I Saw the Devil (2010)
"Akmareul boatda" (original title)

When his pregnant fiancee becomes the latest victim of a serial killer, a secret agent blurs the line between good and evil in his pursuit of revenge.

Director:

Kim Jee-Woon

Writer:

Hoon-jung Park (screenplay)

Stars:

Byung-hun Lee, Min-sik Choi, In-seo Kim

11 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Byung-hun Lee	...	Kim Soo-hyeon
Min-sik Choi	...	Kyung-chul
In-seo Kim	...	Se-jung
San-ha Oh	...	Joo-yeon
Chun Ho-jin	...	Section Chief Oh
Seung-ah Yoon	...	The Cannibal's Girlfriend
Yoon-seo Kim	...	Se-yeon
Bo-ra Nam	...	Section chief's daughter
Gook-hwan Jeon	...	Squad Chief Jang
Moo-Seong Choi	...	Tae-joo
Yoon Chae-Yeong	...	Nurse Han Song-i
Ji-yoon Jeong	...	Junior high female student
Jin-ho Choi	...	Planning director
Kim Kap Soo	...	Planning team deputy head
Park Seo-Yeon	...	Woman at pension

Storyline

Jang Kyung-chul (Choi Min-sik) is a dangerous psychopath who kills for human meat. He has committed infernal serial murders in diabolic ways that one cannot even imagine and his victims range from young women to even children. The police have chased him for a long time, but were unable to catch him. One day, Joo-yeon, daughter of a retired police chief becomes his prey and is found dead in a horrific state. Her fiancé Soo-hyun (Lee Byung-hun), a top secret agent, decides to track down the murderer himself. He promises himself that he will do everything in his power to take bloody vengeance against the killer, even if it means that he must become a monster himself to get this monstrous and inhumane killer.

---

Plot Keywords:

secret agent | revenge | psychopath | serial killer | murder | 

---

Taglines:

Evil lives inside.

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [France]

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Release Date:

12 August 2010 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

I Saw the Devil

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$13,567 (USA) (4 March 2011)

Gross:

$128,392 (USA) (22 April 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Softbank Ventures, Showbox/Mediaplex, Peppermint & Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

141 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film marks Choi's first major role since his self-imposed exile over his protest of the Korean screen quota system. It also reunites Lee with Kim who have worked together in the past on films such as A Bittersweet Life.

---

Quotes

Kim Soo-hyeon: I will kill you when you are in the most pain. When you're in the most pain, shivering out of fear, then I will kill you. That's a real revenge. A real complete revenge.

---

Connections

Featured in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.9 (2011)

User Reviews

Exquisite, effective and merciless

First and foremost, much of this movie borders on, for lack of a better word, the obscene. There are plenty of scenes that bring to mind soft-core pornography, and the violence is incredibly gory and at times, over the top. Some of the actions performed on screen will make most viewers squirm uncomfortably, while a vast majority of those that aren't will let the audience's mind drift to some very, very scary places.

In short, its a visceral thriller. The movie is essentially driven by both lead characters trying to inflict as much pain and terror in one another as possible. Unlike most serial killer/crime thrillers, both the two characters collide (in violent, brutal fashion) with one another many, many times, leaving each other bloodied and eager for the next encounter. During these scenes, the movie takes on an unexpected action tone, with plenty of engaging fights that include knives, scythes, screwdrivers and in one scene, a fire extinguisher. In between these scenes the audience is shown the full depravity of the serial killer's psychopathic nature, who pretty much succeeds on setting the bar for on screen insanity.

If this sounds like a mindless action/thriller summer film, you'd be mistaken. Both Choi M.S and Lee B.H deliver great performances, with Choi in particular acting disturbingly convincing as a completely unhinged maniac. The plot, although somewhat predictable, is nonetheless entertaining and once set in motion, incredibly gripping. There are plenty of cheap "boo! gotcha" scares, but some scenes are masterfully crafted to generate a LOT of tension. Believe me when I say that there were plenty of scenes where you could literally see that the rest of the audience wasn't even breathing, much less moving. As mentioned earlier, the action scenes are shot surprisingly well, and there's a certain pleasure to be derived from watching the hunter become hunted... and in such an exquisite, effective and merciless manner.

On an aside, the movie seems to have remake potential with Hollywood production. Perhaps starring Will Smith and Robert Downey Jr. (as a serial killer? wouldn't you be terrified?), with maybe... Danny Boyle at the helm? Hopefully the movie does well enough in its release to receive any considerations.