I’ve been plenty excited about Korean helmer Kim Jee-woon’s new film, I SAW THE DEVIL ever since I heard about it earlier this year. Since then, we’ve made sure to update you frequently on the thriller, all the way up to the trailer premiere last month. Now we’ve got some news for you regarding the film’s official release in Korean, which may effect the apparently high gore quotient…
Korea’s rating’s board has slapped the film with a restricted rating for “extreme violence”; movies get rated R here in the states all the time, of course, but in Korea, a restricted rating means that the film won’t be released in general theaters, or home video. In fact, the studio can’t even advertise it, so obviously, this is a problem for I SAW THE DEVIL.
Unfortunately, Kim and the production company, Peppermint, will have to re-cut the flick, which is scheduled to hit theaters on Thursday. Although the Variety article that brings forth the news doesn’t get too down and dirty with the details, they say that there are scenes of a dead body being cut up and human parts being eaten by protags and a dog.
Though the folks in Korea may not get to see it in its uncut state, there’s always a good chance that when it hits North America, it will be shown the way Kim meant it to be.
Starring Choi Min-sik and Lee Byung-hun, I SAW THE DEVIL goes like this: Kyung-chul, a dangerous psychopath who kills for pleasure. He has committed infernal serial murders in diabolic ways that one cannot even imagine and his victims range from young women to even children. The police have chased him for a long time, but were unable to catch him. One day, Joo-yeon, daughter of a retired police chief becomes his prey and is found dead in a horrific state.
Her fiance Dae-hoon, a top secret agent, decides to track down the murderer himself. He promises himself that he will do everything in his power to take bloody vengeance against the killer, even if it means that he must become a monster himself to get this monstrous and inhumane killer.