After becoming embroiled in a murky murder investigation, Hae-won (Ji Sung-won) is dealt even more dilemma when an ill-judged spat with a colleague sees her suspended by an unsympathetic boss. With the combined pressures weighing heavy on her shoulders, the young woman decides to take a break from it all and return to the pleasant, remote island where she spent many happy summers as a girl.
Upon her arrival, Hae-won is quickly reunited with childhood friend Bok-nam (Yeong-Hie So) who is ecstatic to see her old pal. But the sleepy surroundings and fuzzy nostalgia is short lived, and Hae-won is soon witness to a brutal regime of misogyny and abuse. It isnt long before Bok-nam is pleading with her old friend to help her and her young daughter to escape to the mainland, but before Hae-won can agree, a dreadful confrontation changes the course of both womens lives forever.
The directorial debut of Korean filmmaker Jang Cheol-So, Bedevilled will prove itself as something of an oddball to audiences. A strange concoction of drama, horror and humour; Bedevilled seesaws from an admittedly bleak but familiar drama to something more akin to the revenge films that once populated the exploitation genre, complete with gut-wrenching gore and uncompromising violence.
Several sequences peppered throughout the film pack an immediate punch that might disorientate audiences, and initially these moments seem odd and displaced. Ultimately however, these scenes serve a greater purpose, highlighting the awful, earth shattering moments that wrack the central characters and determine the paths they subsequently decide to take.
The characters are all well drawn and played, with the misogynistic male members of the island community convincing and intimidating. A rabble of elderly aunts are also well placed, serving as enablers to the patriarchal regime of the island and uncompromising slave-drivers to the overworked Bok-nam. But its the two female leads that will impress the most, with Ji Sung-won turning in an impressive performance as manicured outsider Hae-won, while Yeong-Hie So steals the show as the put-upon Bok-nam, handling scenes of comedy, weighty drama and harrowing horror in her stride.
But Bedevilled isnt without its faults. For the most part, it handles its shifting genres in a smart way, but by the latter stages of its final act, things veer off down a clumsy, all too familiar path.
Overall Verdict: Shocking, suspenseful and surprising; Bedevilled treads the blood sodden path of the revenge film, but reinvigorates the genre with an emotional punch that will leave you reeling.
Special Features:
Behind the Scenes
Trailer
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Reviewer: David Steele