4 of the Best movies ever made involving serial killers - South Korean movie review + reccomendations
I've met some Korean people in real life and unfortunately I only discovered the best bits about their culture after all those people went back to their homes. There was Samsung and LG which I do think make good products and there is K-Pop which I think is nice. I really really wish the clothing stores in my country were run by Koreans because I swear to you Koreans and the Japanese are the only ones that have a real sense of Men's fashion that I can get behind. I can't stand drama and K-Drama isn't that different but when I finally got into watching Korean movies....... boy that was a treat. Recently I wrote about My Top 3 Korean Movies to Watch.Then today I came across this stupidity.
I used to think of Friends as an over expensive piece of garbage costing $10 million per episode and it's naive and vanilla and I don't think it could have been offensive even if they tried. But talking about the bad stuff never helps. We must retaliate with bold and great content. That's why I'm going to present you with a great collection of South Korean movies involving serial killers. All of these are not just good but also successful box office hits. There is a limit for what an adult movie can gross. But these flicks did well and got very good reception. Unfortunately I haven't had the time to watch some of the recent ones which I'm told to be pretty freaking amazing. I want to present you guys something which I can personally vouch for quality. So here we go.
Oldboy (2003)
I'm an ENTP. I bend and twist and play around the rules. This one isn't exactly a serial killer movie. But it fits the list. This movie almost made it to my top 3. But Confession of Murder (2012) has a special place in my heart. It's because of the style, pacing and overall being like a Gen Urobuchi script. Park Chan-wook's Oldboy is almost that good. And here is something very interesting: The Director/Writer of this movie is a producer of my #2 Korean movie Snowpiercer (2013) and the actorplaying the main role, Choi Min-sik also plays the lead role in my all time favorite Korean movie The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014)
The movie follows some looser named Oh Dae-su who is captured & imprisoned for 15 years which is more than enough time for him to become pretty much a badass killer. Roger Ebert had to say this about the movie: "powerful film not because of what it depicts, but because of the depths of the human heart which it strips bare"
I beg to differ a little bit. The reason this became my #4 is the ending which many people seem to be pretty shocked or disturbed at. Personally my feelings were a mix of this
and This.
I'm not saying that the directing or writing was bad. It's just the character. I'm very picky and complaining when it comes to characters. I rarely like anybody I like in movies and I almost thought I'd like Oh Dae-su. But nope. The ending was so much overkill resulting from weak character and if the movies wasn't so well directed, written or acted it would have been a cringe fest for me. Then again, It took me almost an year to figure out what was depressing about Requiem for a Dream (2000). I loved the movie and it felt like an end of an orchestra than something depressing. Instead of a spoiler filled explanation, I'll just drop a second opinion.
Oldboy was made on a $3 million budge and grossed $15 million USD. Just remember that South Korea is a small country with 51.4 million population. I started with Oldboy so that I can get you into the third entry in the vengeance trilogy with a bang. The movies aren't exactly connected other than the fact that Choi Min-sik who plays the sort of killer in this movie is a serial killer in the next one. Also I must mention that Oldboy is based on a manga. So love Japan!
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005)
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Think about the beautiful young lady above committing murder and torture dragging some more people into it in a redemptive/retributive journey. The movie is art house without being slow. It keeps you captivated without being fast paced. It has lots of comedic and black comedic moments without even a slight drop in seriousness or weight of the story. Lady Vengeance features violence without loosing the beauty. It's a non-PC no BS movie about committing sins in the name of humanity and justice and making the world a better place while atoning for the mistakes in life.
There really isn't a trailer to showcase what the movies is like. The movies has no pretentious garbage spitted by disgusting blobs like Batman or Superman living in their Utopian pipe dream. This is real people doing real stuff that is very hard to do. Think Punisher was a a group of ordinary people led by an intelligent lovely woman who isn't afraid to do what must be done.
Spoilers Ahead!
The first of The Vengeance Trilogy was Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance which doesn't involve any serial killers. It's just something much more innocent and desperate spiraling out of control into several deaths. It had good bits and it's a decent movie. But Oldboy and Lady Vengeance are behemoths in comparison. Cinematography takes a massive leap in Lady Vengeance with $4.5 million budget and all the increase in talent and experience. The movie was really successful making $23.8 million which isn't that common among the movies I like. Unlike Oldboy, these are not based on a manga.
I Saw the Devil (2011)
This amazing piece of work actually feature a whole lot of serial killers. There are serial killers working with other serial killers. There are serial killers killing other serial killers. None of this looks like it's happening in a so called "heightened reality" like John Wick (which is one of the best things ever). Everything feel grounded. It's tragic, messed up and complex. I Saw the Devil takes elements from
Remember that
Revenge is a dish best served periodically and incrementally.
- That's how I'd make an opening quote for I Saw the Devil
None of the movies I mentioned above are some naive stories about someone avenging another someone and finally it's over it's a happy ending stuff. All the movies I mentioned shows the impact of these incidents on these characters. There is complexity and depth and a lack of morally righteous pipe dreams. These are not comic books or some Hollywood R-Rated thingy. The subject matter is taken seriously and at times the character even excel the comic book variations. Just try to imagine you comic book characters (stripped of their super powers) juxtaposed with incidents in these movies. But before that there is one more to look at.
The Chaser (2008)
Apart from Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance which I wouldn't fully recommend, this one is the weakest and my least favorite in the list. There were many scenes that was intense and powerful and simply well done. But overall there was too much of incompetence from characters withing the story dragging the potential intensity of the story down. The movie takes Inspiration from a real-life Korean serial killer Yoo Young-chul which makes me consider whether the not so great parts of the story was a result of trying to make the movie a little more documentary-ish. The trailer has some mild spoilers too.
Even though this is my least favorite, favorite Korean serial killer movie, it's also the highest grossing in this list. It made US$35.8 million got nominated into a long list of awards and won a bunch of them too. The Chaser was the first theatrical movie of the director Na Hong-jin and he did make The Wailing (2016) which is a really good horror movie.
These 4 picks should be enough for a while and you won't come by better movies easily. They are not for the fainting hearts but don't expecting anything too intense or any form of gore porn. You can try some anime for that. Just because serial killer movies are popular in Korea doesn't mean they are the most on screen violence immune nation. Japan still takes the #1 spot. I hope I gave you some good bloody brain food :-)
Happy steeming!
![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSQnxEBigCNXYe3hUB5ujRMmAvq1r851wGFc5LwZTkfRv/rebelheart.png)
I haven't seen any of these but I love films with an interesting serial killer, I'll have to give them a watch, great post!
Thanks!
My sister was killed by serial killers Leonard Lake and Charles Ng out in California. We got back three tiny bone fragments of her. I can't watch movies like these anymore.
Sorry to hear that my friend.
In all fairness, everything triggers millennials.
"I live; therefore Triggered!"
Millennials should seriously get into anime. Even some of the scenes from above movies look mild compared to some of the scenes from anime. Especially you don't see anything regarding children on live action. The best part is many of the anime has much more than just the shock value. They add meaning and depth.
Hell, I've seen more thought, attention and narrative complexity in hentai compared to some Hollywood blockbusters.
but with more tentacles!
looks horrible
You can't make a not-horrible serial killer movie. It would be like making one of those stupid war movies where war is grand, honorable and not a complete hell. Killing is a terrible thing. Good movies about killers should always be horrible.
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Thanks for this post. I struggle to like art-house movies but they're hard for me to get into. To know one opinion of the best is good.
The only one I watched from this list is Old Boy. I thought of watching I Saw The Devil, but the reviews I read didn't convince me. This time, reading yours, I can say I'm interested.
oldboy is very interesting movie
@miti downvote
that's a neat trick
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Nice update, I think i create out time to see these movies
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Weather or not i get flagged for genuinely acknowledging a movie review i find interesting, I still believe I will make out time to check them out
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