I Saw the Devil

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I Saw the Devil

Released Mar 4, 2011

2h 21m

Mystery & Thriller

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82%

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85 Reviews

87%

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10,000+ Ratings

On a dark road, taxi driver Kyung-chul (Choi Min-sik) comes across a scared female motorist stranded in a broken-down vehicle. He pulls over -- but not to help her. When the woman's head is discovered in a local river, her devastated fiancé, Kim Soo-hyeon (Lee Byung-hun), a trained secret agent, becomes obsessed with hunting down her killer. Once he finds Kyung-chul, things get twisted. After brutally beating the murderer, Kim lets him go free, and a demented game of cat and mouse begins.

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Critics Consensus

Never flinching during its descent into depravity, I Saw the Devil is a pulverizing thriller that will give bloody satisfaction to audiences who like their revenge served with fiery rage.

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Chris Stuckmann

ChrisStuckmann.com

It's anchored by two fantastic performances. Seeing these two men go head-to-head psychologically and physically is enthralling.

Rated: A+

Oct 12, 2020

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Phelim O'Neill

Guardian

There's no shortage of Korean revenge-thrillers, but this, along with the recent The Man from Nowhere, proves there is plenty of life left in the genre.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 28, 2011

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Nigel Floyd

Time Out

A remorseless catalogue of calculated violence, casual cannibalism and sexual sadism, this inflicts over two hours of suffering on the audience...

Rated: 2/5

Apr 27, 2011

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Brian Bisesi

Horror Movie Club Podcast

While I Saw the Devil may not have the narrative complexity to justify its runtime, the examination of vengefulness and its toxic effects is a theme perhaps better served by the length and relentlessness of this grisly thriller.

Rated: 3.5/5

Feb 19, 2025

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

A harrowing and tortuously twisted experience that pummels the audience nearly as severely as the film's villain.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 24, 2023

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Panos Kotzathanasis

Asian Movie Pulse

"I Saw the Devil" is a masterpiece in all aspects, featuring sublime direction and script-writing, elaborate cinematography and editing, and one of the most shocking endings ever to appear on film.

Apr 13, 2020

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브래디 톰

I'm tired of the provocative description and content. And the actor's acting is so exaggerated.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/25

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Jaideep K

Best Korean movie I ever seen, my favorite, people complaining about why he let go devil cause he wants to follow him and not doing let him do do bad stuff that's what movie about hez following devil and stoping him doing bad best movie

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/26/25

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sussy i

Absolute Cinema

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/31/24

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goarav s

Greatest south korean movie I ever seen

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/12/24

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Robert W

Great new take on the serial killer genre. Captivating, yet hard to watch. Brutal, gory and action packed, all the while heartbreaking. A must watch. A++ performances by its 2 leads.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/30/24

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Aaron C

A great revenge film, gripping story and well acted. One I can watch over and over.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/26/24

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Kim Jee-woon

Director

Lee Byung-hun

Soo-hyun

Choi Min-sik

Kyung-chul

Jeon Gook-hwan

Capt. Jang

Chun Ho-jin

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San-ha Oh

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Synopsis

On a dark road, taxi driver Kyung-chul (Choi Min-sik) comes across a scared female motorist stranded in a broken-down vehicle. He pulls over -- but not to help her. When the woman's head is discovered in a local river, her devastated fiancé, Kim Soo-hyeon (Lee Byung-hun), a trained secret agent, becomes obsessed with hunting down her killer. Once he finds Kyung-chul, things get twisted. After brutally beating the murderer, Kim lets him go free, and a demented game of cat and mouse begins.

Director: Kim Jee-woon
Producer: Kim Hyun Woo
Screenwriter: Park Hoon-jung
Distributor: Magnet Releasing
Production Co: Showbox/Mediaplex
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: Korean
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 4, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 14, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $128.4K
Runtime: 2h 21m

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