Old Boy Review Country : South Korea Year: 2003 Genre: Drama Format: Theater Running Time: 120Min Distributor: Cineclick Asia Choi Min-sik stars in Oldboy, which is a fine movie, if you like that sort of thing, you sick bastards... Credits Directed by Chanwook Park. Screenplay by Hwang Jo-yun, Lim Joon-hyung and Chanwook Park, from an original story by Tsuchiya Garon and Minegishi Nobuaki. Starring Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-tae and Gang Hye-jung. Oldboy begins with an intriguing premise: A man wakes up in what looks like a seedy hotel room. He eventually figures out that he has been kidnapped and imprisoned without explanation. After 15 years, he then is released, equipped with money, a cellphone and expensive clothes. The rest of the plot concerns Dae-su Oh (Min-sik Choi) torturing his way to the truth. Including a gruesome scene involving a hammer and teeth. Ouch! As he strives to explain his imprisonment and get his revenge, he soon finds out that not only his kidnapper has still plans for him, but that those plans will serve as the even worse finale to 15 years of imprisonment. Oldboy belongs in that subgenre of horror movies I call “twisted genius”. I could argue that these types of films are more interesting than the unstoppable killing machines of the late 70’s-80’s horror movies like Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees, but with Oldboy the “twisted genius” trope goes for the gusto and really pulls it off. Director Chan-wook Park (a former philosophy student and Hitchcock devotee) does an excellent job here with insane visuals and excellent plot twists that really make this the first Korean film I am going to be raving about for some time. He really does a great job of incorporating his influences to create a mesmerizing, psychological drama with a resolution that will leave you speechless. The movie stands out well as an atmospheric thriller that evokes a sense of dread as we learn what type of hell the victim (or is he) has to endure. As the movie moves on however it is padded with a twisted type love story featuring Hye-jeong Kang as caretaker Mi-do to Dae-su Oh. But once you reach the end of the film... well, I have to repeat myself here and say the reveal is insanely crafted, cruel, and really makes for one of the best plot twists I have seen in quite a while. The film, considering the budget (a little over a million dollars) looks and sounds surprisingly good. I was impressed with the cinematography – not necessarily the lack of inspired effects, but with the overall tone the picture suggested. It is quite creepy and the transfer does it justice. Sometimes I had a tough time making out the dialogue (dubbed for the U.S.) while other parts of the movie are deafening... but for the most part the sound helps intensify what is happening on screen. The extras are pretty standard: a very short interview with Chan-wook Park, which has little information on how the movie was made, deleted scenes, audio commentary, and other Tartan trailers. The disc also contains a good selection of the movie’s original trailers and TV spots, and a cool little fan trailer that was made for some fan contest I never heard about. So, if you don't want to take my word for it, just wait. America is at it again... remaking this film for audiences abroad. I am glad that I got to see it before it was bastardized like The Grudge was. Lets just hope Sam Raimi has nothing to do with it. It's actually quite funny, Taiwanese director Justin Lin is pegged as director. He is from from Orange County, California. That says it all, does it not? OFFICIAL SITE Review by John Gray, for Pitofhorror.com