I Saw the Devil (2010)

aka AKMARUEL BOATDA

Directed by Jee-woon Kim

South Korean filmmaker Jee-woon Kim continues to enjoy a remarkable level of distribution in the West. His latest film I Saw the Devil was paraded around the festival circuit, before receiving relatively wide distribution in the both the US and the UK. Kim first emerged as a name of note with his debut film The Quiet Family (1998) a comedy/horror film which was loosely remade in typically excessive fashion by Takashi Miike under the moniker The Happiness of the Katakuris (2002). Although interesting, his debut film was left in the dust with the release of A Tale of Two Sisters (2003), a stylish psychological horror film clearly inspired by the popularity of J-horror. This excellent film was remade in America as The Uninvited (2009). The result was a predictably desultory and pathetic re-imagining bled dry of all the aspects that made the original so engaging. Kim confirmed his generic utility with A Bittersweet Life (2005) and The Good, The Bad and The Weird (2008). The former a wonderfully energetic, but incredibly violent gangster movie, and the latter a sprawling western adventure inspired by Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns. All of these films have received above average distribution for South Korean films, which is a testament to Kim’s ability to craft generically satisfying material that still manages to push the boundaries of the form. In comparison to his previous films, I Saw the Devil is significantly less interesting. It is not a failure, but it is perhaps Kim’s first stumble, in a career that has thus far been very impressive.

Bullet Train (1975)

aka SHINKANSEN DAIBAKUHA

Directed by Junya Sato

A trio of despondent revolutionaries led by Tetsuo Okita have planted a bomb somewhere aboard Hikari 109 threatening that the device will detonate should the train drop below 45 mph. Tetsuo demands a ransom of 5 million in US dollars be paid in exactly 70 minutes which means Hikari 109 will not be able to stop anywhere. Amidst scrambling to avoid collisions with other trains, derailment and other assorted perils, Aoki, the trains conductor, attempts to keep the passengers calm while the police frantically search for both the terrorists and the location of the bomb.

 

The Kiss of Death (1973)

aka DU NU aka POISON GIRL

Directed by Ho Meng Hua

Chu Ling (Chen Ping) is a vibrant and pretty young factory worker whose life is turned upside down when she's savagely raped by five malicious men late one evening. Before being discharged from the doctor, she is informed one of the men has given her a rare venereal disease called 'Vietnam Rose', a deadly STD brought back from the war. Told that she will eventually die from this incurable sickness, Chu plots revenge on the five men who ruined her life. A crippled club owner named Wong Ta (Lo Lieh) takes pity on her and trains her in how to defend herself. Chu Ling then scours the streets for the five rapists before her time has expired.