Welcome back to Let’s Scare Bryan to Death, where this month I have a very interesting treat. Those who remember my interview with Alexandra West about the movie Pyewacket know we both loved it, so this month I’m thrilled to have a chat with the film’s director, Adam MacDonald, who you might also know from his film Backcountry and the third season of Slasher.
For this month’s film, we’re taking a look at MacDonald’s favorite of all time, a South Korean thriller from Hong-jin Na called The Chaser (2008). Now, I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical based on the synopsis provided by IMDb: A disgraced ex-policeman who runs a small ring of prostitutes finds himself in a race against time when one of his women goes missing.
From that synopsis I was expecting something overly stylized and action-oriented like Taken,...
For this month’s film, we’re taking a look at MacDonald’s favorite of all time, a South Korean thriller from Hong-jin Na called The Chaser (2008). Now, I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical based on the synopsis provided by IMDb: A disgraced ex-policeman who runs a small ring of prostitutes finds himself in a race against time when one of his women goes missing.
From that synopsis I was expecting something overly stylized and action-oriented like Taken,...
- 3/11/2020
- by Bryan Christopher
- DailyDead
Here's the thing... people need to stop traveling to remote islands. Things just never work out there. Locals are never friendly, and if you're lucky, by the time you leave you may just have most of your pieces intact.
From the Press Release
Yeong-hie Seo (The Chaser) and Seong-won Ji (Harmony) star in director Chul-soo Jang's chilling first feature Bedevilled (review here), debuting on Blu-ray™, DVD, and Digital October 9th from Well Go USA Entertainment. When her pleas for help are ignored and cause her daughter's death, a woman seeks revenge on the person she blames. Bedevilled won the Audience Award for “Best Film” and Yeong-hie Seo was named “Best Actress” at Austin’s 2010 Fantastic Fest. In addition, the film was awarded the Grand Prize as Best Film at the 2011 Gérardmer Film Festival and Yeong-hie Seo won “Best Actress” at the 2011 Fantasporto International Fantasy Film Award. Bonus features include a behind-the-scenes featurette.
From the Press Release
Yeong-hie Seo (The Chaser) and Seong-won Ji (Harmony) star in director Chul-soo Jang's chilling first feature Bedevilled (review here), debuting on Blu-ray™, DVD, and Digital October 9th from Well Go USA Entertainment. When her pleas for help are ignored and cause her daughter's death, a woman seeks revenge on the person she blames. Bedevilled won the Audience Award for “Best Film” and Yeong-hie Seo was named “Best Actress” at Austin’s 2010 Fantastic Fest. In addition, the film was awarded the Grand Prize as Best Film at the 2011 Gérardmer Film Festival and Yeong-hie Seo won “Best Actress” at the 2011 Fantasporto International Fantasy Film Award. Bonus features include a behind-the-scenes featurette.
- 8/27/2012
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Bedevilled – The Award-Winning, International Hit Revenge Horror Film Debuts on Blu-ray®, DVD and Digital October 9th
Bonus Features Include a Behind-the-Scenes Featurette
Yeong-hie Seo (The Chaser) and Seong-won Ji (Harmony) star in Director Chul-soo Jang chilling first feature Bedevilled, debuting on Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital October 9th from Well Go USA Entertainment. When her pleas for help are ignored and cause her daughter’s death, a woman seeks revenge on the person she blames.… More...
Bonus Features Include a Behind-the-Scenes Featurette
Yeong-hie Seo (The Chaser) and Seong-won Ji (Harmony) star in Director Chul-soo Jang chilling first feature Bedevilled, debuting on Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital October 9th from Well Go USA Entertainment. When her pleas for help are ignored and cause her daughter’s death, a woman seeks revenge on the person she blames.… More...
- 8/27/2012
- by HorrorNews.net
- Horror News
Year: 2010
Director: Chul-soo Jang
Writer: Kwang-young Choi
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: Marina Antunes
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Revenge can be an ugly thing and in movies, particularly those trickling in from the east, they're a particularly popular trope. Some of the best are hugely entertaining, action packed extravaganzas but in the case of Chul-soo Jang's debut Bedevilled, revenge is a dish best served after settling.
It opens in Seoul with Hae-won, a beautiful woman with attitude who is asked to take a vacation. She meanders around the city for a few days before setting off to a small island where, as a child, she had spent some time with her grandparents. Nothing much has changed since Hae-won's youth and she quickly, though reluctantly at first, re-ignites her friendship with Bok-nam, a young woman who lives on the island with her daughter, her husband and her husband's family who...
Director: Chul-soo Jang
Writer: Kwang-young Choi
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: Marina Antunes
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Revenge can be an ugly thing and in movies, particularly those trickling in from the east, they're a particularly popular trope. Some of the best are hugely entertaining, action packed extravaganzas but in the case of Chul-soo Jang's debut Bedevilled, revenge is a dish best served after settling.
It opens in Seoul with Hae-won, a beautiful woman with attitude who is asked to take a vacation. She meanders around the city for a few days before setting off to a small island where, as a child, she had spent some time with her grandparents. Nothing much has changed since Hae-won's youth and she quickly, though reluctantly at first, re-ignites her friendship with Bok-nam, a young woman who lives on the island with her daughter, her husband and her husband's family who...
- 7/13/2011
- QuietEarth.us
Chul-soo Yang’s Bedevilled (2010) is a slow burning South Korean psychological thriller that hits hard at the end, which is the reason why it wouldn’t be categorised as a film for the faint hearted. In fact, it is somewhat difficult to categorise it in a genre altogether. It would probably be wrong to call it a horror, a drama or a revenge film although it has elements of all three. It is, in the end, a film concerning human nature driven to extremities.
Hae-won (Seong-won Ji) is a young middle class woman with sociopathic tendencies. Cold and distant, she seems to avoid any type of personal involvement, which affects her life in all its aspects. She refuses to identify the authors of a rape, denies any help to a desperate elderly customer at work and slaps one of her colleagues - as a result of which she is forcefully...
Hae-won (Seong-won Ji) is a young middle class woman with sociopathic tendencies. Cold and distant, she seems to avoid any type of personal involvement, which affects her life in all its aspects. She refuses to identify the authors of a rape, denies any help to a desperate elderly customer at work and slaps one of her colleagues - as a result of which she is forcefully...
- 3/1/2011
- by Daniel Green
- CineVue
Chul-soo Yang’s debut feature as director is 50 percent revenge story and 50 percent morality tale. It’s quite a harsh film, unflinching in its brutality, but all the more effective for it. Bedevilled can come across as a bit manipulative towards the audience but none more so than the average crap that Hollywood seems to churn out every week. It’s a film that craves your attention.
The depravity and downright nastiness that one of the main characters is exposed to in the film is shot with just the right amount of tension so the narrative never feels overworked or overdone. And while it works towards a very obvious finale it features a great mix of direction, photography and acting which elevates it way above average. Unlike the recent I Spit On Your Grave remake the violence and sexual abuse never feels staged and unrealistic, therefore, giving the film a more authentic feel.
The depravity and downright nastiness that one of the main characters is exposed to in the film is shot with just the right amount of tension so the narrative never feels overworked or overdone. And while it works towards a very obvious finale it features a great mix of direction, photography and acting which elevates it way above average. Unlike the recent I Spit On Your Grave remake the violence and sexual abuse never feels staged and unrealistic, therefore, giving the film a more authentic feel.
- 2/25/2011
- by Alex Wagner
- FilmShaft.com
Jang Cheol-soo's Korean slasher flick 'Bedevilled' is set to hit UK stores at the end of this month when it arrives on the British Isles on DVD and Blu-ray. The nasty tale of a revenge filled, sickle wielding mother whom goes on a rampage against her daughter's tormentors, with a very Korean 'I Spit On Your Grave' feel to it. It stars Min-ho Hwang, Min Je, Lee Ji-eun-i, Seong-won Ji, Jeong-hak Park, Yeong-hee Seo and will arrive on 28 February 2011....
- 2/9/2011
- Horror Asylum
A film like Hong-Jin’s The Chaser is the exception to the rule for shock-based serial killer films. Speaking as someone who actively avoids most women-in-peril horror pics, I was relieved to find that this Korean offering manages to unhinge and electrify its audience without resorting to loathsome or deviant imagery.
Recently William Monahan and Leonardo DiCaprio have showed interest in an American remake of it. I can see why.
The Chaser creates a believable and incredibly real environment out of the night-time streets of Seoul, and draws the focus not on gruesome torture or misogyny but on a critique of the justice system in Korea, which allows a murdering sociopath to go free even after he’s been apprehended by authorities.
At the same time, the film is a captivating and poignant study of a man who has crossed over so many moral and personal boundaries that it requires...
Recently William Monahan and Leonardo DiCaprio have showed interest in an American remake of it. I can see why.
The Chaser creates a believable and incredibly real environment out of the night-time streets of Seoul, and draws the focus not on gruesome torture or misogyny but on a critique of the justice system in Korea, which allows a murdering sociopath to go free even after he’s been apprehended by authorities.
At the same time, the film is a captivating and poignant study of a man who has crossed over so many moral and personal boundaries that it requires...
- 2/25/2010
- by Nathan Bartlebaugh
- Atomic Popcorn
The Chaser (Chugyeogja) Directed by: Hong-jin Na Cast: Yun-seok Kim, Jung-woo Ha, Yeong-hie Seo Running Time: 2 hrs Rating: Unrated (for adults) 32nd Portland International Film Festival Country: South Korea English?: No, but subtitled in English. Plot: Police Detective turned pimp Joong-ho (Kim) runs low on ladies, so when a seedy client calls, he forces ailing Mi-jin to take the job. Unfortunately, this client happens to be a total whack-job. Joong-Ho goes off to catch the client and find Mi-jin and in the process has a really wild night. Who’s It For? Adults who aren't squeamish. I'd recommend it to fans of other recent South Korean films like Oldboy and The Host. Overall Do you love tense thrillers, but just wish there was a little police farce thrown in? Do you like your heroes...
- 2/8/2009
- The Scorecard Review
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