Chawz
+ I Saw The Devil (2009/2010/Magnolia/MagNet
Blu-rays)
Picture:
B-/B Sound: B Extras: B-/C
Films: C-/B-
From Korea, we have two movies to have gotten
distribution here in the U.S.
from MagNet Releasing - a company with a deserved reputation for putting out
some awesome material from overseas.
First up
is Chawz, and as much as I was
hoping to enjoy this one, I must say that it's a dud. In the movie, giant boars descend from their
mountain home and devour those unlucky enough to cross their path. The film can be summarized as being Jaws on land, but there are just too
many other genres borrowed from to shape this movie into what it as. Clearly the filmmakers have never heard that
an attempt to be everything to everyone means you'll be liked by no one. In the end it is just slightly better than the
SyFy originals we get here in the states, albeit with a different flavor. It's still bound to be appealing enough to
some, but I'd go back and skip it if I could.
Next we
look as I Saw the Devil – an
impressive film from A Tale of Two
Sisters director Jee-woon Kim. It
stars Oldboy's Min-sik Choi as
serial killer Kyung-chul, a man who has viciously murdered the fiancée of Kim
Soo-hyeon, a secret agent with the police force. Soo-hyeon takes it upon himself to kill the
man responsible for this, and sets out on a violent path of revenge. I enjoyed this one very much, and while there
are copious amounts of bloodshed, there's a gripping story that raises it above
being just another gory movie. This one
comes highly recommended if you've found American thrillers to have been a
little bland as of late.
Both
films are anamorphically enhanced and in 1080p with aspect ratios of 1.85:1. The Blu-ray for I Saw the Devil edges out the other for better presentation; and
though the look of Chawz is a little
blasé, it still comes out looking pretty good as well. Surprisingly, Chawz has the greater amount of bonus content, with featurettes,
deleted scenes, a Q&A session, bloopers and a trailer. I Saw
the Devil, on the other hand, is lacking in this department, with only
deleted scenes and an HDNet look behind the scenes.
- David
Milchick
