18. I Saw The Devil
Showbox/MediaplexA flat tyre sets up the opening scene of I Saw The Devil, a dark and twisted serial killer/revenge thriller from Korea directed by Jee-Woon Kim in which a depraved psychopath Kyung-chul (played by the ever excellent Choi "Oldboy" Min-sik) is hunted down by secret service agent Kim Soo-hyeon (Byung-hun Lee). Much has been made of the level of violence in I Saw The Devil and without a doubt the film contains some truly brutal sequences. Its certainly not a film for the squeamish, but Jee-Woon Kims handling of the action is so masterful that any charges of crude exploitation fall flat the entire look and feel of the film is polished to perfection while the performances are intense and mesmerising. As it builds to a climax, the ending delivers an unpredictable twist with a surprisingly melancholy undertow.