Maybe you’ve already dipped a toe or two into Korean cinema already, maybe you’ve never seen a single Korean film in your life. With some of the craziest plot twists, below are my top 5 must see South Korean thrillers from the 21st century.
5 - I SAW THE DEVIL (2010)
Director: Kim Jee-woon
Terrifying is the only word I can think of to describe this film. From the first scene of I Saw the Devil I felt an unescapable anger and fear that wouldn’t allow me to remove my eyes from the screen or my jaw from the floor until the 141-minute run time was over. If you’re sensitive to gore then this film may not be the one for you, but if you think you can handle beheading, achilles tendon slicing and cannibalism, then I Saw the Devil has a story to tell unlike anything else.
4 - SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE (2005)
Director: Park Chan-wook
Taking a step away from extreme and graphic violence, we have Lady Vengeance. A beautiful tale of revenge, and my personal favourite of Park Chan-wook’s revenge trilogy, Lady Vengeance focuses on Geum-ja, a young woman just released from prison and in search of the man who framed and sent her there. Every shot in this film felt like its own personal piece of art, from the set design, to the editing, to the incredibly well-done storytelling, it was impossible to feel anything but admiration and pain for Geum-ja.
3 - THE CALL (2020)
Director: Lee Chung-hyun
You want to hate her, but you can’t! What would you do if there was a serial killer in your home, but you’re 20 years too late? Answer The Call and change your own fate. A mind boggling and fun experience as we see one home phone connecting two young women in the same house, 20 years apart. What starts off as fun and helpful friendship, turns dark and twisted in the blink of an eye.
2 - FORGOTTEN (2017)
Director: Jang Hang-jun
Probably one of the biggest plot twists I’ve seen in a film in recent years. Jin-seok and his family move into a new home where mysterious things start happening. Whatever you think could be happening during the first 45 minutes of this film, no matter how plausible the theories, think again because the plot twist in Forgotten is the last thing you would ever have expected, insane and exciting. An intense-family-mystery-drama that will have your brain struggling to function for the rest of the day. Whatever direction you think this film is going in when you watch it, it’s absolutely not!
1 - THE CHASER (2008)
Director: Na Hong-jin
Finally at number 1, The Chaser. The Chaser centres around a detective turned pimp as he sets out on a mission to recover his missing girls. A large majority of the main characters in this film were unlikeable, and yet, somehow, for all the right reasons, because you will absolutely be enthralled from start to finish and needing to know what these awful people are going to do next and who’s going to survive through the night. An exciting, edge of your seat, race against time, The Chaser gives a thrilling experience like no other.
Comments