I Saw the Devil

2014 was the time when I watched "Ek villain" on a "4 movies in 1" cd from a local video shop. I thought, despite the filmmakers shamelessly stealing the movie remake right and churning it into an emotional bait, the movie did well with its soul stirring music and some good acting, especially by Ritesh Deshmukh Later in 2017 or so, I found out the movie it was "loosely" based on was the movie called "I saw the Devil" and for a long time, I just thought, what was the point of me watching it anymore? I had already watched an emotionally saturated indian version of it. But fast forward to 2026, I wanted a thriller movie after watching some real slow burners and I don't even know how I was reminded of the movie but I said YOLO and pressed play. I saw the Devil is a crime thriller that on a surface feels like an usual cat and mouse chase but within it lies a tale of revenge, vengeance, grief and dehumnaization and how humans that are blinded by it can turn into something totally sinister and how quickly the lines of morality gets blurred. There are some wonderful shots here. Not for the faint of the heart as the director does not shy from gore and other gross stuff. One specific shot of the camera constantly on the move inside a vehicle as chaos ensues within it, was just priceless. The confined space and lack of stable visual orientation keeps the scene chaotic and terrifying. Truly a thriller that leaves no stone unturned. Lee Byung-hun, this man is such an underrated gem of an actor. I was totally spellbound by his performance in the heavily underrated "No Other Choice" by "Park Chan-Wook" and I was so pleasantly surprised to see him here again. He plays this greiving fiance that gets sucked in this dark hole of revenge and vengeance so well and the way he plays this restrained version of the character with such cold exterior yet you see the pain caused to him, linger around him constantly. Such a great actor again doing his job amazingly. Choi Min-sik, "Oldboy"?? HELLO? There is no sign of him whatsoever, I didn't see an actor, I didn't even see a human, tbh. Just like the title, I saw the literal embodiment of a devil. He drowns inside the role of this sick, pathetic and relentless killer that has no sense of morality and remorse. Whilst Bollywood is obsessed with layering thier antagonists with a cause or reasoning. Choi Min-sik's Kyung-Chul has none and it should stay like that because no amount of sad backstory can justify such character and there is no reason to humanize such character. The cat and mouse chase between these two and the accursed dynamic they share is the crux of the movie. The director also flips the script on this saga of revenge and makes us as audience to also contemplate the sinking feeling of revenge just like Lee Byung-hun's character. I came thinking I would be just watching an original movie which was already spoiled by its mid remake but I left the movie absolutely mind blown and finding the remake couldn't even come close to it was such an euphoric feeling. A classic south korean thriller that was unapologetic and went to those dark places and themes that barely get a light on.