The plot of "I Saw the Devil" revolves around a detective whose beautiful fiancée is savagely murdered by a vicious psychopath played by "Oldboy" himself Min-Sik Choy.Despairing cop quickly tracks down the psycho,tortures him a little and lets him free to play his own gruesome catch-and-release game...Hauntingy beautiful and sickeningly violent thriller from the director of mesmerizing "A Tale of Two Sisters".The cinematography is gorgeous,the action is hypnotic and the murders are savage and unrelenting.The plot is extremely dark and demented,so I was utterly enthralled.You will feel pain,agony and sadness in every inch of your body during "I Saw the Devil".The best serial killer movie since "The Silence of the Lambs".Watch it in pair with Gerald Kargl's "Angst" and be amazed.9 serial killers out of 10.

While the Western half of the world (and Hollywood in particular) was still focused on making torture-porn horror movies with as sole purpose to show as many sickening, repulsive and shocking sequences as humanly possible, the Eastern part of the world (with South Korea as the usual pioneer) evolved to the next level already with "I Saw the Devil". In this fantastic film, perhaps one of the 10 best since the year 2000, the extremely explicit and uncompromising violence is only secondary to the character development and to writer/director Ji-Woon Kim's main message that revenge - contrary to popular belief - doesn't taste sweet at all, but sour instead, and that it leaves a horrible aftertaste in you mouth. You won't see that intensity and genius in a random "Saw" or "Hostel" sequel anytime soon...

Both Choi Min-Sik and Lee Byung-Hun give away stupendous and almost unsurpassable performances. The former as a mad dog serial killer of the cruelest and most disturbing kind. The latter as a special agent turned avenging angel, and at least as cruel and disturbing as the killer. The difference between them is that young Soo-Hyun is driven to blinding rage when his pregnant fiancé falls victim to the sadist serial killer Kyul-chul. Her death so agonizingly painful that Soo-Hyun pledges that her tormentor will suffer just as much and just as brutally as she did. And so, an unspeakably tense game of cat and mouse ensues.

"I Saw the Devil" isn't entirely without flaws, though. The script often requires an enormous dose suspension of disbelief, and according to all laws of human anatomy and pain-endurance, Kyul-chul should have been dead 2 or 3 times. Personally, I really don't like it when horror/thriller movies have running times of more than two hours (which is also why it took me 10 years to finally see it),and even though the film is never boring, it wouldn't have hurt if it was 30-40 minutes shorter. Still, based on the numerous amount of powerful sequences, the nail-biting suspense highlights, the pure evilness of the lead character and the realistic (and often downright nauseating) gore effects, "I Saw the Devil" is one of the most unique films out there, and an absolute must-see for genre fanatics with nerves of steel and a stomach of concrete.

Are most revenge stories totally complete? Is Hammurabi's Code not good enough? An eye for an eye, a life for a life? 'I Saw the Devil' doesn't think so, and I have to agree.

With top Korean names as Ji-Woon Kim (A Bittersweet Life, Tale of Two Sisters),Byung-hun Lee (A Bittersweet Life) and the always amazing Min-Sik Choi (everything),this film had some lofty expectations, and I can easily say that whatever expectations I had, they were smashed, bashed, and slashed into smithereens and finally, thrown out the window.

Wronged by the blood-thirsty psycho Choi, Agent Byhung takes vengeance into his own hands in unrelenting fashion. And boy howdy, we got some serious, flesh-ripping and bone-shattering revenge here. Mix in great direction, cinematography, choreography, music, and, of course, dynamite acting, you've got one fantastic flick.

Not long into the film, I began to wonder if Min-Sik Choi was delivering one of the all-time anti-hero performances, and for a minute or two, I was definitely thinking that this was the case. However, those anti-hero thoughts were quickly dashed away - he's straight up evil. Always the reliable actor, Min-Sik may have out-done himself; he successfully transformed into one of cinema's most memorable serial killer/villains.

Beyond wishing for a stronger emotional impact, this film is just perfect stuff in my eyes. Serial killer movies are being made brilliantly by our beloved brothers from South Korea, and I thank them from the bottom of my heart with big hugs and kisses.