I Saw the Devil (limited)
| release date | March 4 2011 |
| studio | Magnet Releasing |
| director | Kim Jee-woon |
| writer | Kim Jee-woon |
| starring | Choi Min-sik, Lee Byung-hun |
| tagline | Abandon all compassion.... |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
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the car scene is SO badass.. a really good movie, with lots of gore. a new take on the tired revenge genre
One of the best revenge films I’ve ever seen. It’s Silence of the Lambs + Oldboy + Taken, only it doesn’t feel like a rip off and retains a unique edge. Great film.
Its been a while since I’ve seen this movie, so its not exactly fresh in my mind. My first reaction to the film was disappointment – not that the film was bad, I just expected more from director Kim Jee-woon. (especially following after knock out films like Bittersweet Life and the Good, the Bad and the Weird.) The film plays out like Memories of Murder at the beginning and then slowly turns to an OldBoy revenge saga. Some elements of the plot don’t blend well in this film, for example Kyung-Chul meeting up with his other psychotic friends. The film’s length is two and half hours. When you enter the third act you can definitely feel it dragging on. The cinematography is pretty good but still no where near the level of a Bittersweet Life. I’m surprised at all the hype this film is receiving. I’m not sure if the hype is because of the violent content? Which is there, but its no worse than other korean revenge films. (from Mr. Chan-wook) Despite all my negative comments the film was a different look at revenge films and I plan on buying the film on BluRay to add my Kim Jee-woon collection.
One of the best I’ve ever seen. Like was said, the cas scene is REALLY badass. Awesome.
This movie is, without a doubt one of the best serial killer/revenge movies ever made. It’s a mash up of Silence Of The Lambs meets Oldboy meets Heat, but not once does it feel like a movie you’ve seen a hundred times before, and it blows away anything Hollywood has to offer. It’s edge of your seat from the very first frame and it never lets up. Oh, and the blood and gore is off the hook. The taxi scene alone will go down in history as one of the most spectacular and bloody set pieces ever filmed. Not going to give away any plot details here. Everything you’ve heard about this movie is true. It’s bloody brilliant and just see it.
Another great movie from Kim Jee-woon….
The Koreans know what is up. This was an amazing this movie in rich in story and character BEST action/gore/revenge film i think i have ever seen. People may hate me for this but i honeslty liked this better than OldBoy. The stabbing scene in the taxi was an amazing shot. I believe the movie was 2.5 hours but the pacing in the movie was perfect and i was not ready for it to end.
WOW!! I just got finished watching this and I must say I was very impressed. The writers over here in the US need to take notes from over seas, because it seems we are incapable of making an original movie that is actually good. This has to be one of the best revenge movies I have ever seen, the story, characters, pace are all great IMO. When I first saw the running time of the movie I was worried, though it would drag on, but that was not the case at all. The story was so good that I forgot about the running time altogether. The gore was great and the acting wasn’t bad either, but like I said before what brings it all together is the story. Bottom line is the US wishes they could make a movie like this but we can’t, I’m 300% sure that the US will remake this very soon and it will not hold a candle to this. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!Believe the hype!
This movie rocks. I think it is very much like Hitchcock to blur the line between the cop and the killer. It made me believe that the cop was no better than the killer because he did just the same type of torture/suffering as the killer did. The only difference was that the cop has a conscious and the killer did not. It also revealed very dealings on the thoughts of what it takes to be a serial killer. But this bad guy was much more than just a killer. He was a rapist, a canniball, a torturer and a killer. He killed only when he got tired of his victim and off he goes to get fresh meat. This guy was relentless with his victims and he kept on killing up to the very end until the cop couldn’t take no more of his shit. Too late on saving his family, but it was his fault because he wanted to play the same game like the killer. Only the cop as dumb fuck as he is, let him live. And on his way to kill more people he did until he lost his head.
To keep it frank, this was a pretty legit, brutal, nasty, and stylish Asian horror flick. Glad to see that Korean horror is still thriving! One of the best horror movies of the year!
Loved it
The story is the most redundant thing in asian horror, besides ghost stories, but the quality of the director and actors was awesome! You gotta had it to WOON, the dude knows how to entertain and put a nice twist of his own on it. Watched this on the net, about a month before it was released, well worth the watch.
A spectacular film, the story of revenge is not in itself original, but the way it develops the sequences are truly impressive. Bloody strong and powerful. I can not avoid commenting respect the scene of the taxi, is so impressive and the way that turns the camera while the action takes place, it will go down in history as one of the best scenes ever filmed of a multiple murder.
All directors should take notes of the Korean films. The actors also do a fantastic job. Absolutely recommended for those looking for something different.
I just finished this film and I am amazed! The characters and story are so well-built you’ll forget you’re watching a fairly predictable and repeated story. The gore and violence is not used to hide flat characters but rather to further build how cruel they are and are becoming. This is a definite must see!
A powerful South Korean revenge-thriller from the director of the stunning “A Tale Of Two Sisters” – sadly, not as brilliant as I expected it to be.
What I liked:
It’s packed with loads of awesome suspense (f.e. the girl waiting for the towing service),
really cool action (f.e. the kick-ass car-door scene)
and brutal kills / super-violent torture scenes (a good deal of cut off / cut through body parts, stabbings, decapitations, etc.).
Lee Byung-hun and “Oldboy” Choi Min-sik’s performances are absolutely overwhelming, Mogae Lee’s calm camera work is outstanding and I’d say that every single setting / film location looks just amazing (including the most atmospheric greenhouse since “High Tension”).
What I disliked:
At about 140 minutes it’s faaar too long.
Many scenes felt too long / too stretched, many scenes were just tediously tiresome. They could have easily trimmed it down to 100-110 minutes.
Watching the movie right now and I couldn’t wait to put my 2 cents in. Seems like the foreign film market is 100x better than the American. Lives up to the ranks of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Intensely graphic in nature but I feel is justified in its story of revenge. Although many tales have come along similar to this, I think I Saw The Devil scores a 10 on the F*&^ing Awesome factor.
Kim Jee-woon’s style can be compared to that of Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs)and Alexandre Aja (High Tension).
Amazing cinematography and superb acting (The hitchhike/cab scene 60mins in is phenomenal).
I just watched this movie from movies on demand for 3.99 for 48 hours and i’m a tensed up, this movie is so crazy you better buckle your seat belt and get ready to be thrilled, terrorized, horrified and even brutalized, what else could you want? I will be adding this one to my DVD collection very soon!!
An highly intelligent, intense, violent, graphic, well acted and directed revenge/thriller in the likes of The Chaser, Death Sentence, I Spit On Your Grave and Law Abiding Citizen in its brutality but quite a step above in its cleverness. The film has an haunting first kill and terrifyingly raw and is pretty much the tone of the rest of the movie and sets up the revenge aspect of the film. The film then introduces us to secret agent Dae-hoon played fearlessly by Byung-hun Lee who is out for revenge after searchers fing his missing fiancee brutally slain and will stop at nothing to find the killer, which is an all too familiar plot and setting but this one pushes the boundaries even more with its twists and turns. Then we get more aquainted with the serial killer Kyung-chul played brilliantly by Min-sik Choi and is menacing in his role but looks like an everyday working man which makes it even more effective and shocking and gives the killer a more human touch than most movies of this kind. The movie’s atomosphere is grim,bleak and filled with dread throughout but when the movie really shines is when the killer and the renegade meet face to face it was so epic and memorable they kick eachothers butt big time as well as play cat and mouse games trying to out smart the other those parts made the film entertaining, edgy and worthwhile but man at times it was hard to say who the real devil was they were both crazy mother fuc!kers and the conclusion made sure of that but in the end they were both regretful but what a shocker of an ending, it was powerful! The pacing was kind of uneven mainly because the movie was way too long at a 141 minutes that’s just too long for a movie like this and in the end it came close but it really didn’t do anything that much different to reignite the genre or make it stand apart from other revenge/thrillers I mean it was good but it wasn’t spectacular and like other revenge/thrillers it was a very hard watch from beginning to end and isn’t for everyone so keep that in mind. Overall it a tad overrated but an solid effort and addition to the revenge/thrillers but they’re all just the same to me and I’m still waiting for one to truely blow me away because this one just didn’t do it but it did slap me around a few times in its brutality, cleverness and ending and has enriching characters you care about but just didn’t quite make it to greatness for me. Rental.
This one of the best movies I’ve seen. I have nothing negative to say about this movie. loved it!
Had to check this one out since I kept on seeing how good people were saying it was and man it was great. Loved it.
I would like to talk to someone who didnt love this.. if you can’t handle heavy amount of violence/torture then you should stay away but if you can handle it and like a great cat and mouse movie loaded with crazy stuff.. then this is your film.. best of its kind.. 5/5
Holy fuck! Theres not a whole lot more you can say about this movie. One of the few movies to come out in the past 15 years or so that people will be talking about 20 years from now.
SICK movie… the taxi scene was intense!!!
I’ll admit. I get nervous when EVERYONE tells me how great a movie is. Well, this was one of those movies that actually lived up to the hype. Yes, the general story is nothing but a retread, but it is so skillfully directed and acted that it sets the whole genre on its head. I’ll be honest, though, I personally didn’t find the movie that intensely gory (gory scenes, yes – INSIDE intense, no), but it was the fact that the characters seemed so damn real to me is what pushed it over the top. It’s beautifully filmed, you could feel the cops pain, and the psycho’s madness. A wonderful movie that is a rare breed in actually living up to the hype.
Wooowww!!! just fucking WOWWW!!
Wow, indeed. This is a film that is unforgettable and I absolutely loved it. I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed it and it will stay with you after you view it!!
The characters were great, the acting is amazing, the directing is excellent and intense, the music score is haunting and disturbing. It’s very atmospheric, brutal, bloody and unapologetic. I highly recommend it!
This movie blew me away. I went in to it without having read up on anything about it (I expected an asian horror film about the devil…), but the result was insanity. A well crafted and extremely brutal tale of revenge. The acting is fantastic and the film is painted with a true artists touch. If your a fan of asian cinema, you can’t afford to miss this. That is, as long as you can stand the etreme brutality.
Is there any doubt that Kim Jee-Woon is the master of revenge films? After watching I saw the Devil, the answer is a resounding yes. One its face, the movie is about a young Special Agent whose fiance has been murdered by a serial killer. When he is handed a list of four suspects, he sets upon a path of vengeance and bloodshed.
For starters, the film is so amazingly well-acted, that I am certain this movie could never be re-made. Specifically I am referring to the chilling performance given by veteran actor Min-sik Choi, known for roles in Old Boy and Lady Vengeance, both stellar revenge movies as well. He ups the ante for killers to the point, that I would put him ahead of both Hannibal Lecter and Chigur from No Country for Old Men and Silence of the Lambs respectively.
At a run time of two hours and twenty-two minutes, you will be subjected to suspense, violence and raw emotion. You will see first hand how an obsession for vengeance can create a monster that is worse than the one first encountered.
In addition to all of this, it also features some intense fight scenes. While not a straight up martial arts film, it is apparent that Special Agent Kim Soo-hyeon is a one man wrecking machine with outstanding hand-to-hand combat skills and some rather impressive gymnastics thrown in. There is a fight scene of sorts in a car which will stand out as one of the wickedest and bloodiest fight scenes that I have ever seen in a movie.
In all honesty I find myself at a loss to convey how evocative I found I Saw the Devil. It is easily the best movie I have seen this year and perhaps one of the better films ever made. It is as complete a story from start to finish as you will find and it will definitely stand up to repeated viewings. Recommended to any and all viewers as an amazing film.
One hell of a good movie about the creation of the ultimate cockblocker 20/10
This movie freaking owns. It’s really not as violent as everybody is making it out to be. But when it is violent, it’s relentless and insane. The taxi cab scene is one of the most amazing scenes ever put to film. And when the torture needs to be there it’s there. I forgot I was watching a movie in subtitles because half the time you kind of knew what they were thinking and talking about. The acting is top knotch. And It’s actually really sad, I almost cried during two scenes. It makes you feel the pain. Yes this movie is not for everyone. But if you have a very strong stomach and can’t take films like this please watch it. Even if you can’t take really intense violence you should watch it. Since it’s very beautifully shot.
SPOILERS…..
The scene where they found the girls head in the lake was one of the beautiful shot scenes ever. I know beautiful is not the word. But if you see it you’ll know what I mean.
End spoiler.
the movie is just brilliant, check it out, it just gets better and better. they even add in some martial arts and park our (I think that’s how you spelt it, I’m to lazy to google it, I’m sorry) too.
This movie was amazing! It pulled me in within the first 2 minutes and didn’t let go until there very last scene. The gore and horror aside, its actually kind of a beautiful story as well. Highly recommended.
Puts mainstream American thriller/horror movies to shame!
My god do foreign films put american ones to shame. This is perhaps one of the single best movies I have ever seen. I fell in love with it in the first 5 minutes. Quite possible my favorite foreign film to date.
From the over-the-top reviews I expected more. It is a good piece of work, though. Cinematography was good, the acting and directing was outstanding, the writing was decent. The story is cliche, but had some original twists in the details. Scary? I wasn’t on the edge of my seat, but I was interested in what was coming. Intense? Sometimes, but mostly just some grossness. A tip of the hat for dealing with the usually taboo element of human feces though!
Unfortunately, the length of the film stretched the story way beyond what it could bear. It also had some poorly done parts like the search of the crime scene in the first 15 minutes or so of the film. Holy crap! What a cluster-f$#%! They had to have hired half of Korea as extras to search one acre, every one of them tromping around on each others feet. When they drag out their prize find and drop it in the street I was laughing hysterically, which blew away my suspension of disbelief. There are a few scenes that will have you roll your eyes.
Very, very good and worth watching, but I’m not going to say it’s awesome just because it’s foreign!
finally got my hands on this movie at best buy and i was blown away. this movie sets a very uncomfortable tone from the very beginning and really builds on that tension throughout. its very well shot and acted and i found myself drawn into the story until the very end. i highly recommend this movie!
Fantastic. This movie was just awesome. Loved the way he fucked with the killer before he finally ended him. Will definitely be adding this to my dvd collection.
I must be missing something. Some brain cells maybe. I found I Saw The Devil unwatchable. Not unwatchable in a good way either. Boring. I have to admit I don’t find these Asian “horror movies” scary in the least. They just seem sort of laughable to me. Not a fan.
Excellent film. Reminds me of a mixture of Silence of the Lambs, and Cape Fear. It is alittle long, two hours would have been fine. The review Mr. Disgusting gave is spot on. Worth watching for sure.
I thought it wasn;t bad it was a little long but Asian movies will generally run long, it did have blood in it and gory to it but I found the plot to be good revenge is always best when thought out.
Alongside Kokuhaku, this is the best horror thriller even since Se7en.
I admit I went into this film with HUGE expectations – I’ve been a fan of Choi Min-sik since watching Old Boy years ago and was excited to see him in the bad guy role. For the first 45 minutes of the film I sat there with a huge grin on my face, occassionally saying “wow” outloud. This film has some fantastically violent scenes (the Achilles tendon one in particular). But as the film went on I became more disappointed. I found the portrayal of the serial killer to be weak – he was so evil that he became almost a caricature and not someone you could really believe in. I appreciate the director’s refusal to tack on a happy ending, but fuller characters (like those in Old Boy) would have elevated this movie into the great category.
This movie had an awesome story and great moral situations. Taking an honoured police officer and pitting him against a ruthless killer who just killed his fiancÃ
I wasnt blown away by this one like alot of people were but i thought it was still very good. The bad guy is the best villain in years, the direction and cinematography is damn good and it makes you think about revenge and instead of just killing the bad guy and having it be happy and satisfying. This aint a happy movie folks and it shouldnt be. On a different note everybody seems to think this is one of the most violent movies ever and dont get me wrong it earns its R rating but its really not that bad. Best serial killer movie since zodiac and best revenge movie since death sentence if not better. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
The best revenge film ever made! What else needs to be said
After hearing all the great buzz on this film, I came away slightly disapointed. Beautiful cinematography coupled with brutal and ugly violence. Brilliant acting, yet somehow the film gets repetative and slightly boring. Flawed but still has a lot of bright points.
just got done watching this movie. WOW! It’s now one of my all time favs. I will probably not watch it again for along time in order to preserve the freshness. It’s that good!
other than being a bit lengthy this was an amazing film, dramatic, suspensful, thrilling
I was preparing myself for the worst with “I Saw The Devil” after hearing all the massive hype surrounding the film, I tried to focus more on the rare negative review, just so that I wouldn’t be disappointed. I was expecting a slow serial killer revenge film, but I only actually got part of that. Korea is easily one of my favourite countries for producing horror/thrillers that are absolutely stunning, “Oldboy”, “The Chaser”, “Lady Vengeance”, “Thrist” and now this. “I Saw The Devil”. Which probably blows all them out the water, as being not just one of the finest Korean horror films I’ve ever seen, but simply one of the best horror films I have ever seen. “I Saw The Devil” wasn’t slow at all! At 2hrs 20mins I was left wanting even more from it as it delivers a fast-moving, action-packed and emotionally charged revenge thriller, which I just found utterly absorbing.
“I Saw The Devil” doesn’t contain the most original story. We’ve all heard of a man who murders another man’s loved one and then he goes on a usually bloody revenge. We’ve seen it done before, but “I Saw The Devil” puts on what seems to be a fresh take. It goes back to the basics and which is probably why it’s so stunning. It doesn’t get too over complex like “Lady Vengeance” it goes to its serial killing roots and delivers a straight tale of revenge. The film focuses on two memorable characters. The first one being our very own “Oldboy” who plays someone very different (well strictly speaking that isn’t true because he played an extremely similar character in “Sympathy For Lady Venegence”.) He plays a complete monster who is obsessed with killing, he doesn’t care who he’s killing or raping, if he wants it, he has it. Someone said that he’s a really bad character because he’s not fleshed out, he’s just a caricature killing machine, but I think that’s actually done to serve a purpose here like, The Bride in “Kill Bill Vol.1″ The director doesn’t allow us to feel any compassion what so ever about him, so we’re completely on the detective’s side. I was left wanting revenge, and he didn’t even kill any one I know of! And let’s not forget here, that he is the devil! He wouldn’t be the devil if he had a sympathetic background story.
The other character is the detective (sorry for labelling the “Killer” and “detective” I’m just not very good with weird Korean names) who is an extremely level-headed and cool, likable character who simply wants revenge, but ends up doing it in the wrong way. It’s his actions that really carry the film along, as he makes one decision after the other, thinking that he’s doing the right thing when actually he’s making things a whole lot worse. It’s very thought-provoking and a lot of care and attention has obviously gone into the screenplay. The characters are thought about in the right way. The execution is also every horror lovers dream! When you want something to happen, it does and so there is no viewer frustration! The film races along perfectly with no glitches at all.
The directing is also mind-blowing. There are some scenes that just look sensational, such as the 360 degree taxi scene and the electrifying first encounter in the green-house and the suspenseful overload in the manor house. It just looks amazing and sometimes my jaw actually fell onto the floor! The fight scenes are some of the best directed scenes I’ve ever seen. And fight scenes are very hard to get right. It sometimes feels like Quentin Tarantino is behind the camera (you can look at that in which ever way you like.) There’s also fantastic use of setting and cinematography with the beautiful snow falling and then the hideously bloody outcome. The directing also makes sure that you’re gripped every step of the way. It’s more like an experience, where we’re going on a journey with the detective, which is why we feel so emotionally invested in his character.
“I Saw The Devil” isn’t afraid of turning up the gore meter either. Like most Korean horror, it doesn’t shy away, yet it doesn’t sink into torture-porn territory. The sometimes unholy amount of blood always serves a purpose and a meaning. It’s intense. By the end of it, there’s also a great moral to the story in their as well. Revenge isn’t always the answer which is a theme explored brilliantly in “7 Days” as well. It left me speechless. “I Saw The Devil” is one of the best horror revenge films I have ever seen, and it should leave all horror fans drooling. It’s perfectly executed with some idiotically amazing directing. Combine this with fabulous music, superb acting, an absorbing script and awe-inspiring cinematography and you have one of the greatest horror films ever made. I saw the devil, and he wasn’t pretty.
I am happy to see everyone is talking about the taxi scene. I watched it four times in a row the first time I saw it. It is one of the best knife scenes of all time.
Hands down my favorite South Korean film, and I’ve seen a hell of a lot. Kim Jee-Woon’s work has a tendency to be a little drawn out, so I was hesitant about watching this when I saw the film’s run-time. But the 2+ hours are definitely worth it.
My only complaint is the main character; I didn’t find him to be very believable and his circumstances felt far too convenient. From what I understand, he’s some sort of highly skilled special agent, and that alone was enough to make me roll my eyes and think “really? It shouldn’t be too hard for him to exact revenge then.”
But that aside, this is an awesome film, and one I always recommend. The acting is great and so is the direction. Choi Min-Sik and Lee Byunghun are superb as usual and as expected.
So close to being completely awesome. It was very, very good, no doubt, but I think 20 minutes shaved off would have made the story so much tighter and rewarding. I know pace changes build interest and depth, but the length of this film requires quite a commitment from the viewer and the pay off should be greater than I Saw The Devil provided.
Another brutal and fascinating revenge tale from S Korea. Thought Choi Min-sik was great in Oldboy, but his take on this serial killer nutjob is even better–gripping and demented. The cat-n-mouse between psycho killer and psycho cop is a real rollercoaster of violence and mindplay that’s culmination is very much worth the 142 mins put into watching it. Big fan of Oldboy; Lady Vengeance not so much–Devil trumps them both.
Holly hell! Awesome movie! Only reason I didnt give it 10 skulls was the whole head dropping scene, made me laugh hysterically, dont think that was intended!
- Lots of absolutely brutal killings
- Clever, engaging plot with phenomenal cinematography
- A lot is accomplished throughout the lengthy film, and it never leaves the viewer feeling even slightly bored