This review, two in one night, comes from Tim Porter, a friend, fellow podcaster and Asian cinema obsessive. He's kindly written a review for Korean thriller Bedevilled. Check it out after the jump...
Chul-Soo Yang’s grueling exploration into the physical, psychological implications of constant daily torment of Bok-Nam-an aging mother and farmer, memorably played by Yeong-hie Seo is an instant classic from south Korea. Bedevilled is an emotional charged, highly disturbing take on the revenge sub-genre-which Park Chan Wook’s reinvented in 2003 with his much celebrated film Oldboy. Whereas Oldboy often went considerably over the top, whilst at other moments transported into complete realms of fantasy, Bedevilled for the most part stays firmly gripped in reality. This is where the film is most effective in creating a truly unnerving, transgressive level of suffering for both it’s protagonist and the audience. One of the most poignant and unsetting aspects of the movie is: The juxtaposition of pure evil taking place in such a beautiful setting makes the suffering all the more realistic.
The movie opens up with a deliberate red-herring in a similar vein to the much underrated Hong Kong action flick So Close (Dir. Corey Yuen. 2002). We follow Hae-Won, a beautiful female banker who whilst on her commute home from work-witnesses a savage attack on a young woman by a gang of thugs. As the woman tries to run away and pled for Hae-Won help, she selfishly ignores her and drives on. Hae-Won portrayed by Seong-won Ji is a self-obsessed, arrogant and emotionless bank clerk. As with Alison Lohman’s character in Sam Raimi’s Drag Me To Hell (2009), Hae-Won rejects a low income pensioner in dire need of a loan. As the pressure of the police’s investigation into the attack of the young woman continues-as she is required to give a statement.
She also is receiving constant phone calls from an unknown caller, plus a bombardment of letters which she chooses to ignore-eventually her unstable temperament reaches breaking point and she loses control. The manager forces her to a cooling off period if she wants to continue her job. This is where we are introduced to the main thrust of the story. Hae-Won decides to visit the island of Moodo-which was the place she grew up as a young child with Bok-Nam. As she arrives to the island she is greeted an ecstatic, child like Bok-Nam. Its almost like she is about to physically explode her head Scanners style as life has brought some happiness and love into her mundane life again.
The film runs at a slow burner pace which enables true character development and depth to be established. As we see the residents of the island hostility towards Hae-Won arrival, she has a tranquil rest-while Bok-Nam suffers an inhumane level of abuse both mentally and physical. Her husband brutally attacks her regularly, his family treat her like the scum of the earth-it’s like she can never do nothing right. When Bok-Nam spends time with her friend-it all seems to seamlessly come to halt and although for a moment she feels like a person again. As the film progresses-an undercurrent lesbian subtext emerges between the two female leads develops, which becomes a major conflict in the latter half of the film.
As the abuse continues and Hae-Won eventually witnesses a little part of the action, Bok-Nam pleads for her help-Hae-Won stands by and allows for the torture to continue. Eventually after a tragic and brutal accident, Bok-Nam loses her sanity and wreaks a bloody vengeance on all that is involved. At this point I kid you not, you will jump for joy when the tables are turned in Bok-Nam flavor. Some may be off put by the sudden change of pacing and tone from the Carrie-style abuse and torment to full on slasher-lite revenge, but it’s a well needed and great climax to one of the most upsetting abuses ever portrayed in cinema history.
One element I have not touched upon is the movie isn’t all doom and gloom. This is a high level of generally hilarious off kilter humor, which helps demonstrate that even in the darkest situations-there still is something to be taken the piss out of. The style of humor is closest in my opinion to the work of Takeshi Kitano movie-as it’s both darkly cruel, childish but hilarious at the same time. Although the film does suffer from never knowing when to end, it’s nowhere near as bad as the five endings in the snore-fest that was Lord of The Rings: Return of The King (Dir. Peter Jackson. 2003), the film never out stays it welcome.
The conclusion ultimately is fulfilling, resulting in a heartbreaking climax which is both visually striking and gut-wrenching. Imagine the climax of the fantastic but flawed Inside (2007) but done with less emphasis on the gore but on the character’s psychological well being. On the whole director Chul-Soo Yang debut feature is a magnificent piece of cinema. The compositions, colors and cinematography is nothing more than awe-inspiring. If you are looking for a film which will: Make you laugh, cry, push your boundaries and deliver you a full twenty-five minutes plus revenge spree, accept no substitutes!
Written By Tim Porter
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