There are two movies in there, forcibly sewed into each other. Yet they paradoxically echo with each others. Serving as a reflection on contemporary horror.
It starts starts as a grim ultra stylised police procedural, with a creepy sense of mysticism and esotericism, that constant dread that there is some higher invisible forces at play; Influencing characters and even the cameras and sound work (see those slow zooms and echoey sound design).
We are in A24 ari aster, true detective s01,…
Another entry in the “world thriller” collections. Atmosphere is great with its bleak lighting and blinking bokeh from a city rotten to the bone.
However for a film bragging to be feminist, there is an odd, bizarre almost stinky fascination for the male serial killer and his horrible kills. Meanwhile, The female detective is lonely, abandoned, a vague feminine silhouette left to only exist to create an artificial counter point to the male character. Yet, the attention given to every aspect of the life of the serial killer is not fooling anyone : the director is just falling into the corruption he is trying to condemn.
Highly disappointing. The director Keep interviewing a profiler, yet the killer’s profile is never described or explained. Not a word about his son, his family, his childhood, what might have lead him to this
Murderous path. No deep dive into the corrupted, dysfunctional Korean judicial/political system of the time. Just a vague evocation by some interviewees that the director fail to explore further. Furthermore, The movie sticks with the police POV, making the whole narration one dimensional and way too indulgent towards Korean police.
Anyway, don’t waste your time and go watch ‘the chaser’ instead.
