The Chaser

Wow! I caught wind of this through a magazine review and checked it out and was very glad I did. Some of the great stuff coming out of South Korea will blow your mind and this is no exception. The references people made to this movie being in the caliber of Oldboy and Memories of Murder are well substantiated but I would liken it more to Memories of Murder and not quite in the same league as Oldboy. The only movie in league with Oldboy is Seven. While the plot kind of reminded me of some of the classic 80s and 90s psycho-killer thrillers we have had come out of the US, it does hold up well on its own for being a foreign film. Not the most original plot but a decent twist on it nonetheless. Nothing in the plot or sequence of events stood out as unbelievable and there are some real gripping scenes that'll make you white-knuckle. There are some good character developments and reversals that I enjoyed as we see our main character, a former cop turned pimp, trying to find the guy who's been killing his girls and coming to grips with his personal responsibilities and justice. I don't want to give away the plot other than that as it would detract from your enjoyment. It does burn a little slow after the first 20 minutes of the movie as we see events unfold so be prepared for the reward in the last 30 minutes of the movie as the sequence of events crescendo. I'll be keeping an eye on this great director.

What a movie. When I rented this movie I didn't know what to expect. It is usually is a hit or miss for Korean movies but this was a grand slam out of the park type of movie. The film is about a former detective turn pimp trying to catch a serial killer who is killing his prostitutes. It's a big cat and mouse game between the two throughout the whole movie. The plot sounds thin but there is so much more than what meets the eye. This is one of the best thriller/serial killer movies I have ever seen and I don't want to say too much about the plot because it is very edge of your seat kind of stuff. The film never drags and it becomes more intriguing the more you watch and you feel like you know the character because the actors portray them so well. This is a very violent and gruesome film that shouldn't be viewed by the squeamish even though there isn't that many bloody scenes for being a serial killer movie. The movie achieves so much more with less, which hardly ever works in films that need violence to be a success. I wish that Hollywood or even European films would have the brass to make a film this unique and daring at the same time. The thing that this film has going for it the most is that it's wonderfully erratic. You can never guess what is going to happen next and that is the reason why Korean movies are so fantastically entertaining. I rank this movie in my top three greatest thriller/serial killer movies of all time somewhere between "Seven" and "Silence of the Lambs". The characters of this film really flesh out the story and let you jump right in. I can't help but stress the point that this film is very unpredictable and the style of the story telling is subtle but very effective. This film is a sure bet and you will not leave disappointed.

If the remake of Infernal Affairs (The Departed) won all those Oscars then a re-make of this movie will surely clean up. Its one of those movies that just doesn't let up. At any given time there are at least three threads to the story, each of which keeps you on the edge of your seat. I actually had to stop it at one point so I could calm down a bit.

The acting by everyone involved is very believable and that makes it quite harrowing at points. I don't want to give away a single thing about the story but what I can say is that its an absolutely brilliant twist on a story that has been done many times before.

If you are going to see just one foreign film this year then let it be this one.

This is most probably the best Asian movies that i have ever seen. I did not expect much when i went to watch the movie but boy was i wrong. I was fully satisfied with this film because it had everything. The movie had suspense, action and abit of humour put into it The hero in this movie did not look like the hero that everyone is used to, he is rude,total disregard of other people's feeling and most of all he is selfish and only thinks about money and himself.But as we go along through this movie, we discover that he does have a conscience and goes out one of the girls he sent to the maniacal and psychotic killer in the movie.

The cast in the movie gave a solid and believable performance especially ha jung woo as the villain in this movie.He showed no remorse or feel any guilt in killing those people.Overall this movie is great and if you like to watch any Asian movie, than this should be the one for you

After the two very positive comments I decided to watch this movies. At this point the movie has 59 votes. So I didn't expect much from the movie. I was asking myself the question: "How can a movie from South Korea with only 59 votes deserve a 8,9? " But after watching the movie I can say this is one of the very best movies EVER made. I have been watching movies for quite some time now. And I have seen almost all movies from the IMDb top 250. But this movie deserves to be in the top 20. No question about it, no exaggeration. Just look at my vote statistics and you will see that only gave a few movies a ten.

So what's the story of the movie? A former detective who is now a pimp, thinks 2 of his girls ran away from him. So he tries to find those girls. After some research he learns the truth is a little bit different. From that point on, the movie never loses your grip. Never get's dull. Always keeps you right on the edge of your chair. For the rest, you really gotta see it. I won't spoil any of your viewing pleasure by telling you too much about the story.

The other comment said something about a horror element, and a bit gore. But in my opinion there is no horror. Sure there is some blood, but it doesn't play a big part.

So, why are you still reading my comment. Go and see where you can watch this movie!!