The Chaser (Na Hong-jin, 2008): South Korea

Reviewed by Frances Rozhko. Viewed at the AFI Filmfest, Arclight Hollywood, CA.

As I viewed The Chaser by Na Hong-Jin in the Arclight theatre I felt that the movie was a very spectacular and a true disturbing thriller. It was a film about a man who begins to kill the prostitutes that he hires. A suspicious hustler who sends his favorite prostitute to this certain man grows suspicious once his prostitute goes missing. This film was based in South Korea which set a different kind of scene. I felt that this movie was pretty eerie and creepy. I felt that Na Hong-Jin did a really swell job in explaining the story, i felt that he chose a good amount of different actors to play these roles. The actors made the film very realistic and suspenseful.

As the film started it showed the strip on the sidewalk where the prostitutes get picked up. The main pimp Joong Ho-Eom is trying to find one of his prostitutes to send to this man to try and catch him, he can’t find anybody to do it so he ends up calling his favorite prostitute who is Mi-Jin Kim. He calls her and she answers in a weak tone. He ask whats wrong and she explains that she is sick. He explains his situation and she tries to make him understand that she is very sick and doesn’t have any energy to do anything. He gets angry and forces her to get up and go. Him being her boss makes her conform. He sends her to the street with information to text him with the address of the house so he can come and find the man, but as she arrives she realizes the situations are not good. She goes to the bathroom as they arrive to his house and tries to send the text but realizes that there is no reception, she later realizes that the whole house is locked so there’s no way to escape. She understands the situations are terrible and there’s nothing she can do now.

I thought that the acting in this film was really good. Especially Mi-Jin Kim, she played very well. I felt like this film was similar to the Saw films. In a way they both are about a certain man who murders people, but they also have some minor differences. I thought that they both had the same kind of disturbing feel that kept you at the edge of your seat the whole time. They are both also films you don’t want to watch by yourself or at night time.

This film was a horror film. It had me at the edge of my seat the whole time. I recommend this film to anyone who likes scary movies. Movies that definitely keep your hands covering your eyes or makes you jump every ten minutes. This film is a thriller and if you like being scared then i recommend you to watch this film. It is interesting and scary at the same time.