I Saw the Devil

I Saw the Devil (Korean: 악마를 보았다; Hanja: 惡魔를 보았다; RR: Angmareul boatda) is a 2010 South Korean action thriller film[3] directed by Kim Jee-woon and written by Park Hoon-jung. Starring Lee Byung-hun and Choi Min-sik, the film follows NIS agent Kim Soo-hyun (Lee), who embarks on a quest of revenge when his fiancée is brutally murdered by the psychopathic serial killer Jang Kyung-chul (Choi). I Saw the Devil made its premiere in the United States at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and had a limited U.S theatrical release.[4]

I Saw the Devil
Theatrical release poster
Hangul악마를 보았다
Hanja惡魔를 보았다
Revised RomanizationAkmareul boatda
McCune–ReischauerAkmarŭl poatta
Directed byKim Jee-woon
Produced byKim Hyun-woo
Written byPark Hoon-jung
StarringLee Byung-hun
Choi Min-sik
Music byMowg
CinematographyLee Mo-gae
Edited byNam Na-yeong
Production
company
Peppermint & Company
Distributed bySoftbank Ventures Korea
Showbox/Mediaplex (South Korea)
Magnet Releasing (US & Canada)
Release date
  • 12 August 2010 (2010-08-12) (South Korea)
  • 21 January 2011 (2011-01-21) (Sundance)
  • 4 March 2011 (2011-03-04) (US & Canada)
Running time
141 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
BudgetUS$6 million[1]
Box officeUS$12.8 million[2]

I Saw the Devil was Choi Min-sik's first major role since the changes to the Korean screen quota system.[5]

Plot

One night, a school-bus driver named Jang Kyung-chul encounters a pregnant woman named Jang Joo-yun, and offers to fix her flat tire. After beating her unconscious, Kyung-chul executes her with a makeshift guillotine at his home, and scatters the body-parts into a local stream. When a boy discovers one of Joo-yun's ears, the police arrive en masse to conduct a search, led by Section Chief Oh and Squad Chief Jang, the latter being Joo-yun's devastated father. The victim's fiance, Kim Soo-hyun, who is an agent of the National Intelligence Service, is also present and vows to take revenge against the murderer. Soo-hyun learns of the four suspects from Squad Chief Jang, and proceeds to privately torture and interrogate two of them. Upon searching the home of Kyung-chul, the third suspect, Soo-hyun finds Joo-yun's engagement-ring, proving that Kyung-chul was the perpetrator. A short time later, as Kyung-chul brings a schoolgirl home and sexually assaults her, Soo-hyun beats him unconscious. Rather than killing Kyung-chul and being done with it, Soo-hyun decides to shove a GPS tracker down his throat, allowing him to see Kyung-chul's location in real-time, and to listen to his conversations. Waking up injured, Kyung-chul walks along the road and is offered a ride by a taxi already containing one passenger. Upon getting in, and correctly guessing that the driver and passenger are, in fact, two bandits intending to rob and murder him, one being Soo-hyun's unvisited fourth suspect, he strikes out preemptively and kills them both, afterward finding the body of the real taxi-driver in the trunk. Kyung-chul throws out all three bodies, and drives to a small town where he sexually assaults a nurse. Soo-hyun arrives to subdue him, and slashes his Achilles tendon before releasing him once more.

Kyung-chul visits the home of his friend Tae-joo, a murderer and cannibal. After explaining his situation to Tae-joo, the latter remarks that whoever is after him must be the relative of one of his victims; Kyung-chul consequently deduces Soo-hyun's identity after recalling Joo-yun's engagement-ring, which Soo-hyun had put on before attacking him previously. Soo-hyun arrives and incapacitates both murderers along with Tae-joo's girlfriend. The next day, Tae-joo and Se-jung, still unconscious, are arrested by the police and sent to the hospital. Soo-hyun's trusted subordinate arranges for Soo-hyun and Kyung-chul to evade the police and receive treatment for their wounds at a separate facility. The barely conscious Kyung-chul hears Soo-hyun and the subordinate talking about the transmitter. Soo-hyun releases Kyung-chul again, but the latter outsmarts Soo-hyun by removing the transmitter this time and dashing away, but not before slashing the throat of a pharmacist. Soo-hyun enters Tae-joo's hospital room to question him, and learns too late that Kyung-chul is going after Squad Chief Jang and his other daughter Jang Se-yun. Angered, he breaks Tae-joo's jaw. Kyung-chul arrives at the house of Squad Chief Jang, and proceeds to brutally assault Squad Chief Jang and Jang Se-yun, killing them. Shortly after, Kyung-chul attempts to avoid Soo-hyun's revenge by surrendering to the police. However, Soo-hyun drives by and kidnaps Kyung-chul right in front of the police's eyes. Taking him to the earlier warehouse, Soo-hyun tortures him and places him under the makeshift guillotine. Kyung-chul's son and elderly parents, whom he had abandoned some time ago, are told of his whereabouts and try to visit him. Upon opening the door, the guillotine is dropped and Kyung-chul's head rolls to their feet. With Kyung-chul finally dead, Soo-hyun, who was listening through the transmitter some distance away, emotionally breaks down and begins crying in the street.

Cast

Alternate versions

The Korea Media Rating Board forced Kim to recut the film for its theatrical release, objecting to its violent content. The film received a "Restricted" rating twice, preventing any sort of release in theatres or on home video and promotions as well.[7] Seven cuts were made with the total runtime of removed material between eighty and ninety seconds.[8]

Release

I Saw the Devil was released in South Korea on August 12, 2010. The film premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival on 21 January 2011.[4] It also received screenings at several other international film festivals, including the Fantasporto Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Sitges Film Festival, San Sebastian Film Festival and the London Korean Film Festival.[9]

North American distribution rights were acquired by Magnet Releasing which released it on a limited basis on March 4, 2011.[10][11] Optimum Releasing distributed the film in the United Kingdom.[12]

Critical reception

The review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 81%, with a weighted average of 7.13 out of 10, based on 83 reviews from critics. The website's "Critics Consensus" says the film is "Never flinching during its descent into depravity, [...] a pulverizing thriller that will give bloody satisfaction to audiences who like their revenge served with fiery rage."[13] On Metacritic the film received "Generally favorable reviews," with a weighted average of 67 out of 100, based on 19 reviews.[14]

Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times wrote, "From an unexpectedly moving first act to a hilariously disgusting sojourn with Kyung-chul’s cannibal pal, Mr. Kim and his cinematographer, Lee Mogae, retain complete control of the film’s fluctuating tones and impressive set pieces."[15] Mark Olson of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "There is all the violent mayhem, for certain, but the thing that sets I Saw the Devil apart is its undercurrent of real emotion and how unrelentingly sad it can be."[16] Rob Nelson from Variety magazine stated, "Repugnant content, grislier than the ugliest torture porn, ought to have made the film unwatchable, but it doesn't, simply because Kim's picture is so beautifully filmed, carefully structured and viscerally engaging."[17] Horror website Bloody Disgusting gave it a 4.5/5 rating and stated, "I could talk for hours about I Saw the Devil, but nothing I can say will ever do it justice. The film is an experience; it’s something that will have you emotionally invested in the characters, while also covering your eyes at the extreme violence,"[18] whereas Empire awarded the film with a 4/5 score, stating, "This gleefully black horror-thriller is a very classy follow-up to The Good, the Bad, the Weird for Kim Jee-Woon."[19] Phelim O'Neil from The Guardian wrote, "There's no shortage of Korean revenge-thrillers, but this, along with the recent The Man from Nowhere, proves there is plenty of life left in the genre" and gave it a four star rating out five.[20]

Not all critics were favorable towards the film's brutality; Mark Jenkins of The Washington Post wrote, "Director Kim Jee-woon is a born filmmaker, even if this script (written by Park Hoon Jung and adapted by Kim) is unworthy of his efforts" and rated it 2 out of 5 stars.[21] The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "On any number of levels, Devil is troublesome at best, offensive at worst."[22]

Rolling Stone magazine put I Saw the Devil in the top 20 of "the scariest movies you've never seen."[23]

Awards and nominations

Award Category Nominee(s) Result
Asian Film Awards Best Editor Nam Na-yeong Won
Best Cinematographer Lee Mo-gae Nominated
Austin Film Critics Association Best Foreign Language Film I Saw the Devil Won
Best Film Nominated
Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Actor Lee Byung-hun Nominated
Best Cinematography Lee Mo-gae Won
Best Art Direction Cho Hwa-sung Nominated
Best Music Mowg Won
Technical Award Jeong Do-an, Lee Hee-kyung
(Special Effects)		 Nominated
2011 Baeksang Arts Awards Grand Prize (Daesang) Lee Byung-hun Won
Best Actor Nominated
Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film Golden Raven I Saw the Devil Won
Central Ohio Film Critics Association Best Foreign Language Film Nominated
Fangoria Chainsaw Awards Best Foreign Language Film Nominated
Best Actor Choi Min-sik Nominated
Fantasporto Film Festival Best Film I Saw the Devil Won
Best Director Kim Jee-woon Won
Fright Meter Awards Best Horror Movie I Saw the Devil Nominated
Best Director Kim Jee-woon Won
Grand Bell Awards Best Film I Saw the Devil Nominated
Best Actor Lee Byung-hun Nominated
Best Actor Choi Min-sik Nominated
Best Cinematography Lee Mo-gae Nominated
Best Lighting Oh Seung-chul Won
Best Costume Design Kwon Yu-jin Nominated
Gérardmer Film Festival Audience Award I Saw the Devil Won
Critics Award Kim Jee-woon Won
Special Jury Prize Kim Jee-woon Won
Youth Jury Grand Prize I Saw the Devil Won
Houston Film Critics Society Awards Best Foreign Language Film Won
Scream Awards Best Horror Movie Nominated
Best Villain Choi Min-sik Nominated
Best Independent Movie Kim Jee-woon Nominated
St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards Best Foreign Language Film I Saw the Devil Nominated
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards Best Foreign Language Film Nominated

Home media

The film was released on DVD as a three-disc set, which contains both the Korean theatrical version and international version, in South Korea on 29 March 2011.[24] The DVD and Blu-ray for the US and Canadian markets were released on May 10, 2011.[25]

See also
  • Ek Villain, a 2014 Bollywood film one reviewer said was inspired by I Saw the Devil.[26]
  • It was reported that the concept of implanting electronic bug (GPS + audio transmitter) and monitoring the plan from this film was used in the 2015 Indian Tamil-language film Thani Oruvan which the Tamil director denied as co-incidence.[27]

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-06-26. Retrieved 2012-09-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Boxofficemojo". Boxofficemojo. Retrieved March 04, 2012.
  3. "I Saw the Devil (2010) - Ji-woon Kim". AllMovie.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-02-19. Retrieved 2011-02-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. Brown, Todd (28 May 2010). "I Saw the Devil Teaser Arrives". Archived from the original on 13 December 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  6. Kang, Myoung-Seok (19 August 2010). "Lee Byung-hun says "'Devil' makes you think of what you get out of revenge"". Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  7. Sunhee, Han (9 August 2010). "Korea restricts 'Devil'". Variety.
  8. Brown, Todd (13 August 2010). "I SAW THE DEVIL Trimmed By Seven Cuts, Not By Seven Minutes". Twitch. Archived from the original on 2011-04-12. Retrieved 2011-03-10.
  9. "I Saw the Devil (2010)" – via www.imdb.com.
  10. Truong, Peggy. "Magnet sees 'Devil'". Variety. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  11. Daley, Ryan. "Sundance '11 REVIEW: A Second Look at 'I Saw the Devil'". Bloody Disgusting.
  12. Sunhee, Han (31 May 2010). "Optimum nabs 'I Saw the Devil'". Variety. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  13. "I Saw the Devil". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  14. "Metacritic: I Saw the Devil". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  15. Catsoulis, Jeannette (3 March 2011). "'I Saw the Devil' - Review". The New York Times.
  16. Olsen, Mark (4 March 2011). "Movie review: 'I Saw the Devil'". Los Angeles Times.
  17. Nelson, Rob (20 September 2010). "I Saw the Devil". Variety.
  18. "I Saw the Devil". Bloody Disgusting. 20 January 2011.
  19. "I Saw the Devil". Empire.
  20. "I Saw the Devil". The Guardian.
  21. "I Saw the Devil". Washington Post.
  22. "I Saw the Devil". The Hollywood Reporter.
  23. "I saw the devil".
  24. "YESASIA: I Saw the Devil (DVD) (3-Disc) (First Press Limited Edition) (Korea Version) DVD - Lee Byung Hun, Choi Min Sik, Planis - Korea Movies & Videos - Free Shipping". www.yesasia.com.
  25. Calonge, Juan (9 March 2011). "I Saw the Devil Blu-ray Announced". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  26. Kumar, Anuj (27 June 2014). "Ek Villain: Anatomy of an antagonist" – via www.thehindu.com.
  27. "The 'Remake' continues."
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