I Saw the Devil

I SAW THE DEVIL is a shockingly violent and stunningly accomplished tale of murder and revenge. The embodiment of pure evil, Kyung-chul is a dangerous psychopath who kills for pleasure. On a freezing, snowy night, his latest victim is the beautiful Juyeon, daughter of a retired police chief and pregnant fiancée of elite special agent Soo-hyun. Obsessed with revenge, Soo-hyun is determined to track down the murderer, even if doing so means becoming a monster himself. And when he finds Kyung-chul, turning him in to the authorities is the last thing on his mind, as the lines between good and evil fall away in this diabolically twisted game of cat and mouse.

I was quite stunned when I saw this movie the other night.  Very brutal in its depiction of violence, yet every single scene was beautifully shot that I cannot turn away.  This is unlike movies such as the Saw series where violence is the main draw.  Violence is there, but this movie is so much more than that.  With many twists in the story, one cannot help but be drawn by the main character's sorrow and his descent into darkness as he vowed to catch a monster, even if he had to turn to one himself.

This is not the type of movie that I normally would watch but after seeing it, I can only wholeheartedly recommend this  for anyone looking for something interesting to watch.  At first, I was drawn by the actor Choi Min-sik, who was great in Oldboy, a great movie in its own right.  I had no idea what I Saw the Devil was about except that it was highly recommended by my friend.  Those who saw GI JOE will also recognize Lee Byung-hun who played Storm Shadow in it.