I have grown to like Korean movies. I generally have little tolerance for the schizoid nihilism of Japanese films or the flowery fantasies of Chinese films. But the Korean film industry, with its Hollywood level photography and excellent sound tracks—and acting generally superior to American performances—has roped me in. But then again, I’m still just sampling, nibbling around the edges of Asian film.

I Saw The Devil is the story of a serial killer and the husband of his most prominent victim, who happens to be a secret agent, I suppose of an agency similar to the American CIA. The theme is overtly Nietzschean, essentially an action thriller meditation on who is worse, the criminal or the avenger. This is as if Charles Bronson was cast as a vigilante in Silence of The Lambs instead of Jody Foster being cast as an FBI investigator.

Overall I like the feel of the movie a lot. The lead victim and the avenger are apparently the Brad and Angelina of Korean film. The Korean actresses—with the exception of one skank criminal—are incredibly beautiful, and the story requires we watch their butchery. The director thankfully did not dwell on this nearly as graphically as he could have. The worst of the violence actually involves three criminals fighting it out in a moving car with knives. The knife use in I Saw The Devil is extremely realistic, with the lead villain never without a blade or shank. There are aspects of heroic movie making where the hand-to-hand combat is concerned, which are redeemed by the intense brutality of the scenes.

My complaint about the movie—and of the other films I have seen in this genre—is the ‘keystone cop’ nature of the police. I am not a fan of hero cop storytelling. But it is hard to imagine real cops anywhere being such clowns crowded together, especially during chase scenes. This did not jibe well with the very authentic banter between the cops and criminals. I suppose it is a common trope in this genre.

The gore level did not render this unwatchable for me, who cannot sit through a Saw or Hostel viewing. If you don’t mind subtitles check it out.