I Saw the Devil

I Saw the Devil
Director: Kim Ji-woon
South Korea, 2010

PLOT

A special agent experiences the murder of his fiancée firsthand over the phone at the hands of an unknown serial killer. Devastated by the loss, and with the help of the girl’s father, he sets out to track down the killer to identify him and seek his revenge. Once face-to-face with the killer, his objective becomes clear: killing him isn’t enough—he must hunt him down, chase him, and inflict heavy torture… repeatedly!

CONSIDERATIONS

A quintessential Korean film about revenge and torture, *I Saw the Devil* is a violent journey filled with hate and pain, where there are no heroes, no winners, and no losers. There is only an overwhelming thirst for revenge, which cannot culminate in death but must come through a long and relentless torture, as if it were a path to redemption and purification.
The protagonist, agent Kim Soo-hyeon, knows this all too well. Hunting, capturing, and torturing the serial killer Kyung-chul until he’s left near death is the only thing that matters to survive the pain of loss. At the same time, the murderer must constantly watch his back from the vengeful threat but cannot stop his killing spree; he must continue to kill—it is a necessity, an instinctual drive.

This film spares nothing. Violence is omnipresent: in the settings, the actions, and the minds of the characters. Kim Ji-woon masterfully directs a ruthless film where the pace is intense, only slowing down to show us the calm before the storm, until it erupts into blind ferocity.

The screenplay is solid and never banal. The simple plot should not be misleading because the characters are so well-written and essential to the story that they alone carry the entire film. This is, of course, due to the incredible talent of the two actors, perfect in their roles, which seem tailor-made for them:

Lee Byung-hun as the dynamic, cold, and calculating special agent;
Choi Min-sik (best known for his leading role in the epic Oldboy) as the insane and savage serial killer. Two monstrous performances.
Of course, the violence is omnipresent: the murders and tortures are shown in detail without any form of censorship. The fights and brutal scenes are so well done and shot that they feel realistic, leaving the viewer with chills and discomfort.

The film is available for free on YouTube in English.

PANDEMONIC MOMENT

During a struggle, Kim Soo-hyeon, after striking the killer in the face with a fire extinguisher, immobilizes him and slices his Achilles tendon with a knife—a chilling scene that vividly expresses intense pain.

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