The Chaser
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Film description
Jung-ho isn’t a pleasant sort – a former cop turned pimp, he makes a living from a group of women working for him. He’s in a foul mood because two of them haven’t returned from their latest assignments, and he suspects one of their clients has sold them on. Now he pressures the ailing Mi-jin into going out, hoping she will lead him to the alleged trafficker. He has no idea that he is sending her straight into the hands of a monster in human form.
Na Hong-jin’s debut, however, is no ordinary thriller about a psychopathic killer – the likes of which flooded Korean cinema following the success of Bong Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder. The director masterfully plays with genre conventions, taking viewers on a nerve-shredding journey to the very depths of hell. He does so with remarkable ingenuity: replacing high-speed car chases with frantic foot pursuits through the winding, nocturnal alleyways of Seoul, while weaving a satirical critique of the Korean security apparatus into the harrowing narrative. Inspired by real-life events, this devastatingly pessimistic feature debut became the third highest-grossing film of 2008 in South Korea and an international sensation among genre enthusiasts. Roger Ebert notably wrote that American filmmakers could learn a thing or two about their craft from him.
Warning: Contains scenes of graphic violence.
text:
Marcin Krasnowolski
Na Hong-jin
Born in 1974, the South Korean director and screenwriter made his feature debut in 2008 with the thriller The Chaser, which became a box-office hit in South Korea and gained international acclaim for its bold vision and masterful direction. His second film, The Yellow Sea, co-produced by 20th Century Fox, was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival in 2011. Audiences had to wait six years for his next effort: the horror feature The Wailing, funded by Fox International Productions, which also premiered at Cannes and remains the biggest box-office triumph of his career to date. His latest project, Hope, laden with groundbreaking special effects, stands as the most expensive film production in South Korean cinematic history.
2008 W pogoni / Chaser / Chugyeokja
2010 Morze Żółte / Yellow Sea / Hwang hae
2016 Lament / The Wailing / Gokseong
2026 Witajcie w Hope / Hope / Hopeu
