"You killed them all, bitch! Why didn't you just kill yourself?"
Bedevilled is a 2010 South Korean horror/thriller from debut director Chul-soo Jang. A young single woman from
After Bok-nam fails in an attempt to escape from the island
with her ten year old daughter Yeon-hee (Ji-Eun Lee) she is merciously beaten
by her husband. In the insuring violence, Yeon-hee hits her head on a rock and
is killed. This marks the beginning of a violent and bloody final act in which
Bok-nam finally snaps and takes out her revenge on the small island population.
It should be said at the outset that this is not an easy
watch. I started eating a packet of M&Ms as the titles rolled but soon had
to put them down. The audience watches as Bok-nam is brutally abused by most of
the eight or so island population. She is stripped of all her dignity but still
manages to remain hopeful of rescue. Shortly after this rescue fails, the
viewing gets even more difficult with more horrific beatings and humiliation for
Bok-nam which is then followed by over the top Korean violence which if you are
familiar with the likes of I Saw the Devil might not be too shocking but even I who have become accustomed to
Korean horror, felt my entire body clench on a number of occasions as the blood
started to splatter. On one occasion the entire camera lens is covered with
blood as Bok-nam goes about getting her revenge. The violence is met with
psychological horror as Bok-nam stops briefly during her rampage to sharpen a scythe
and scissors only to then give an elderly islander a haircut. This act is very
creepy but provides some calm in an otherwise frantic final half hour. The
sound of the steel on the sharpening stone sent shivers down my spine.
Yeong-hie Seo who was excellent in 2008’s The Chaser is even greater here. She has
to undergo some quite humiliating acts and is treated like dirt during the
first half of the film but manages to maintain an optimistic attitude. Her
transformation towards the end is spectacular and bold as she appears to
completely lose control. She appears possessed but underneath you can still see
some semblance of love and compassion and that is a credit to her as an actress.
She is truly terrific. Seong-won Ji is more uneven as the outsider. She sort of
floats through the film and is unconvincing in the final scene. The supporting
cast are all excellent and manage to come across as backwards, dumb and cruel.
They reminded me of the sort of inbred character’s I saw in 2003’s American
horror Wrong Turn but with less of a
blood lust and more of a cruel superior nature. They really believe that
Bok-nam is there to serve them and has no other use.
The film isn’t as compelling as some of the great Korean thrillers such as Oldboy or Joint Security Area but stands up well on its own as a scary and unsettling genre film. It’s gruesome, troubling and violent but has love at its centre. I look forward to seeing what debut director Chul-soo Jang comes back with next.
8/10
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