Bank worker Hae-won doesn't exactly enjoy living in the occasionally stress-filled and frenetic city of Seoul, South Korea. On the advice of one of her superiors, she takes a much-needed vacation to the private island of Mudo, where she spent much of her time growing up during her prepubescent years. Once Hae-won has arrived, she is greeted by one-time best friend Bok-nam, with whom she had lost touch. After perusing the isolated premises, she notices that the companion from her youth lives a rather tough on Mudo: she is treated like a slave, abused by her husband, his brother, and the assorted elders living in the village. When a particularly life-changing tragedy strikes, Hae-won can only watch in horror as her childhood friend finally snaps.
Each year that I pick out my movies to view for this marathon, I have a difficult time narrowing down my variety of choices to at least thirty one individual selections. What's even harder is having to pick out what will be watched on which day, especially given previous iterations' structuring and the thought often crosses my mind on if I should stick with a recurring theme for each number listed (not everything is a coincidence). Sometimes, this has lead to rousing success and pleasant viewing experiences. For starters, I always try and pick out something that I'm guaranteed to enjoy on day one. On the opposite end of the spectrum, sometimes you end up sitting through more awful Hellraiser sequels and pretentious messes like Rubber than you ever thought that you could.
As luck would have it, day six of every year's marathon has seemingly become about discovering new films from the country of South Korea, particularly in the horror and/or thriller field. I've enjoyed Thirst and I Saw The Devil immensely, and first-time director Jang Cheol-soo's tragic, bloody, and all-around exceptional motion picture Bedevilled has more than a right to be held in the same breath as some of the best of the best from the East. As of this writing, about twenty five or thirty minutes have passed since the credits ended, and in some regards, I'm still at a loss for words.
I will keep my spoilers to a bare minimum, but I must throw out something before I continue on: Bedevilled may not be considered a "horror" movie, at least by the standards of most audiences. True, its most uncomfortable scenes and unquestionably detestable villains could help you make the case for it being one, but just as many folks will compare it to a picture such as Taxi Driver, or something more macabre such as I Spit On Your Grave, though I think has far more to offer than the latter ever could. A person such as myself doesn't really care what you call it, since thrills and chills are more closely linked than people want to fully admit anyway. On the "thrill," or more appropriately, dramatic side of things, if you're expecting Hae-won, the former woman described in the above synopsis to take the lead as our protagonist, you are sorely mistaken and have been greatly mislead my friend. Mind you, she doesn't disappear or become a second banana at all, but our poor islander, the emotionally and physically tortured Kim Bok-nam, is the real star here, and she is someone we spend quite a bit of time getting to know. The lady is clearly the only thoughtful and compassionate character on the island of Mudo, as every single person surrounding her (with the lone exception of her daughter, played quite adequately by youngster Lee Ji-eun ) is either verbally beating her down for not being completely submissive and having an opinion, or they're physically abusing her over minor and mundane mistakes that every human being is capable of making. I don't think I've seen this much debasing of a spouse since Lucky McKee's equally harsh horror film The Woman.
This continuous beating of a young lady who clearly doesn't deserve any of this guides us into the "chill" category. When Bok-nam ultimately snaps (thankfully this isn't a spoiler, especially if you've seen the alternate poster), it goes from zero to eighty in a manner that can only be described as shockingly satisfying, if not a bit on the morbid side. Bok-nam is played wonderfully by actress Seo Young-hee, who I would personally love to see get a chance to work with a bigger hollywood (not necessarily American) director after she did such a fantastic job of helping flesh this woman out, separating her from the usual vengeful heroine character. Let's hope she can fare better than Choi Min-sik though, since even he couldn't save the disappointingly bland and forgettable Lucy. At certain times during her island-based life, she can be incredibly pathetic, although very sympathetic when you consider that she has been sucked into this eerie, cult-like, browbeating community against her will, seeing the return of her old friend Hae-won as a possible way out of this nightmarish existence. During other periods, she is horrifying cold and notably resourceful, outperforming the most sadistic and calculated of slasher movie villains. This instantly memorable performance is only accentuated further by the minimal use of a musical score, saved only for the most crucial of moments and when serenity is most needed during times of absolute madness.
If you can stomach the initially slow pace and build, the brutal violence, and can deal with the fair amount of female (and occasional child) abuse seen throughout the two hour running time, Bedevilled is a remarkably well-made, powerful, and important picture. I understand that its conclusion will most likely prove to be quite divisive, but I think it's the type that will cause you to think and realize how the entire story has come full circle, and that even through terrible, terrible events taking place, we can still grow as people, learning to do the right thing when the time finally comes. Well, this is after you have cooled down that is. My only issue though? I honestly wish that I had watched this at a later time, considering that it sets the bar for this year's lineup rather high.
However, tomorrow may prove me wrong.
Tomorrow, we're sticking around in South Korea and checking out Bad Guy!
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