8. The Chaser (2008)
This one was a little harder for me to add to the list as in many ways, The Chaser is not a revenge film, though it does feel like one. Na Hong-jin's blistering debut is one of the most inventive commercial thrillers to ever come out of Korea. In an industry already well known for twisting generic conventions, Na completely put the crime thriller and serial killer genres on their heads, with a healthy measure of horror poured in to boot. The revenge element that sets off the commotion isn't much more than a MacGuffin and when things really get going, it becomes a suspenseful rescue film, though of course, with frustrated and brutal beatings peppering the path, the theme of revenge is never far off.
Through it's innovative narrative, confident and alacritous style and stellar turns from Ha Jung-woo but particularly Kim Yun-seok, The Chaser is a thriller like no other that screams to be seen.
Reviews and features on Korean film appear regularly on Modern Korean Cinema. For film news, external reviews, and box office analysis, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update, Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Korean Reviews, which appear weekly on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings (Korean Standard Time).
No comments:
Post a Comment