Korean cinema is known for serving audiences some of the best thrillers that even rival those of Hollywood, giving them a run for their money. One such movie is I Saw the Devil, directed by Kim Jee-woon, who notably helmed the 2013 Hollywood thriller The Last Stand. This 2010 film is a fusion of horror, tragedy, and nihilism, transcending the revenge-thriller genre.
I Saw the Devil takes the audience on a rollercoaster of a monster-versus-monster saga in which the protagonist is more sinister than the antagonist. It is a psychologically intense piece that highlights the endlessness of retribution. I Saw the Devil also showcases the level to which the human mind descends when confronted by loss and grief.
What Is ‘I Saw the Devil’ All About?
I Saw the Devil revolves around two daredevil characters: one named Kim Soo-Hyeon (Lee Byung-hun), a National Intelligence Service agent, and the other named Jang Kyun-chul (Choi Min-sik), a sadistic serial killer and bus driver. The former embarks on a relentless quest for revenge after the latter brutally murders his pregnant fiancée, Jang Joo-yeon (Oh San-ha), by dismembering and scattering her body parts into a stream. Rather than killing Kyun-chul outrightly, he concocts a plan to make him suffer slowly by capturing, torturing, and releasing him on each occasion.
The movie is not a regular revenge film where vengeance is justified, and the general notion is that balance is restored once a wrong is avenged. Instead, the film’s premise completely deconstructs that idea by indicating the destructive and never-ending cycle of retribution. While the protagonist tries to find closure and peace, he only suffers more when he torments the antagonist. The film’s ability to portray that peace and solace do not come from revenge leaves the audience questioning whether true satisfaction can be derived from vengeance.
Beyond the vengeful arc, I Saw the Devil, through the protagonist, shows how people lose their personality after losing a loved one. This aspect unexpectedly draws the audience towards Kim Soo-Hyeon, but the unexplainable emotions make him repulsive. While the antagonist mirrors the mental instability of broken people and the descent into chaos, the film manages to make the audience understand that Jang Kyun-chul is a savage and a sadist. The rationale behind his actions is open to various interpretations, making his character unpredictable. In the end, there is no better choice between the former and the latter. The only difference is that one has a reason to kill, and the other doesn’t.
‘I Saw the Devil’ Blurs The Line Between Hero And Villain
In typical revenge films, a hero is well-defined as a seeker of justice, with most dark emotions airbrushed. In I Saw the Devil, there’s no such thing. All in all, the protagonist, undergoes one of the most harrowing character transformations in revenge cinema, going from grieving lover to scorned and vengeful. His actions don’t just affect him, but they eventually lead to a handful of deaths that make it hard to draw a fine line between the good and evil.
Initially, Kim Soo-Hyeon is introduced as a highly trained and disciplined NIS agent, a typical hero setup. However, when his fiancée’s dismembered body is found, he immediately transforms into an irregular revenge protagonist who prefers delayed justice by orchestrating a prolonged capture-torture-release strategy for Jang Kyun-chul. As he tracks down the killer and the twisted game begins, his brutal side is gradually revealed, turning him from a hero of justice to an inhuman force of vengeance. With this, the audience faces the dilemma of differentiating him from the very monster he is after.
As the story reaches its peak, the game he plays with the killer causes more harm than good. Innocent people who had no connection with him to begin with end up suffering. Things take a downward spiral when the killer decides to go even further, targeting the family of his dead fiancée. At that point, Kim completely loses sight of justice and the moral high ground, his only aim is to protect the people he loves. Unfortunately, he ends up becoming the same monster he’s hunting down.Â
Ready to dive into the murky grey areas of right and wrong? I Saw the Devil is currently available to stream on Kanopy.
