Review of I Saw the Devil (2010) by Phil P — 19 Aug 2015

"You pissed off the wrong guy".

I think I'm a fan of 'Kim Jee-woon'.His american début 'The Last Stand' was a decent action flick (The direction being one of the strongest aspects) and 'The Good, The Weird' is one of my personal favourites (it says on the blu ray box "What the fourth Indy should have been" and it's right!). And now with 'I Saw The Devil' (admittedly a bit late to it) his style of direction has my attention.

Bleeding between horror and violent thriller 'I Saw The Devil' is certainly not for the squeamish. It's a cat and mouse between grieving husband 'Soo-Hyun' (Lee Byung-hun) and the psychotic serial killer 'Kyung-chul' (Choi Min-sik). It's a revenge film where the main protagonist becomes more and more like the killer. He's willing to go as far as possible to torture the killer so he can feel the pain his wife did. The two main characters are both interesting.

When we first see 'Kyung' he's being pleaded with (by Soo's wife) to let her live and he takes a moment then with a blank stare throws back his meat clever. It's clear from the get go he's not so much human as a ghost just moving from one victim to the next. it appears he's indifferent to his acts (those that aren't sexual) and it's more of a "have too" thing than want. The the pursuing 'Soo' is not much better treating 'Kyung' more like a dog on a leash - inflicting pain, allowing the wounds to heal then doing so again. The confrontation between the two are the main highlights.

Wonderfully shot with ferocity from the director. One that involves 'Kyung' going back to an old friend, who's as psychotic as he is and the subsequent fight between the three in the hall ways of a huge house. 'Kyung' is irredeemable you know that from the off but he drags 'Soo' with him. The story in itself isn't anything ground-breaking but the two pitted against each other and visceral bloodshed are what make it a joy to watch.

As I said those of weak stomach you won't find much luck here. There are limbs, heads chopped and one point a mouth pulled apart at the sides. There's gore and violence aplenty, there's really no one to route for in the end it's more about seeing it come to an end and how. The hunt and hunter game could go on forever.

I'm not one for gore, slasher films and similar horror hold nothing for me. But when there's two interesting characters, a simple but effective story and a hunt/hunter vibe it's wonderfully macabre. Acted superbly throughout and directed by the deft hand of 'Kim Jee-woon' 'I Saw The Devil' lives up to the billing, no mystery of who the killer is, no crisis of confidence. This is about revenge and as long and painful as possible.