Sundance 2011 review: I SAW THE DEVIL was a Head Smashingly Brutal Film
As much as I was looking forward to seeing this film, nothing could have prepared me for what I saw in this movie. It was an utterly disturbing film, but I enjoyed the hell out of it! I must be sick in the head, because this movie was seriously jacked up. There were a few moments in the film that were hard for me to watch, mostly the scenes that deal with violence against women. The film was just an all around ultra violent movie. I honestly think it might be one of the most violent films I’ve ever seen, but it was done extremely well.
I Saw the Devil is the ultimate revenge movie. I loved the story, and I promise you’ve never seen a revenge flick like this before. The film was directed by Kim Jee-woon, who is the same guy who directed The Good The Bad The Weird, which I absolutely loved, but his I Saw the Devil is nothing like his previous film. The guy is an amazing director. I loved the way he set up his shots, and the cinematography is incredible, like his previous films. As far as the acting goes, Lee Byung-hyun (The Good The Bad The Weird) and Choi Min-sik (Oldboy) did an incredible job bringing these insane characters to life.
This film has got some incredible scenes. Of course, most of these scenes are extremely violent and blood-gushingly insane. I’ve never seen so many people get their heads bashed in in a movie before, and the camera doesn’t cut away from it! You see people's heads being cracked open, but those aren’t even the most brutal parts of the movie! I won’t spoil anything for you, but you will be shocked, and you will cringe. There are also parts that may make you want to curl up into a ball and cry.
If you're into awesome hard core violent Korean films, then I highly recommend you watch this movie when it is released. It’s quite the movie-going experience and is a movie you’ll be talking about for days.
Here’s the Synopsis for the film:
A remorseless psychopath stalks deserted roads looking for women to rape and slaughter. But when he murders the pregnant fiancée of a secret-service agent, the tables turn, and the stalker becomes the prey as the grief-stricken agent pursues a gruesome revenge. Soo-hyun hunts down the killer but does not turn him over to the authorities. Instead, he exacts a punishment designed to make the psycho truly suffer. The sadistic mayhem escalates as the pair enact a gory cat-and-mouse game that quickly spirals out of control.