The Chaser (2008) [DVD]

Korea has definitely caught up to Hong Kong in the action/thriller category with "The Chaser" being one of the best Asian crime flicks in years. Our anti-hero is a dirty ex-cop thrown off the task force for taking bribes. Now reduced to running an escort service, his girls start disappearing. Thinking they quit & ran off or "were sold", he sends off his last girl, a sympathetic ill mom raising her small daughter alone, not realizing the client is a serial killer that had murdered the other girls. After he (literally) runs into the killer by accident, the rest of the film becomes a suspenseful edge-of-your seat thrill ride as he must find the missing girl before she dies & nab the killer, despite police department interference, political pressure to release the guilty suspect & ring of keys as his only clue!If you loved Korean crime movies like the great "Nowhere To Hide", "Les Formidables", the first "Public Enemy", etc. you are in for a treat. Even if you've never seen any contemporary Korean thrillers other than "Old Boy", this is one you cannot miss! As I hear it, the same people that took HK's great "Infernal Affairs" & remade it in English as "The Departed", plan the same fate for this one. If you are like me & prefer the original, subtitles and all, do not miss "The Chaser"!

Another great Korean movie with English subtitles. The story line is a good one about an ex-cop searchingfor a serial killer in Korea. This is a good one and worth watching tolearn something. Good story.

The Chaser is a different kind of investigation movie. You are told who the killer is fairly early in the movie, and the plot is about whether they can find proof to prosecute the killer or not. Just before the killer is arrested in the beginning, he has kidnapped another girl, and the main character tries to find out where she is throughout the movie.The main character is a former detective who has turned pimp, and the killer has presumably kidnapped and/or killed all his girls, making it very personal.There isn't much high-octane action in the movie, as this is mostly a thriller and not an action movie. The story is quite interesting, following mainly the pimp and the murderer seperatly. The story happens mostly at night and has a rather dark atmosphere, but it also has several comical moments that will make you laugh. The scenes are also fairly realistic. For example in foot chases the characters will get tired and sweaty really fast and when the chases are over they will typically gasp for breath and sometimes trip. I think this is very cool to see considering that in Hollywood movies characters can run full speed for 10 miles without sweating.Overall, I think this was a very good movie! Great atmosphere, good story, realistic and funny.

Having seen for the past month, South Korean thrillers, I have to give a thumb up to this one, as well. Love the main character due to the ability of showing soft and tender moments, but at the same time rough and sharp. The scenes are very engaging from beginning to end and the OST is great. the different turns the movie takes are very captivating and not even expected. I even, give credits to the officers or policemen's dullness to execute their jobs. Showing the inability to be efficient officials when an alleged crime situation was presented. As a previous reviewer did, Old Boy is a must see movie. I personally favor, Mother due to the most unexpected end. The same reviewer that brought up Old Boy made a comment about the color combination of clothing of the chaser and the chased in the final scene, which I found interesting to point out: One black shirt and white pants and the other white shirt and black pants-Yin and Yan dual harmony-. Looking forward to seeing Memories of a Murder and A tale of Two Sisters, among others.

I love this movie so much ...its perfect ..i watch it almost every night falling asleep.

The Chaser is a very good movie. It is, however, very violent (just in case that type of movie is not you style). An ex-cop turned pimp is losing his girls. In his attempt to find out why, he encounters a serial killer. He chases him (hence the title). The rest you have to see.Be forwarned that the DVD is poorly manufactured (Quality control is not up to normal standards.). I have bought it twice from two different sellers (one the extended version and one the standard version). Both discs had two or three hangups of up to ten seconds about three-quarters the way into the movie. I am not talking about the poor transitions of dual-layer discs. The discs looked new and were factory sealed, but they played at these times as if they had scratches.

This film was so gripping that I saw it twice at Fantastic Fest before it was out on DVD.A ex-cop turned pimp who left the force to avoid criminal charges of his own reluctantly searches for one of his missing girls, only to end up matching wits with a particularly sadistic killer. The hilly urban landscape with it's congested, narrow streets is as much a character as it's a metaphor for these two adversaries. The plot doesn't toy with the viewer; it brazenly reveals much early on, but till manages to keep upping the tension.If you have any patience at all for subtitles, and any tolerance for action thrillers, THE CHASER is a must-see. Yes there's blood and violence. The best chase scenes are ones that would not work in a Hollywood production.

Great Action/Suspense/Mystery movie all rolled into one. Ex-cop turned pimp searches for his missing girls. While the inept police get in the way he never gives up trying to save the life of a girl kidnapped by a serial killer. Had me on the edge of my seat throughhout the entire movie. Twist of story at the end. BUY IT! I am not a fan of this type of movie but cannot say enough about how well it was written, great acting, all around top of the line.

Ce polar Coréen est étonnant. Pour commencer, on peut affirmer que c'est du solide. Même si le réalisateur abat ses cartes dès les premières minutes (les identités du tueur et de la victime à sauver), le suspens reste intact jusqu'aux derniers moments. Ce qui fait la particularité de ce métrage, ce sont ses ruptures de tons récurrentes. On est dans le polar, on bascule soudain dans l'humour à la limite du burlesque (le pugilat dans le commissariat démontre le goût de l'hystérie du cinéma asiatique), pour retomber dans le film de genre avec deux scènes sanglantes d'une rare dureté. Un thriller réaliste d'où sont exclus les poursuites de voiture et les bagarres improbables... vues dans beaucoup d'autres films d'actions pour se recentrer sur l'essentiel : l'intrigue, l'humour made in Corea en plus. Une réussite.Apport HD : Très probant mais pas constant. Ce transfert AVC est très bon, mais pas parfait. Commençons par le négatif. La photographie est sombre sur la presque totalité du film ce qui ne va pas faciliter la tâche. De fait, quelques séquences sombres affichent des noirs peu denses un brin instables et des couleurs sensiblement voilées où la définition n'est guère HD. On y ajoute également occasionnellement un peu de bruit vidéo (la captive en fin de film, la salle de bain à 19'45''...). Ces plans sont très minoritaires mais concernent tout de même quelques minutes de métrage. En revanche, la majorité des plans se montrent très précis et bien définis avec un piqué nettement plus convainquant, c'est propre, c'est HD. Et puis, il y a le meilleur sur une bonne partie du film (sur la fin surtout), une image très pointue jouissant d'un excellent piqué 100%HD et des noirs d'encre. La définition se montre digne de tous les éloges sur tous les plans extérieurs de jour et même sur d'autres nombreux plans (dans la voiture à 45'00''...). La colorimétrie est froide sans aucun excès. Le grain argentique a pour sa part été soigneusement conservé mais agréablement tenu sous contrôle. Le bilan final de la section vidéo est donc très positif et impose sans aucun doute le blu ray par rapport à la version SD. Côté son c'est également du solide avec des encodages DTS HDMA tant en VO qu'en VF.Bonus en HD (mpeg2) 87' : La genèse 12', Le tournage 23', scènes commentées 28', scènes coupées 8', le traqueur et le traqué 15', commentaires.

Comparing this to Taken, as reviews have, is unfair and will only disappoint, I challenge these comparisons. For me it was more a resemblance of modern BBC TV Detective dramas. The Chaser (a 2010 remake) is slick, deep and packing intelligence, emotion and multi-level story into what is an ex cop enters a serial killers world.It is shot well, with great South Korean filmography in feel and character. It is deep, engaging, entertaining and well cultured.The plot involves an ex policeman turned prostitute guardian (pimp). One of his girls goes missing, captured by a twisted customer, who has scared girls before, who turns out to be a serial killer. As the police detain the killer there is a race to find the imprisoned last victim, as she is till alive in an unknown house. More of the killer's character is unravelled, whilst ex-cop Jung-ho has to look after the victim's young daughter, helping to save her mother before it is too late. All of this is shot well in a gritty, but greatly real, Mangwan in Seol at night amongst the streets, back allies and shady homes near the mountains.If you are into World Cinema and these style of cat and mouse detective dramas, then this film will please fans. I do feel sorry that it suffers from top-billing and raving reviews as a cult gem, when it was for me slick and well produced, rather than being anything special, unique or extra-ordinary. The film is slow, long (2 hours) and thus an asking watch, but a debatably worthwhile one none the less.

Johnathan Ross highly recommend this film on his weekly BBC show and I agree, although you'll need a strong stomach. Not for the sqimish

'The Chaser' is a multi-layered film of remorse, regret, revenge and helplessness.It's rare that any director achieves such a complex character in any film, but the male lead (Jung) played by Kim Yoon-Seok is an incredibly deep individual, who had me loathing him one minute and empathising with him the next throughout.Indeed Kim Yoon-Seok achieved 7 seperate awards for his stunning portrayal of this 'ex-detective turned pimp' in Korea during 2008.Very cleverly, the audience is 'in the loop' early on and the proceeding race against the clock centres around 'Jung' trying to piece events together as we, the viewer, look on helplessly.Many reviews go into the storyline in far more detail, so I'll miss that out. All I'd say is that this is a tough, tense yet highly touching piece of cinema. Brutal in parts, gut-wrenchingly sad in others; 'The Chaser' has everything.I would settle on 4 stars, but for me, Yoon-Seok's stunning acting demands and deserves a top-notch rating.Exceptional.

I ordered this movie based strictly on reviews and I thought I would give it a try, sure glad I did! what a great movie. I wont put any spoilers, I will just say give it a try I really dont think you will be disappointed. 9.5/10