2010｜115 MIN | Thriller Drama

DIRECTOR JANG Cheol-soo

CAST SEO Young-hee, HWANG Geum-hee, BAE Sung-woo

RELEASE DATE September 2, 2010

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Korean cinema’s beloved revenge dramas never stay away from theaters for long but not all projects are created equal and following some stone cold classics from the mid-2000s, including PARK Chan-wook’s Old Boy (2003) and KIM Jee-woon’s A Bittersweet Life (2005), the genre experienced a lull until an unlikely contender became an indie hit and a global sensation. That film was JANG Cheol-soo’s memorably sun-drenched and blood-soaked Bedevilled (2010).

Hae-won is a bank clerk living in Seoul who becomes frustrated with her harsh work environment. After witnessing an attempted murder, she takes some vacation time and decides to escape the city. She travels to Moodo, a small island she once visited, to see her grandparents and where she befriended Bok-nam as a young girl.

Upon her arrival, she is distressed to see that Bok-nam has become an object to be used by all the other inhabitants of the island. Used by men, to satiate their carnal desires, and by older women, to be used as a workhorse out on the fields. Bok-nam, thrilled at being reunited with her childhood friend, begs Hae-won to help her escape but is met with indifference. Before long, Bok-nam, who can no longer endure her horrible circumstances, picks up a sickle to mete out bloody revenge.

For his searing debut film, which premiered in the Critics’ Week lineup of the Cannes Film Festival in 2010, director JANG combined Korea’s archetypal revenge thriller with the psychological fears of the countryside horror. With its female lead, the film takes after PARK Chan-wook’s Sympathy For Lady Vengeance (2005) and PANG Eun-jin’s Princess Aurora (2005) while the isolated island location heightens the tension as a natural barrier that can’t easily be crossed and the harsh sunlight beats down during the sweltering summer days on the field. 

Hae-won, played with a prime and proper demeanor by the strikingly pale HWANG Geum-hee (formerly known as JI Sung-won), becomes our surrogate, the eyes of the callous urbanite, unwilling to lift a finger to help an old friend in need. Meanwhile, SEO Young-hee pulls off a searing performance as Bok-nam, buzzing with manic energy and a powerful thirst for a different kind of life that drives her to commit unspeakable acts. SEO has remained a big name in indie cinema and returned to the Cannes Film Festival with SHIN Su-won’s Madonna in 2015. Bedevilled also features a scene-stealing early role for BAE Sung-woo (The King, 2017), as a vicious country bumpkin on the island.