“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you,” – Friedrich Nietzsche
Holy shit, this movie, this movie made me uncomfortable. I mean, that’s the point; it is a horror film, but 2010’s “I Saw the Devil,” directed by Kim Ji-woon, is a real masterpiece of cinema. To begin, this IS a Korean Film, so if you have a problem with reading subtitles, then this film probably isn’t going to be for you. I implore you, please be able to look past this folks! This film is raw, brutal, but surprisingly philosophical underneath all of that gore. This story of revenge, psychosis, and human cruelty is really something to marvel (and cringe, ) at.
The film centers on Soo-hyun (Lee Byung-hung ), an esteemed member of the National Intelligence Service pursuing the man who brutally murdered his fiancé. The catch, is that he is off the clock, using his bereavement leave to hunt this man. Kyung-chul (Choi Min-sik, who previously starred in the 2003 Horror Classic “Oldboy” ) is this sadistic killer, who seems to enjoy taking lives. As Soo hunts this man, he runs across a string of un-captured serial killers across the city that Kyung goes to for assistance. You see, every time Soo catches him, he simply assaults, tortures, and then maims Kyung in some way, then lets him go. He then hunts him down all over again. He continues the until the films conclusion, leaving a trail of destruction along the way.
The acting is well, I can’t be sure because I am not familiar with the subtleties of the Korean language. As far as I could tell, I was convinced wholly, and it seems audiences across the lands of the film’s release agree. The emotional scenes of grief from Lee’s character are just heart-breaking, and Choi’s performance as a sadistic murder,that is now the target of a more dangerous hunter than himself, is breath-taking.
Directing wise, the film is BRUTAL! The gore in some scenes was so intense that it had to be cut for the theatrical release. The Netflix release (I believe ) is un-cut. One scene in particular that takes place in a greenhouse that made me cringe featured the first stand-off between Soo and Kyung, a kidnapped girl, and hand smashed by a rock, and a force-fed GPS tracker. That’s the lightest this film probably gets, and I don’t want to ruin anything by disclosing the particulars.
The film discusses the nature of human evil, and when justice crosses the line into vengeance. Soo slowly begins to slip into darkness; the more he attacks Kyung, the more I began to question who the real killer was. By the end of the film, no one really wins, and Soo’s plight completely broke my heart. Its examination of all of the killers in the movie is also interesting, as the kinship between Kyung and these other monsters is almost a whole different society within our own. It’s terrifying to see all of these monsters helping one another, but more terrifying to see Soo mercilessly slay them all.
Oh five stars! Five! Stars! Please, look past the subtitles and just watch this film. It’s so very much worth it for any horror or drama fan. Similar films include the aforementioned “Oldboy,” and for an American twist, try “The Collector,” I can’t recommend this film enough.