Overview of I Saw the Devil
‘I Saw the Devil’ starring Lee Byung-hun and Choi Min-sik is a 2010 psychological horror thriller directed by Kim Jee-woon. Lee Byung-hun stars as the NIS officer who tries to avenge Jang Kyung-chul (as Choi Min-sik) the psychopath who brutally kills women. The film was critically acclaimed and received several awards. It was distributed by Showbox in South Korea and Magnet Releasing in the United States.
Profile
- Name: I Saw the Devil
- Genre: Horror, Psychological Thriller, Crime
- Starring: Lee Byung-hun, Choi Min-sik
- Directed by: Kim Jee-woon
- Produced by: Kim Hyun-woo
- Production Companies: Peppermint & Company, SoftBank Ventures Korea, Finecut
- Written by: Park Hoon-jung
- Cinematography: Lee Mo-gae
- Release dates: 12 August 2010 in South Korea, 21 January 2011 in Sundance and 4 March 2011 in US and Canada
- Edited by: Nam Na-yeong
- Distributed by: Showbox (South Korea), Magnet Releasing (United States)
- Music by: Mowg
- Running time: 144 minutes
- Language: Korean
- Country: South Korea
Cast
- Lee Byung-hun as Kim Soo-hyun
- Choi Min-sik as Jang Kyung-chul
- Nam Bo-ra as Section Chief Oh’s daughter
- Chun Ho-jin as Section Chief Oh
- Oh San-ha as Jang Joo-yun
- Jeon Gook-hwan as Squad Chief Jang
- Kim Yoon-seo as Jang Se-yun
- Jung Ji-yoon as a high student
- Choi Moo-sung as Tae-joo
- Kim In-seo as Se-jung
- Ha Seung-ri as a high student
- Chae-young Yoon as a nurse
Synopsis
Jang Joo-yun’s car breaks down on an isolated road on a snowy night. She is the wife of an NIS officer and is pregnant with his baby. She calls Kim Soo-hyun, her husband and he tells her to stay safe until the truck he arranges to take her and the car reaches. As told Joo-yun waits inside the car.
That time, a yellow van comes to the scene, and a man named Jang Kyung-chul approaches Joo-yun, offering help. Joo-yun politely denies the offer, saying she is expecting a truck arranged by her husband. Kyung-chul goes back and comes with a hard material to break her window. He drags an unconscious Joo-yun through the snow and takes her to his butchering place at the back of his house.
Joo-yun opens her eyes and finds out she is naked and wrapped in a plastic bag. She pleads with him to let her go. However, Kyung-chul cruelly cuts her body into pieces. Her wedding ring drifts off from her finger into the drainage’s opening. The next day, a boy finds her body part in a black plastic cover near a river. The police soon start to search the area.
Out of curiosity, Soo-hyun and Joo-yun’s father reach the river bank. After a long day’s search, the police find the head of Joo-yun. They place it in a box, but in a rush, the officer carrying the box tumbles down, causing the box in his hand to open. Both Soo-hyun and Joo-yun’s father are shocked to see Joo-yun’s head. Since no other body parts are found, they arrange a funeral only using the head.
The miserable death of his wife prompts Soo-hyun to avenge the psycho killer. He collects the details of the three primary suspects. After beating the born out of the bodies of the first two suspects, Soo-hyun understood they were not involved in Joo-yun’s death. Finally, Soo-hyun reaches Kyung-chul’s house. Taking with his family, Soo-hyun learns Kyung-chul has not visited his house in a long time. However, his son gives Soo-hyun the address of Kyung-chul’s current residence.
Soo-hyun finds the house of Kyung-chul, and surprisingly, he lives in a well-organised house with many locked drawers. He opens the drawer only to find the innerwears, accessories, and clothes of the kidnapped women. In the meantime, Kyung-chul, at the backside of his house, makes arrangements to kill a girl that he recently caught. His plans are interpreted when he sees Soo-hyun. They start fighting, and instead of killing Kyung-chul, Soo-hyun installs a GPS tracker in Kyung-chul’s body and breaks his arm.
To treat his wounds Kyung-chul goes to a hospital. He gets interested in a beautiful nurse. When nobody is around, he sneaks into the rooms and starts harassing her. Through the device installed in Kyung-chul’s body, Soo-hyun is listening to all his talks. He rushes into the hospital and saves the nurse. Later, Soo-hyun cuts Kyung-chul’s foot and asks the nurse to treat him.
Soo-hyun dumbs the wounded Kyung-chul on a road. From there, Kyung-chul goes to his friend’s house. His friend Tae-joo, a similar psychopath and cannibal, assures him that the one who haunts Kyung-chul must have lost his loved ones at the hands of Kyung-chul. He racks his brain, and the wedding ring that he saw on Soo-hyun’s hand flashes through Kyung-chul’s mind.
Kyung-chul hears a sudden noise from the kitchen and finds Soo-hyun fighting with Tae-joo. The next day, the police arrest Tae-joo and his girlfriend at his house. Soo-hyun takes Kyung-chul with him. Helped by Soo-hyun’s subordinate, they get their wounds treated. When Kyung-chul wakes up, he overhears about the GPS tracker installed in his body. He uses laxatives to excrete it from his body and installs the tracker on the body of a taxi driver.
Kyung-chul goes after Joo-yun’s father and sister and kills them. He then surrenders to the police to escape from Soo-hyun. However, Soo-hyun abducts Kyung-chul and takes him to his butcher house. Kyung-chul’s courage drains when he learns his parents and his only son are on their way to meet him. The moment his family opens the door, the blade set by Soo-hyun drops on his neck, triggered by his action. After killing his enemy, Soo-hyun walks away in tears.
Theme
‘I Saw the Devil’ is a vengeance story of a husband towards the psycho killer of his wife’s murder. To make him know the feeling of pain he makes severe wounds on the killer’s body every time they encounter.
Awards
- Asian Film Awards
Best Editor – Nam Na-yeong - Austin Film Critics Association
Best Foreign Language Film - Blue Dragon Film Awards
Best Cinematography – Lee Mo-gae
Best Music – Mowg - 2011Â Baeksang Arts Awards
Grand Prize (Daesang) – Lee Byung-hun
Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film
Golden Raven – ‘I Saw the Devil’ - Fantasporto Film Festival
Best Film
Best Director – Kim Jee-woon
Fright Meter Awards – ‘I Saw the Devil’
Best Director – Kim Jee-woon - Grand Bell AwardsÂ
Best Lighting – Oh Seung-chul - Gérardmer Film FestivalÂ
Audience Award – ‘I Saw the Devil’
Critics Award – Kim Jee-woon
Special Jury Prize – Kim Jee-woon
Youth Jury Grand Prize – ‘I Saw the Devil’ - Houston Film Critics Society Awards
Best Foreign Language Film
Interesting Facts about I Saw the Devil
- Rolling Stone magazine in 2014 and Jim Vorel of Paste magazine in 2019 claimed ‘I Saw the Devil’ as the best horror movie released in 2010.
- ‘I Saw the Devil’ was premiered in several International film festivals like  2011 Sundance Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Fantasporto Film Festival, San Sebastian Film Festival, Sitges Film Festival and the London Korean Film Festival.
- Due to the depiction of extreme violence, ‘I Saw the Devil’ was rated “Restricted” twice in theatres and on home videos.
FAQs
- When is the movie ‘I Saw the Devil’ released?
‘I Saw the Devil’ was released on 12 August 2010 in South Korea. - Who is the director of ‘I Saw the Devil’?
Kim Jee-woon is the director of ‘I Saw the Devil’. - What is the Instagram ID of Lee Byung-hun?
@byunghun0712.
