Seoul loan officer Hae-won (Ji Sung-Won) is an attractive but stressed out single woman, and when she loses it and slaps a colleague she is ordered by her superior to take a vacation. She leaves Seoul for a relaxing break on the remote island where she spent many happy childhood summers with her grandparents, and reconnects with her childhood friend Bok-nam (Yeong-Hie So) who has written to Hae-Won resolutely for years despite receiving no response.It quickly becomes apparent that the once idyllic island is now anything but.
Hae-Won discovers that her friend’s life is a nightmare of never ending psychological and physical abuse at the hands of her brutish husband and his addled brother, aided and abetted by a gaggle of elderly women who encourage the sadistic treatment and use the unfortunate woman as a labourer. Bok-nam begs to be taken back to the mainland along with her daughter, but the emotionally unmoved Hae-won ignores the request despite the horrific abuse she witnesses. When a terrible accident occurs in the aftermath of a failed escape attempt, the tables are turned as the tormentors face the wrath of their victim.
First time director Jang Cheol-So’s Bedevilled begins as a gripping psychological thriller built around issues of gender and misogyny, but degenerates into a shrill bloodbath more akin to I Spit On Your Grave by the third act. The film is suffused with intriguing ideas about masculinity/domination and femininity/submission, but these ideas never assume any coherent form; it all feels very scatter shot even before it shifts into bloody revenge mode.
The movie’s first 15 to 20 minutes which introduce Hae-won’s character is the best section of the film. She is emotionally frozen and cannot empathise with a pathetic elderly woman in her bank, or a woman who is beaten by thugs who she refuses to identify out of fear for her own safety. Even in the face of her friend’s agony, she simply withdraws and refuses to help. Hae-won is masculine in character and manner, lacking any of the emotional responses we associate with femininity; she lives in a bland apartment devoid of personality (female or otherwise), moping and gulping Guinness straight out of the can. However, once established, this intriguing bit of gender blurring is never fully developed, one of the most disappointing aspects of the film.
The Blu-ray looks excellent, with the island setting of most of the film benefiting nicely from the format’s great colour balance and fine detail. The extras are negligible, just a trailer and TV spot and some spliced together B roll behind the scenes footage that is not subtitled and is thus rather pointless and dull.
[Rating2:5]
