Lee Eisenberg
I knew nothing about Na Hong-jin's "Chugyeokja" ("The Chaser" in English) when I started watching it, and that made it even more intense. This story of a detective-turned-pimp who decides to look into the disappearance of his prostitutes makes Seoul look like one gritty polity. All manner of nasty things take place throughout the movie, but none of it is gratuitous. Quite the opposite, everything is there to show the unpleasant existence that the characters lead. And boy are there some unpleasant things here! This movie has no place for subtlety.The movie reminded me of another South Korean crime drama that I saw recently: "A Hard Day". What I conclude is that the bottom half of the Korean peninsula turns out some of the most intense movies in the world (I suspect that the upper half only makes propaganda movies). There are lots of intense movies made throughout the world, but South Korea's crime dramas are possibly the most extreme. I doubt that you've seen anything like "The Chaser". I recommend it.
maknitanje
I didn't expect this! I'm thrilled. First 30 minutes I thought this might be boring movie, but in the end my heartbeat was insane.The main character went from being "I don't give a damn, all I want is money" to "I'm gonna save this child's mom even if I die". He couldn't even believe these women were killed, because it's unimaginable, like we all would think. All his quotes were so normal, stupid and real. Not like in most thriller movies where you can hear just smart, serious, detective quotes.Cops who are not experienced in crimes like this and are not sure what to do.Beating scenes so incredibly real, you could almost feel it. And that poor woman, after all she's been threw was concerned he won't be mad at her for leaving prostitution. I think we all just wanted her to stay alive.And the sociopath.. Oh my God, you could almost feel him behind you, starring at you and waiting for the moment to do what he do.. And I love the fact it's not Hollywood, It was so unpredictable. Just give it a chance and watch it.
Adam Peters
(68%) A super gritty cat and mouse horror/thriller that's as engrossing as it is unpredictable. The performance from Kim Yoon-seok as the film's good guy hunting for evidence in the tough streets of Seoul, while at the same time he's a sleazy pimp meaning the blend between good and bad is never quite crystal clear; although the bad guy is 100% evil and make no mistake. In terms of violence there are a couple of scenes that are very grim to watch, but actually most of the killings take place off-screen, while it's the oppressive feel and painful turn of events that make this a memorable piece. Anyone with a fondness for harder-edged, tough, dark thrillers should certainly track this one down.
Terence Frederick
This is a thriller movie (inspired from true story) with a new level of unpredictability in number of scenes. Firstly, the rapidness of the screenplay pace. At 30 minutes itself, the killer is found by the protagonist which is quite new and there is no flashbacks from then on, yet the movie goes on. The movie is filled with violent/gory scenes and I certainly enjoyed the bgm during chase.I've felt was the humor at certain seemed to me inappropriate to the theme (may be I don't speak Korean so good) and the situations and the investigations were far too unbelievable,IMO.To me, I couldn't chase it (appreciate the beauty of screenplay - if any), but you still may.So go ahead and watch it.
AD
