturbing to watch unfold, both displaying the director’s talents and furthering his noteworthy rise in the world of Korean film. At times I Saw The Devil is hard to watch, but at the same time it’s harder still to pull your eyes away from the screen; both say something disturbing about human curiosity.

Byung-hun Lee (The Good, The Bad, The Weird) plays the role of Soo-hyeon, a government special agent turned into a demented man-in-turmoil seeking a long and gruesome revenge. Lee gives a motivated and understanding performance in his portrayal of Soo-hyeon, evoking a character whose motives ignite urgent questions in the viewer. Min-sik Choi (Oldboy) steps into the role of Kyung-chul, a demented killer who, by chain of events, becomes the mouse in a terrifying game of catch and release. Choi too portrays his horrifying character with finesse, crafting something on screen that intrigues the viewer while making them forget they’re watching an actor.

I Saw the Devil, the brutal masterpiece that it is, has its faults. Choi’s character comes off the screen flat at the conclusion of the film. While the end of the movie sheds a shimmer of hope for his humanity, the lack of back story given to the character and absence of motivation for his actions leaves the viewer questioning his believability at times. Altogether, I Saw the Devil is a solid release from Kim and continues Korea’s reputation for creating fun-to-watch, brutal and beautiful revenge films.

-Hunter Freiburg