The Chaser (2008)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

The Chaser (2008) – H.-J. Na

Vivid Korean serial killer thriller that feels a bit schematic due to its broader generic framework but which actually defies conventions in ways that keep you interested.  Yun-seok Kim is the outsider “hero” who is an ex-cop turned pimp looking for his missing prostitutes; he soon discovers that they may have been murdered by Jung-woo Ha’s sick loser.  Or at least Ha confesses that he’s done it – but actual evidence is lacking.  Both the (inept) police and Kim then spend most of the movie trying to find bodies, including one girl who may still be alive.  The result is visceral, violent, gritty, suspenseful, downbeat, gruesome, and relentlessly grim.  First time director Hong-jin Na seems to be cribbing from the best source material and the film “works.” (Even Melville is evoked in some of the rainy shots through windows – or John Woo’s version of Melville – but there isn’t as much sensitive masculinity on display here).  However, the themes don’t run deep.  Nevertheless, for this genre, it’s definitely head and shoulders above the usual crass rip-offs. Check out Memories of Murder (2003) for an even better Korean take on the (incompetent) police procedural.