I Saw the Devil

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I Saw the Devil

2011

2h 21m

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

83%

Tomatometer

86 Reviews

87%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

On a dark road, taxi driver Kyung-chul comes across a scared female motorist stranded in a broken-down vehicle. He pulls over -- but not to help her. When the woman's head is discovered in a local river, her devastated fiancé, Kim Soo-hyeon, a trained secret agent, becomes obsessed with hunting down her killer. Once he finds Kyung-chul, things get twisted. After brutally beating the murderer, Kim lets him go free, and a demented game of cat and mouse begins.

Critics Consensus

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.

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Chris Stuckmann

ChrisStuckmann.com

10/12/2020

A+

It's anchored by two fantastic performances. Seeing these two men go head-to-head psychologically and physically is enthralling.

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Phelim O'Neill

Guardian

04/28/2011

4/5

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.

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Nigel Floyd

Time Out

04/27/2011

2/5

A remorseless catalogue of calculated violence, casual cannibalism and sexual sadism, this inflicts over two hours of suffering on the audience...

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Bryce Hanson

Horror Movie Talk

08/06/2025

10/10

It’s deceptively simple, but is actually an impressive balancing act of being disturbing, thrilling, funny, and ultimately satisfying.

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Brian Bisesi

Horror Movie Club Podcast

02/19/2025

3.5/5

While I Saw the Devil may not have the narrative complexity to justify its runtime, the examination of vengefulness and its toxic effects is a theme perhaps better served by the length and relentlessness of this grisly thriller.

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

09/24/2023

4/5

A harrowing and tortuously twisted experience that pummels the audience nearly as severely as the film's villain.

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B P

@Bradster69 2d

Definitely Recommend It

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Stephen M

@McGain1 Aug 7

Late to the party but this is a great film. Go and watch it if you’ve not seen it and if you have, go watch it again.

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Tzina G

@RT85745730 Aug 1

Dark but excellent !! The acting is Oscar worthy Brilliant horror / thriller

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Petra S

@RT35545132 Aug 1

What an amazing film !!! Great acting !! Puts Hollywood to shame

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Andrew S

@Malasita Jul 6

Crazy Korean film about a man fighting a serial killer.

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Janet D.

@janetrd3873 Jun 13

Women used as objects to rape and murder only. Sickening. And then it’s rape, murder and cannibalism. And the amount of times he let the psycho killer go, all the murders he commits while he’s out of his control are his fault. Disgusting ridiculous and really hard to get thru. I had to pause it and continue it like ten times. Horrible! He also beats him in the head like twenty times and he survives all of them and is fine. Silly and stupid

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Kim Jee-woon

Director

Lee Byung-hun

Soo-hyun

Choi Min-sik

Kyung-chul

Jeon Gook-hwan

Capt. Jang

Chun Ho-jin

Detective Oh

San-ha Oh

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Synopsis

On a dark road, taxi driver Kyung-chul comes across a scared female motorist stranded in a broken-down vehicle. He pulls over -- but not to help her. When the woman's head is discovered in a local river, her devastated fiancé, Kim Soo-hyeon, a trained secret agent, becomes obsessed with hunting down her killer. Once he finds Kyung-chul, things get twisted. After brutally beating the murderer, Kim lets him go free, and a demented game of cat and mouse begins.

Director: Kim Jee-woon
Producer: Kim Hyun Woo
Screenwriter: Park Hoon-jung
Distributor: Magnet Releasing
Production Co: Showbox/Mediaplex
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: Korean
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 4, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 14, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $128.4K
Runtime: 2h 21m

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