Any Good Korean Crime Thrillers?

kobe23 · Post by **kobe23** » Oct 4th, '06, 08:51

just started getting into Korean movies lately and am just wondering if anyone can recommend me some good crime thrillers? You know those movies that are similar to Se7en, Silence of the Lambs, Basic Instinct from Hollywood etc.

The only one I've seen so far that is kinda a crime thriller is Joint Security Area, and although it was a good movie, it was really more about the military and friendship rather than crime.

Any suggestions appreciated!

lovedorama · Post by **lovedorama** » Oct 4th, '06, 09:21

Hi,

For starters...

Public Enemy
Another Public Enemy aka Public Enemy 2
H
Tell Me Something
The Circle
The Big Swindle
Face
Addicted
The Big Scene aka Murder Take One
Never to Lose
Monopoly

Out of the above, I enjoyed Public Enemy 1 & 2 the most.

Top 5 (Public Enemy 1 & 2, H, The Circle, Tell Me Something) are probably close to what you're looking for.

Syuichi · Post by **Syuichi** » Oct 5th, '06, 02:38

H and Tell Me Something are pretty similar.

My favorites are:

The Big Scene

(Best movie I've ever seen)
A Bittersweet Life(Good noir film)
A Dirty Carnival
Shiri/Swiri
Public Enemy
Another Public Enemy(Probably won't like this one as much as the first)
Holiday(Underrated, but a really good film)
Silmido(Its a military movie like JSA)
The Unforgiven(Another military movie)
Wild Card
Memories of Murder(Highly Recommended!! One of the reviewers from koreanfilm.org thought it was one of the best movies of the decade)

You can find all of these movies with the exception of Public Enemy in clubbox.co.kr/naynay123

marvelous · Post by **marvelous** » Oct 5th, '06, 18:33

I got one for you... You shouldn't miss...

BitterSweetLife

http://clubbox.co.kr/naynay123

kobe23 · Post by **kobe23** » Oct 8th, '06, 15:08

Thanks for the recommendations guys, really appreciate it. I'll check out Public Enemy and Tell Me Something in the near future.

BitterSweetLife I have seen recently and it was pretty good.

Just watched Memories of Murder the other night because of rave reviews like koreanfilm.org as you mentioned but I found it a bit too slow paced (esp. first half) and not that much tension for a thriller, but overall, a good movie.

AngelicLayer · Post by **AngelicLayer** » Oct 9th, '06, 19:01

Bittersweet Life
Diary of June
Memories of a murderer
Lady vengeance
Public enemy
City of violence
gangster high
Sorume
Some

Rakkie · Post by **Rakkie** » Oct 10th, '06, 08:32

Ey, i am missing something?

How come no one has mentioned Oldboy?

It's the only Korean film in the IMDB Top 250.

I thought it was excellent, but is probably a bit much for some people.

AngelicLayer · Post by **AngelicLayer** » Oct 10th, '06, 18:45

oh, youre ryt! Oldboy is a great film! Also, with the same actor, crying fist! These movies really filled me up with extasy!

Syuichi · Post by **Syuichi** » Oct 12th, '06, 02:06

All the Vengeance Trilogy films are a bit too much. I was able to watch Oldboy and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance but the Lady Vengeance one was really bad.

kobe23, did you enjoy the ending to Memories of Murder? Most people don't get it but I think its one of the best endings.

dfunk · Post by **dfunk** » Oct 12th, '06, 05:36

If you’re a fan of Kam Wu-seong (Marriage is a Crazy Thing, The King and the Clown, R-Point, Alone in Love), I'd recommend this movie, 'Spider Forest'.
Kam Wu-seong is one of the best actors in Korea. In my opinion, he is comparable to Hollywood’s Edward Norton

Spider Forest (Geomisoop)

Year: 2004
Director: Song Il-gon
Cast: Kam Wu-seong, Suh Jung, Kang Kyeong-heon, Jang Hyeon-seong, Son Byung-ho
Synopsis:
After awakening in a dark, mysterious forest, TV producer Min finds the mutilated bodies of a woman and man in a cabin. Knocked unconscious while pursuing their murderer, he awakens in a hospital after 14 days in a coma. While trying to recall and decipher what happened in the forest, Min is subjected to an intense struggle with the police and his own latent memories. Through questionably accurate flashbacks, cryptic imagery and dreamlike encounters, Min's fragmented past is reassembled, revealing strange and sinister secrets.

Images:

z00m · Post by **z00m** » Oct 12th, '06, 17:01

I have to add one of my first k-movies, which I did like very much: "Say Yes" with Park Jung-Hun (Be prepared for an very shocking final

)

Synopsis:

After one year of marriage, things could not look better for Jeong-hyun and Yun-hie. In order to celebrate the publishing of Jeong-hyun's manuscript, the couple decide to take a winter vacation along the East Sea. It turns out to be a trip neither will ever forget...if they survive. They meet a man calling himself "M" and agree to give him a lift. His expressionless face and penetrating eyes are disturbing enough but his rude actions and speech begin to interfere with the couples happiness during there trip, although they try to have a good time in spite of him. There contentment with this situation is short lived when they learn that "M" was in prison for a brutal crime. Meanwhile, the police have begun an investigation of a series of cruel murders along the highway... (imdb)

kobe23 · Post by **kobe23** » Oct 12th, '06, 23:24

Syuichi wrote:kobe23, did you enjoy the ending to Memories of Murder? Most people don't get it but I think its one of the best endings.

I did enjoy the ending of MoM but to be honest I didn't really get why many people regard it as such a brilliant ending.

That's pretty much how I interpreted things, and I guess coming from a background of watching primarily Hollywood films, I probably don't really understand Asian - and particularly Korean films all that much....not yet anyway.

Edit: Just wanted to say thanks for the suggestions, I had a read of the synopsis on Spider Forest and Say Yes, and those are definitely the type of films I've been looking for. Keep them coming! I'll be watching most of these when I get some free time.

Syuichi · Post by **Syuichi** » Oct 12th, '06, 23:43

MoM is actually based on a true story. Over 300,000 policemen took part in the investigation and over 3,000 suspects were interrogated.

mongstaness · Post by **mongstaness** » Oct 13th, '06, 00:09

does ne one have like a tale of two sisters??? that can be dl

kobe23 · Post by **kobe23** » Oct 13th, '06, 00:16

That does help a bit, but I need to know something...

I think I'm a bit more confused now

Syuichi · Post by **Syuichi** » Oct 13th, '06, 00:43

It was sort of different from the true story since they didn't show 3000 suspects

kobe23 · Post by **kobe23** » Dec 27th, '06, 02:19

dfunk wrote:If you’re a fan of Kam Wu-seong (Marriage is a Crazy Thing, The King and the Clown, R-Point, Alone in Love), I'd recommend this movie, 'Spider Forest'.
Kam Wu-seong is one of the best actors in Korea. In my opinion, he is comparable to Hollywood’s Edward Norton

Spider Forest (Geomisoop)

Year: 2004
Director: Song Il-gon
Cast: Kam Wu-seong, Suh Jung, Kang Kyeong-heon, Jang Hyeon-seong, Son Byung-ho
Synopsis:
After awakening in a dark, mysterious forest, TV producer Min finds the mutilated bodies of a woman and man in a cabin. Knocked unconscious while pursuing their murderer, he awakens in a hospital after 14 days in a coma. While trying to recall and decipher what happened in the forest, Min is subjected to an intense struggle with the police and his own latent memories. Through questionably accurate flashbacks, cryptic imagery and dreamlike encounters, Min's fragmented past is reassembled, revealing strange and sinister secrets.

Images:
[img]http://imgmovie.naver.com/mdi/mi/0374/C7491-00.jpg[/img]

[img]http://imgmovie.naver.com/mdi/mi/0374/C7491-02.jpg[/img]

[img]http://imgmovie.naver.com/mdi/mi/0374/C7491-03.jpg[/img]

I just like to thank you for recommending me Spider Forest. I just watched it last night and I have to say it's one of the best crime-thrillers I have seen in recent years.

The pace was quite slow (which I normally dont like), but it was slow not without reason. Every scene was done deliberately and meticulously. The atmosphere was really creepy which kept me on the edge of my seat throughout, despite feeling a bit sleepy before I started watching this brilliant movie.

It might not appeal to everyone though, as it's a bit complicated and over-intellectualized. But the story really was great, I have been very impressed with Korean movie writers so far - If only they were this good for the series.

The cast did an amazing job...I really liked the woman who played Min Su-In (anyone know who she is?) You can clearly see sorrow in her eyes and the way she moves around...very haunting. This is the first time I've seen Kam Wu-seong, so I can't really compare him to Edward Norton (who is one of Hollywood's greats), but he did do a fantastic job.

It really is a must for those who like to enjoy doing further research after the completion of a movie to really appreciate its brilliance. But make sure you're alert while watching it - attention to detail is a must! If you liked A Tale of Two Sisters, there's a good chance you'll like this one.

Let's just hope Korea comes up with more similar films, but faster paced and slightly less ambigous.

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Any Good Korean Crime Thrillers?

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