After Valentine's Day passed, we returned to all-weather movies with a little surprise from South Korea. Before I continue, I must warn: This post is not suitable for children!
South Korean cinema is known for bloody, gruesome films, depicting the worst face of humanity. Old Boy, The Wailing, Memories of Murder are some of the most distinctive films of this genre. And this movie has all the elements to be called, if not equal, but a hidden gem, which the audience and the critics loved from the first moment.
The plot begins when the body of a young woman is found, killed by a serial killer. Her fiance, Kim Soo-hyun, an agent in National Intelligence Service is seeking revenge, driven by an abysmal hatred for the killer. He has decided not to arrest him, but to torture the serial killer, like he does with his victims. Kim Soo-hyun intervenes every time the serial killer is attempting to assault and exterminate his victim, beating him ruthlessly. Kim Soo-hyun, even shoves a transmitter in the throat of serial killer, in order to watches his next moves.
These two protagonists, or antagonists as we may say, are the main core through out the whole film. On one side the insane serial killer whο enjoys torturing his victims in the most gruesome way, and other side the devoted man of the law, the agent in N.I.S., who in his pursuit of revenge surpasses the immorality and indifference of human pain.
The story talks about revenge, a revenge that is that goes beyond the moral and the legitimate, that makes even the cruelest ask themselves who is the perpetrator and who is the victim.
The performances by the two leads are riveting. They are no strangers to the movie-going public anyway, as the serial killer is played by actor Choi Min-sik, known to us from Old Boy, while the agent is played by Lee Byung-hun, last seen in Squid Game. They almost don't need others to accompany them as the relationship they create between them is so intense that they fill the whole film.
"I saw the devil" is a movie that requires audience with a strong stomach and to be extra tolerant on violent scenes. The innovative ways that the agent uses to torture the serial killer are shocking. Even I, that I have watched a lot of korean hard core action thrillers, was shocked in some of scenes.
Spaltter lovers, you will love this film! But after all the gruesome plot and the bloody scenes, one question remains: "Who was the Devil in the end?" And the answer is : any human could become the devil, given the chance.
Thank you for reading!
