I Saw the Devil - 看見惡魔

I Saw the Devil (看見惡魔) is a 2010 film out of Korea. The film stars Lee Byung-hun and Choi Min-sik. This was the return vehicle for Choi Min-sik after a 4 year absence.

The movie follows Choi Min-sik as Kyung-chul, a serial killer. Lee Byung-hun plays Soo-hyun, a "secret service" type character. Kyung-chul kills Joo-yun, Soo-hyun's fiance who was pregnant. Joo-yun's father is also a detective that gives Soo-hyun a list of suspects in the killing. Soo-hyun finds Kyung-chul and starts to exact revenge.

The movie is another dark Korean triller for me. Seems all the recent Korean movies I watch are laden with evil from even the main protagonist. In this case, its Soo-hyun's desire to exact revenge on Kyung-chul. The surprising thing is that this film was picked up for limited release in the US. Maybe its for the name and face recognition of Lee Byung-hun and Choi Min-sik, but the movie's subject matter is really dark.

I thought this was an interesting movie selection for both Lee Byung-hun and Choi Min-sik. Choi's last role in Sympathy for Lady Vengeance wasn't very normal. And Choi's character in Oldboy isn't one to write home about either. So, for Choi, its both a surprise and not completely shocking.

Lee however is another story. Lee's riding a wave of international goodwill with G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and The Good, The Bad, The Weird. Lee's role in this movie will definitely put a lot of people off in the international realm. The role's character never develops into someone you care about. You're on his side because the antagonist is so evil. Next up for Lee is the second Joe movie. Hopefully this movie isn't a measuring stick for him.

In all, I thought the movie was well made around a plot point of revenge to the evil-doer. However, all the other elements around that plot made for an uneasy watch. Took me over 4 days to finish, because I lost interest or I just felt so uneasy as the moments developed. Another thing was that I was predicting all the major plot points to add to my uneasiness. Which means that I am saying to myself to skip this and go find a light hearted Korean film like Marrying The Mafia or Take Off.