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The Chaser (2008)

Director: Hong-jin Na

Time Out rating

Average user rating

3 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

This compelling yet totally manipulative and eye-wateringly violent South Korean horror-thriller revolves around an ex-cop turned pimp (Kim Yun-Seok) who finds himself on the trail of a weedy serial killer (Ha Jung-Woo) who has taken to kidnapping, torturing, then offing the valuable members of his female brood. Playing off a crook against a murderer makes for an interesting central sparring match, especially when the police become involved and have no idea whom to trust. Also, true to its title, the best moments come with two bravura and ultra-realistic chase sequences through grotty, dimly lit back allies, and director Na Hong-Jin also does his best to toy with expectations whenever possible. This playfulness, however, backfires massively in the second half when coincidence and unforeseen consequence conspire uneasily with bloody, messy results.

Author: David Jenkins

Time Out London Issue 1987, 17-23 Sept, 2008

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User reviews of this film

Will said...

Posted on Jul 18 2011 00:31 The film backfires in the last part leaving a bad feeling in what was shaping up to be a good film?... Was that because what you, as the viewer, wanted to happen... didn't. I'm sure that's exactly what the director wanted. We all make our own predictions on how we think films will pan out but for me, tweaking expectations is a fantastic way to keep the audience interested... and that's what its all about. OK to a certain extent this 'bad feeling' is present but in no way does that reflect badly on the whole film. Great watch!

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melisa said...

Posted on Dec 16 2010 21:17 wow. ignorant much?
i can't actually believe you work for timeout!
this film is pretty impressive. as for his playfulness with realism..maybe you should actually do your research because then you'd know this actually happened. But maybe then you'd miss out on watching your favourite Steven Seagal movie.

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Keith said...

Posted on Oct 09 2010 00:51 I mostly agree with TimeOut in their review of The Chaser, the film really does backfire in the last part and leaves you with a bad feeling about what was shaping up as a really good film.

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