4/11/24, 10:40 PM I Saw the Devil - Wikipedia

I Saw the Devil

I Saw the Devil (Korean: 악마를 보았다) is a 2010 South
I Saw the Devil
Korean action-thriller film directed by Kim Jee-woon and
written by Park Hoon-jung. Starring Lee Byung-hun and Choi
Min-sik, the film follows NIS agent Kim Soo-hyun (Lee), who
embarks on a quest for revenge when his wife is brutally
murdered by the psychopathic serial killer Jang Kyung-chul
(Choi).

I Saw the Devil made its premiere in the United States at the
2011 Sundance Film Festival and had a limited U.S. theatrical
release.[3] The film received generally favourable reviews
from the critics.[4]

I Saw the Devil was Choi Min-sik's first major role since the
changes to the Korean screen quota system.[5]

Plot Theatrical release poster

A school-bus driver named Jang Kyung-chul encounters a
woman named Jang Joo-yun and offers to fix her flat tire.
Hangul 악마를 보았다
After beating her unconscious and bringing her to his home, Hanja 惡魔를 보았다
Kyung-chul methodically dismembers her, unaware of her Literal meaning Saw an angma
ring dropping and getting stuck in the drain. Kyung-chul (evil spirit,
scatters the body parts into a local stream, where it is demon)
discovered, prompting the police to conduct a search led by Revised Angmareul
Squad Chief Jang, Joo-yun's father. Her fiancé, Kim Soo- Romanization boatda
hyun, an NIS officer, vows to take revenge against the
McCune– Akmarŭl poatta
murderer.
Reischauer
After learning of the four suspects from Jang, Soo-hyun Directed by Kim Jee-woon
privately interrogates two of them. Upon searching the home Written by Park Hoon-jung
of Kyung-chul, the third suspect, Soo-hyun finds Joo-yun's
Produced by Kim Hyun-woo
ring. A short time later, Kyung-chul brings a schoolgirl home
and assaults her. Soo-hyun beats him unconscious. Instead of Starring Lee Byung-hun
killing Kyung-chul, Soo-hyun forces him to swallow a tracker, Choi Min-sik
allowing him to track Kyung-chul's movements and listen to Cinematography Lee Mo-gae
his conversations.
Edited by Nam Na-yeong
Waking up, Kyung-chul is offered a ride by a taxi already Music by Mowg
containing one passenger. Noticing their ill intent, Kyung- Production Peppermint &
chul attacks first. After murdering them, he throws out the companies Company
bodies onto the side of the road. He drives to a clinic to have
SoftBank
his wounds looked at. After being treated, he proceeds to
Ventures Korea
sexually assault a nurse. Soo-hyun arrives, subdues him and
Finecut

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Saw_the_Devil 1/7
4/11/24, 10:40 PM I Saw the Devil - Wikipedia

slashes his Achilles tendon before leaving. At this point, Soo- Distributed by Showbox
hyun's intention became clear: he wants to torture Kyung- Release date 12 August 2010
chul for as long as possible.
Running time 144 minutes
Kyung-chul visits the home of his friend Tae-joo, a murderer Country South Korea
and cannibal. After learning of the situation, Tae-joo remarks
Language Korean
that his tormentor must be related to one of his victims.
Budget US$6 million[1]
Kyung-chul deduces Soo-hyun's identity. Soo-hyun arrives
and incapacitates both murderers along with Tae-joo's Box office US$12.9 million[2]
girlfriend Se-jung. The next day, Tae-joo and Se-jung, still
unconscious, are arrested by the police and sent to the hospital.

Elsewhere, Soo-hyun and Kyung-chul receive treatment for their wounds, aided by Soo-hyun's
trusted subordinate to evade the police. Kyung-chul wakes up and overhears Soo-hyun and the
subordinate talking about the transmitter. After being released, Kyung-chul steals and uses
laxatives to excrete the transmitter, then plants it on a driver at a truck stop. Soo-hyun enters Tae-
joo's hospital room to question him, and learns that Kyung-chul is going after Squad Chief Jang
and his other daughter Jang Se-yun. Enraged, Soo-hyun breaks Tae-joo's jaw.

Kyung-chul arrives at the house of Jang, brutally assaults him, then kills Jang Se-yun. He then
attempts to avoid Soo-hyun's revenge by surrendering to the police. However, Soo-hyun kidnaps
Kyung-chul right in front of the police's eyes. At Kyung-chul's house, Soo-hyun tortures him, places
him under a makeshift guillotine, and leaves him holding a rope between his teeth to keep the
blade from falling.

Though he mocks Soo-hyun, Kyung-chul begins to panic when he learns that his son and elderly
parents, whom he had abandoned some time ago, have arrived and are trying to visit him. As his
family opens the door, it triggers another mechanism that drops the blade and beheads Kyung-chul
in front of his family. Soo-hyun breaks down in tears as he walks away.

Cast
Choi Min-sik as Jang Kyung-chul, an academy bus driver and serial killer
Lee Byung-hun as Kim Soo-hyun, an agent in the National Intelligence Service[6]
Oh San-ha as Jang Joo-yun, Soo-hyun's fiancée
Jeon Gook-hwan as Squad Chief Jang, Joo-yun's father
Kim Yoon-seo as Jang Se-yun, Joo-yun's sister
Chun Ho-jin as Section Chief Oh, the leader of the police
Choi Moo-sung as Tae-joo, Kyung-chul's friend
Kim In-seo as Se-jung, Tae-joo's girlfriend
Nam Bo-ra as Section Chief Oh's daughter
Jung Ji-yoon as Junior high female student
Chae-young Yoon as small town nurse
Ha Seung-ri as Junior high female student

Alternate versions

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Saw_the_Devil 2/7
4/11/24, 10:40 PM I Saw the Devil - Wikipedia

The Korea Media Rating Board forced Kim to recut the film for its theatrical release, objecting to
its violent content. The film received a "Restricted" rating twice, preventing any sort of release in
theatres or on home video and promotions as well.[7] Seven cuts were made with the total runtime
of removed material between eighty and ninety seconds.[8]

Release
I Saw the Devil was released in South Korea on August 12, 2010. The film premiered at the 2011
Sundance Film Festival on 21 January 2011.[3] It also received screenings at several other
international film festivals, including the Fantasporto Film Festival, Toronto International Film
Festival, Sitges Film Festival, San Sebastian Film Festival and the London Korean Film Festival.[9]

North American distribution rights were acquired by Magnet Releasing which released it on a
limited basis on March 4, 2011.[10][11] Optimum Releasing distributed the film in the United
Kingdom.[12]

Critical reception
The review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 81%, with an average of
7.2/10, based on 86 reviews from critics. The website's consensus says: "Never flinching during its
descent into depravity, I Saw The Devil is a pulverizing thriller that will give bloody satisfaction to
audiences who like their revenge served with fiery rage."[13] On Metacritic, the film received
"generally favorable reviews," with a weighted average of 67 out of 100, based on 19 reviews.[4]

Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times wrote, "From an unexpectedly moving first act to a
hilariously disgusting sojourn with Kyung-chul’s cannibal pal, Mr. Kim and his cinematographer,
Lee Mo-gae, retain complete control of the film’s fluctuating tones and impressive set pieces."[14]
Mark Olson of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "There is all the violent mayhem, for certain, but the
thing that sets I Saw the Devil apart is its undercurrent of real emotion and how unrelentingly sad
it can be."[15] Rob Nelson from Variety magazine stated, "Repugnant content, grislier than the
ugliest torture porn, ought to have made the film unwatchable, but it doesn't, simply because Kim's
picture is so beautifully filmed, carefully structured and viscerally engaging."[16] Bloody
Disgusting's Brad Miska gave it a rating of four-and-a-half out of five, writing: "I could talk for
hours about I Saw the Devil, but nothing I can say will ever do it justice. The film is an experience;
it's something that will have you emotionally invested in the characters, while also covering your
eyes at the extreme violence,"[17] whereas Empire rated the film four out of five, stating, "This
gleefully black horror-thriller is a very classy follow-up to The Good, the Bad, the Weird for Kim
Jee-Woon."[18] Phelim O'Neil from The Guardian wrote, "There's no shortage of Korean revenge-
thrillers, but this, along with the recent The Man from Nowhere, proves there is plenty of life left
in the genre" and gave it a four star rating out five.[19]

Not all critics were favorable towards the film's brutality; Mark Jenkins of The Washington Post
wrote, "Director Kim Jee-woon is a born filmmaker, even if this script (written by Park Hoon-jung
and adapted by Kim) is unworthy of his efforts" and rated it two out of five stars.[20] Elizabeth Kerr
of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that, "On any number of levels, Devil is troublesome at best,
offensive at worst."[21]

In 2014, Rolling Stone magazine put I Saw the Devil in the top 20 of "the scariest movies you've
never seen."[22] In 2019, Jim Vorel of Paste named it the best horror film of 2010, writing of its
ultimate conclusion: "It's one of the great, empty victories of horror cinema in the 2010s, and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Saw_the_Devil 3/7
4/11/24, 10:40 PM I Saw the Devil - Wikipedia

should be seen by a larger audience."[23]

Awards and nominations

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Saw_the_Devil 4/7
4/11/24, 10:40 PM I Saw the Devil - Wikipedia

Award Category Nominee(s) Result

Best Editor Nam Na-yeong Won

Asian Film Awards
Best Cinematographer Lee Mo-gae Nominated
Best Foreign Language
Won
Austin Film Critics Association Film I Saw the Devil
Best Film Nominated

Best Actor Lee Byung-hun Nominated

Best Cinematography Lee Mo-gae Won

Best Art Direction Cho Hwa-sung Nominated

Blue Dragon Film Awards
Best Music Mowg Won
Jeong Do-an, Lee Hee-
Technical Award kyung Nominated
(Special Effects)

Grand Prize (Daesang) Won

2011 Baeksang Arts Awards Lee Byung-hun
Best Actor Nominated
Brussels International Festival of Fantasy
Golden Raven Won
Film

Best Foreign Language

Central Ohio Film Critics Association I Saw the Devil Nominated
Film

Best Foreign Language

Nominated
Fangoria Chainsaw Awards Film
Best Actor Choi Min-sik Nominated

Best Film I Saw the Devil Won

Fantasporto Film Festival
Best Director Kim Jee-woon Won

Best Horror Movie I Saw the Devil Nominated

Fright Meter Awards
Best Director Kim Jee-woon Won
Best Film I Saw the Devil Nominated

Best Actor Lee Byung-hun Nominated

Best Actor Choi Min-sik Nominated

Grand Bell Awards
Best Cinematography Lee Mo-gae Nominated

Best Lighting Oh Seung-chul Won

Best Costume Design Kwon Yu-jin Nominated

Audience Award I Saw the Devil Won

Critics Award Kim Jee-woon Won

Gérardmer Film Festival
Special Jury Prize Kim Jee-woon Won
Youth Jury Grand Prize Won

Best Foreign Language

Houston Film Critics Society Awards I Saw the Devil Won
Film

Best Horror Movie Nominated

Scream Awards Best Villain Choi Min-sik Nominated

Best Independent Movie Kim Jee-woon Nominated

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Saw_the_Devil 5/7
4/11/24, 10:40 PM I Saw the Devil - Wikipedia

Award Category Nominee(s) Result

Best Foreign Language

St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards Nominated
Film
I Saw the Devil
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Best Foreign Language
Nominated
Association Awards Film

Home media
The film was released on DVD as a three-disc set, which contains both the Korean theatrical
version and international version, in South Korea on 29 March 2011.[24] The DVD and Blu-ray for
the US and Canadian markets were released on May 10, 2011.[25]

References
1. "I Saw the Devil - Screened" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120626190233/http://www.screen
ed.com/i-saw-the-devil/16-198531/). Archived from the original (http://www.screened.com/i-saw
-the-devil/16-198531/) on 2012-06-26. Retrieved 2012-09-10.
2. I Saw the Devil (https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=isawthedevil.htm) at Box Office
Mojo
3. "Sundance Film Festival 2011 : I Saw the Devil" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110219162254/
http://sundance.slated.com/2011/films/isawthedevil_sundance2011). Archived from the original
(http://sundance.slated.com/2011/films/isawthedevil_sundance2011) on 2011-02-19. Retrieved
2011-02-26.
4. "Metacritic: I Saw the Devil" (https://www.metacritic.com/movie/i-saw-the-devil). Metacritic.
CBS. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
5. Brown, Todd (28 May 2010). "I Saw the Devil Teaser Arrives" (https://web.archive.org/web/2011
1213211612/http://twitchfilm.com/news/2010/05/choi-min-sik-lee-byung-hyun-kim-ji-woon-i-saw
-the-devil-teaser-arrives.php). Archived from the original (http://twitchfilm.com/news/2010/05/ch
oi-min-sik-lee-byung-hyun-kim-ji-woon-i-saw-the-devil-teaser-arrives.php) on 13 December
2011. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
6. Kang, Myoung-Seok (19 August 2010). "Lee Byung-hun says "'Devil' makes you think of what
you get out of revenge" " (https://web.archive.org/web/20130103180340/http://10.asiae.co.kr/Ar
ticles/new_view.htm?sec=ent0&a_id=2010081917344982224). Archived from the original (htt
p://10.asiae.co.kr/Articles/new_view.htm?sec=ent0&a_id=2010081917344982224) on 3
January 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
7. Sunhee, Han (9 August 2010). "Korea restricts 'Devil' " (https://www.variety.com/article/VR1118
022720.html?categoryid=3768&cs). Variety.
8. Brown, Todd (13 August 2010). "I SAW THE DEVIL Trimmed By Seven Cuts, Not By Seven
Minutes" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110412123641/http://twitchfilm.com/news/2010/08/i-sa
w-the-devil-trimmed-by-seven-cuts-not-by-seven-minutes.php). Twitch. Archived from the
original (http://twitchfilm.com/news/2010/08/i-saw-the-devil-trimmed-by-seven-cuts-not-by-seve
n-minutes.php) on 2011-04-12. Retrieved 2011-03-10.
9. "I Saw the Devil (2010)" (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1588170/releaseinfo) – via
www.imdb.com.
10. Truong, Peggy (16 September 2010). "Magnet sees 'Devil' " (https://variety.com/2010/biz/mark
ets-festivals/magnet-sees-devil-1118024217/). Variety. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
11. Daley, Ryan (29 January 2011). "Sundance '11 REVIEW: A Second Look at 'I Saw the Devil' "
(https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/23228/sundance-11-review-a-second-look-at-i-saw-the-de
vil/). Bloody Disgusting.
12. Sunhee, Han (31 May 2010). "Optimum nabs 'I Saw the Devil' " (https://variety.com/2010/biz/ne
ws/optimum-nabs-i-saw-the-devil-1118019998/). Variety. Retrieved 5 July 2019.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Saw_the_Devil 6/7
4/11/24, 10:40 PM I Saw the Devil - Wikipedia

13. "I Saw the Devil" (https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/akmareul_boattda/). Rotten Tomatoes.

Flixster. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
14. Catsoulis, Jeannette (3 March 2011). " 'I Saw the Devil' - Review" (https://movies.nytimes.com/
2011/03/04/movies/04i-saw-the-devil.html). The New York Times.
15. Olsen, Mark (4 March 2011). "Movie review: 'I Saw the Devil' " (https://articles.latimes.com/201
1/mar/04/entertainment/la-et-capsules-saw-devil-20110304). Los Angeles Times.
16. Nelson, Rob (20 September 2010). "I Saw the Devil" (https://www.variety.com/review/VE11179
43653?refcatid=31). Variety.
17. "I Saw the Devil" (https://bloody-disgusting.com/reviews/113902/i-saw-the-devil-limited-2/).
Bloody Disgusting. 20 January 2011.
18. "I Saw the Devil" (https://www.empireonline.com/reviews/review.asp?FID=137195). Empire.
19. "I Saw the Devil" (https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/apr/28/i-saw-the-devil-review). The
Guardian.
20. "I Saw the Devil" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110120042113/http://www.washingtonpost.co
m/gog/movies/i-saw-the-devil-akmareul-boattda,1178295.html). Washington Post. Archived
from the original (https://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/movies/i-saw-the-devil-akmareul-boattd
a,1178295.html) on 2011-01-20.
21. "I Saw the Devil" (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/i-saw-devil-film-review-30159).
The Hollywood Reporter.
22. Koresky, Michael; Geist, Brandon; Hynes, Eric; Rocchi, James; Newman, Jason; Collins, Sean
T. (29 October 2014). "20 Scariest Horror Movies You've Never Seen" (https://web.archive.org/
web/20171121143458/http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/lists/20-scariest-movies-you-need-to
-see-20141029/i-saw-the-devil-2010-20141029). Rolling Stone. Archived from the original (http
s://www.rollingstone.com/movies/lists/20-scariest-movies-you-need-to-see-20141029/i-saw-the
-devil-2010-20141029) on 21 November 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
23. Vorel, Jim (22 October 2019). "The Best Horror Movie of 2010: I Saw the Devil" (https://www.pa
stemagazine.com/movies/horror-movies/best-horror-movie-of-2010-i-saw-the-devil-south-ko/).
Paste. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
24. "YESASIA: I Saw the Devil (DVD) (3-Disc) (First Press Limited Edition) (Korea Version) DVD -
Lee Byung Hun, Choi Min Sik, Planis - Korea Movies & Videos - Free Shipping" (https://www.y
esasia.com/global/i-saw-the-devil-dvd-3-disc-first-press-limited-edition-korea-version/10242029
35-0-0-0-en/info.html). www.yesasia.com.
25. Calonge, Juan (9 March 2011). "I Saw the Devil Blu-ray Announced" (https://www.blu-ray.com/n
ews/?id=5990). Blu-ray.com. Retrieved 6 October 2019.

External links
Official website (http://www.isawthedevil.co.kr)
I Saw the Devil (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1588170/) at IMDb
I Saw the Devil (https://www.kmdb.or.kr/eng/db/kor/detail/movie/K/12089) at the Korean Movie
Database
I Saw the Devil (https://www.hancinema.net/korean_movie_I_Saw_the_Devil.php) at
HanCinema
I Saw the Devil (https://www.allmovie.com/movie/v525768) at AllMovie

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=I_Saw_the_Devil&oldid=1216819635"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Saw_the_Devil 7/7