I SAW THE DEVIL – The Review

An eye for an eye is just the beginning…

Not only are we experiencing the emergence of the Korean cinema like never before, we’re also fortunately experiencing this rise in a time when foreign film is increasingly more accessible to American audiences. Sure, foreign film fare is still far from mainstream in the United States, but I hope films such as I SAW THE DEVIL — primarily a genre film for the sake of introduction, but is really much more – encourages adventurous viewers to seek out other gems.

One of the most fascinating things about the theatre-going experience here in the U.S. is that we have relatively relaxed censorship. I SAW THE DEVIL was cut-down and censored into a shorter version in its home of Korea, but here we get to enjoy the full, uncut 141-minute version. The cuts were clearly due to the film’s graphic nature, but I caution viewers from falling victim to the film’s graphic violence being called excessive.

I SAW THE DEVIL was written by Hoon-jung Park (his first) and directed by Jee-woon Kim (THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD). Jee-woon Kim is just one of a group of Korean filmmakers – including Bong Joon-ho, THE HOST; and Park-Chan wook, OLDBOY — versed in the horror genre creating a phenomenal international wave of attention for the fresh and creative visions.

I SAW THE DEVIL begins by taking the viewer on a snowy winter drive down an isolated rural road. The driver is an attractive, young woman. That woman happens to be the daughter of the police chief and the wife of secret agent Kim Soo-hyeon, played by Byung-hun Lee. Most Americans have seen this physically talented actor portray Storm Shadow in G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA, but for a better taste of his overall talent, refer to THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD or THREE… EXTREMES, in which he directed the segment titled CUT.

This young woman is brutally murdered by a stranger named Kyung-Chul, posing as a school bus driver. Creepy. Unfortunately for her, she’s not his first and certainly not his last. Unfortunately for him, this would be the murder that begins his end. Once Kim Soo-hyeon finds out, every ounce of his highly-trained being becomes hell-bent on making Kyung-Chul suffer. What results is a brutal and cunning cat-and-mouse chase that shifts between the two, from hunter to the hunted, and vice-versa.

Kyung-Chul is played by Min-sik Choi, best known here by his unforgettable performance as Dae-su Oh in OLDBOY. Choi is cinematically magnetic, an onscreen presence similar to what Roy Orbison did for music… not very pretty to look at, but his talent more than makes up for his lack of the typical star look. Choi displays one of the most convincingly evil and intelligent characters since Anthony Hopkins first dawned the Hannibal Lector mythos. Choi’s appearance in I SAW THE DEVIL may best be described as a stockier, Korean Benicio del Toro, the actor whom I would cast in the American remake, if I were willing to support such a thing… which I do not.

Some may feel the film is too long. I understand this, but disagree. Those who find difficulty in watching the graphic violence contained in I SAW THE DEVIL may be so inclined to call it long, and in some respects there are a handful of spots in which the pace could have quickened slightly. Even cutting a bit of the torture in spots would be possible, but ultimately this would have little overall effect on the film’s length. I SAW THE DEVIL makes a point of dwelling on the nature of revenge and its potentially endless circular nature. You wronged me, so I’ll wrong you, vice-versa, so on, and so on again.

Yes, the violence is graphic, difficult to watch in places, but its not gory so much as being unflinchingly realistic and brutal. Many filmmakers would choose to cutaway just before impact, or to imply the severity of the torture, but Jee-woon Kim refuses to skirt around the reality of violence. This makes many of us uncomfortable, which is actually the point.

But it’s not just America. After so many centuries of violence and cruelty, the human species has become desensitized so that it’s a constant uphill battle to make the viewer feel pain and fear in the cinema. Therefore, filmmakers telling these stories – just as crucial and significant as the peaceful, pleasant ones – must be increasingly creative, even to the point of excess, in order to convey a message or an emotion once accomplished with mere innuendo.

I SAW THE DEVIL combines the calculated suspense of Alfred Hitchcock with the gritty appeal of the film noir. The story does not succumb to the shallow notion of a purely good hero and a purely evil villain, instead showing both sides of both men. In the end, revenge is served, but not without great cost to both men. It’s a bittersweet conclusion, enhanced by powerful performances and the director’s keen eye for exhilarating visual choices.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars