Starring: Kim Yoon-seok, Ha Jeong-woo, Seo Yeong-hee and Koo Bon-woong.
Running Time: 123 minutes
Genre: Thriller
Continuing the exceptional recent output from South Korean cinema comes this fast-paced and thoroughly entertaining thriller that puts a unique twist on the traditional cat-and-mouse serial killer flick. Na Hong-jin's directorial debut is a highly enjoyable (if slightly overlong) thriller that provides enough unique ideas to raise it about the dull and repetitive generic serial killer films out there.
What is striking early on in The Chaser is how horrible and unlikeable the lead character is. Eom Joong-ho (Kim Yoon-seok) is a former detective turned pimp. Yes, you saw right, the protagonist of this film is a pimp, whose morality has seemingly deserted him and it is surprisingly a masterstroke by writers Na Hong-jin (also the director) and Lee Shin-ho. This film is as much about Joong-ho finding his humanity as it is about him catching the killer and all adds to the impact of the brutal third act. The villain Jeong-woo is the stand out, perfectly mixing cold-hearted killer Yeong-min's at one glance innocent charm with a real menace and psychopathic callousness that would make Michael Myers squirm. This film is not for the faint of heart as Yeong-min's preferred method of murder includes chisels and hammers and is quite bloody and graphic, but well worth it for the stunning third act that is so breathlessly fast-paced and relentlessly entertaining in setting up an intense showdown.
Even though the film may drag on in the middle act, there is enough in the opening and final acts to keep the viewer engaged throughout. Na Hong-jin has crafted a clever, violent and often shocking take on a genre that had up until recently become stale and cliché riddled. You will never be able to look at a hammer and chisel in the same way again, guaranteed.
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