Movie Review of I Saw the Devil

Vengeance reached a level of unbearable cruelty in “I Saw the Devil”, the sequel to the brilliant South Korean filmmaker Kim Ji-woon. A descent into hell to be missed, provided that your mind and stomach entrenched.

Kyung-Chul (Choi Min-sik) is a sadistic torturer who likes to “take care” of his victims before making their skin. Soo-hyun (Lee Byung-hun) decides to give him money from his play to avenge the murder of his fiancee. A long race particularly twisted take place between these two highly intelligent individuals who have nothing to lose.

Revenge is practically a synonym (or redundant) of South Korea. In the previous decade, the best thrillers of cinema came from this tiny island and they put generally featured a human being who wanted revenge. We owe the brilliant Park Chan-wook’s trilogy on a beautiful subject.

This is where Kim Ji-woon arrives, a filmmaker who enjoys constantly changing genre. Recognized worldwide for its magnificent horror film “A Tale of Two Sisters”, has since offered the stylized “A Bittersweet Life” (unfortunately unpublished in Quebec) and tripped, “The Good, The Bad, and The Weird.” His return to something more serious is done through the front door.

Beginner conventionally to the “Silence of the Lamb,” Seven “, or in a register of South Korea,” H “and” Chaser “,” I Saw the Devil “was quick to take a road particularly surprising. Somewhat in the manner of “The seven days of retaliation,” the concept of revenge is pushed to its climax. Not only nice can not reach a bit of tranquility by the wicked suffer, but he puts around him in great danger. Enough discourage anyone to imitate.

Especially since the graphic violence and psychological well is present. The feature was even censored in his native country! The blood spurts, the details are difficult to sustain over the swarm and the story progresses and the darkness of Hell is taking shape. One engulfs everything in its path, transforming men into beasts, full of emotion sanitizer.

Surviving the Odyssey is still possible by Briosa the staging, the effectiveness of melodic music, with the ruthlessness of the screenplay, with touches of black humor and, above all, the masterful composition its two performers. Favorite actor of the creator, Lee Byung-hum very impressed with his playing stoic. Yet it must kneel before the great Choi Min-sik who portrays one of the most evil demons of contemporary cinema. It is his face that haunts the viewer long after viewing and that certainly awaken more than once during the night.

Less memorable than “Mother” or “Old boy,” “I Saw the Devil” remains in a class by itself. If it continues like this, but someone should question the random distribution, which sees the securities so cruel to women as “Sucker Punch”, “Black Venus” and it landed on the screens almost same time.