It's blog time. Regular-length posts are back, and will continue every single day until the end of the month. This time, South Korean horror-thrillers The Chaser and Public Enemy.
The Chaser
Directed by Na Hong-jin, starring Kim Yeon-seok, Ha Jeong-woo, and Seo Yeong-hie.
Jung-ho (Kim) is a pimp with a heart of gold. When a few of his new recruits go missing, he assumes they took advantage of his kindness and took-off with their signing bonuses for greener pastures. Being a former detective, Jung-ho soon finds a correlation between the missing girls, they all went to a customer with the same number prior to their disappearances. Jung-ho's investigation gets kicked into high gear when he learns that another one of his girls, Mi-jin (Seo), is on her way to meet the mystery man.
Thinking the women had been kidnapped and sold, Jung-ho sets about saving Mi-jin, and, with her help, stopping whoever is responsible. Jung-ho's plan quickly goes awry, and he must use everything he's got to find Mi-jin, while dealing with inept and uncaring police, and a viscious killer.
I'd like to be more descriptive about the film, but if I were to state anything more than I have, it would ruin the plot. Na Hong-jin's directorial debut is a dark, distrubring thriller, the likes of which I've not seen in quite some time. Unlike the current trend of Tortue Porn horror-thriller flicks, The Chaser manages it's frights without objectifying women. Lead actors Kim Yeon-seok and Ha Jeong-woo are incredible, and Seo Yeong-hie's performance is gut-wrenching.
With great starring performances in The Chaser, My Dear Enemy and Beastie Boys, Ha Jeong-woo is quickly becoming my favorite actor of this past year. Besides being an exceptional horror film, The Chaser is one of the best South Korean films of the year (2008), and one of the best films of 2008 in general. I don't know what Na Hong-jin's next film will be, but I can't wait to see it, and I'll be watching The Chaser again soon.
Public Enemy
Directed by Kang Woo-suk, starring Sul Kyun-kul, and Lee Sung-jae.
Detective Kang isn't a very good cop. He's basically a criminal with a badge, but, when he happens upon a series of murders, something stirs his inner gumshoe. With his newfound determination, Det. Kang sets about doing some actual detective work. His investigation begins to yield results, convincing Kang that squeaky-clean businessman Chul Gyu-Hwan is the killer. The dirty cop then relentlessly pursues Chul, placing his job and life at risk to stop a merciless killer.
Public Enemy simply kicks ass. Sul's Det. Kang is as badass as characters get, and Lee's turn as a bastard of a killer is chilling. While the uncompromising anti-hero and the unredemable killer are hardly strangers to cinema, Kang Woo-suk's film is anything but formulaic. Public Enemy is a stylish, engaging film that's more energetic than a child after two pieces of birthday cake.
Tomorrow: Director Kim Ki-duk's Address Unknown and Breath.
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