I Saw the Devil - Movie Reviews (2024)

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

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 24, 2023

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

Full Review | Original Score: A+ | Oct 12, 2020

"I Saw the Devil" is a masterpiece in all aspects, featuring sublime direction and script-writing, elaborate cinematography and editing, and one of the most shocking endings ever to appear on film.

Full Review | Apr 13, 2020

I Saw The Devil is the poster film for the phrase "not for the faint of heart." This movie takes viewers to places many will not want to go. But once taking us there, it builds an intellectually honest case that vengeance is really not for us.

Full Review | Apr 2, 2020

A solid revenge thriller that abandons any pretense of satisfaction and keeps piling on the tragedy.

Full Review | May 15, 2018

Worth the price of admission for the wildly creative (and brutally bloody) taxicab scene alone. Merciless, uncompromising, and unforgettable.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Feb 6, 2018

As a living and breathing piece of cinema, it inhabits its beast in a manner that is arresting on the mind, and almost cringe-inducing to the eyes.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 20, 2015

Thanks to the strong directing we get a handful of really fantastic scenes and a number of thrills, which make this a wholly enjoyable film.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Nov 11, 2013

It's a terrible time at the movies, and for that it is truly quite great. But you've been warned.

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Jun 22, 2013

A revenge flick that's just about as uncompromising as anything I've seen come out of Asia in the last decade or so.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 28, 2012

Senseless and inane sicko revenge pic.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Dec 14, 2011

...a gritty, brutal, and consistently uncompromising thriller that does, for the most part, feel like South Korea's answer to Se7en.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Dec 1, 2011

This film features a spectacular performance by Choi Min-sik as Kyung-chul, one of the most scary and evil villains ever seen in any film.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Nov 29, 2011

Casts quite a spell. Even if the whole endeavor limps to a close, there's enough vivid imagery and teary passion within to fuel several movies.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | May 24, 2011

Possibly the most violent film ever, I Saw The Devil makes Hostel look like a teddy bears' picnic.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 29, 2011

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.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 28, 2011

Although director Kim Ji-woon's inventive twist on the vigilante shocker is relentlessly bloodthirsty, it never loses sight of the human fallout from violent crime, deftly weaving Lee's eye-for-an-eye actions with moments of genuine emotional grief.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 28, 2011

Violent, visceral and vengeful: a catalogue of torture with frustratingly little else to maintain the interest.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 27, 2011

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

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 27, 2011

There is no denying that Kim Jee-woon is a phenomenal director, wrenching visceral thrills, dark humour and even occasionally an element of surprise, from all his stock set-pieces.

Full Review | Apr 27, 2011