The Chaser
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Current user rating: 94/100 (44 votes)
Profile
- Movie: The Chaser
- Revised Romanization: Chugyeogja
- Hangul: 추격자
- Director: Na Hong-Jin
- Writer: Hong Won-Chan, Lee Shinho, Na Hong-Jin
- Producer: Choi Moon-Su
- Cinematographer: Lee Seong-Je
- Release Date: February 14, 2008
- Runtime : 123 min.
- Distributor: Showbox/Mediaplex
- Country: South Korea
- Language: Korean
Plot
Ex-detective pimp Jung-ho is angry because his girls keep disappearing without clearing their debts. One night, he gets a call from a customer and sends Mi-jin. But when Mi-jin meets the customer, Jung-ho realizes the phone number of the customer matches that of the calls the missing girls got last. As something smells fishy, he searches for her. During his search, Jung-ho dents a car in the alley. When Jung-ho spots blood splattered on the driver’s shirt, he senses the man, Young-min, is the suspect. After an intense chase, Jung-ho finally catches Young-min. But because of Jung-ho’s pretense as a cop, they are both taken to the police station. At the station, he bluntly tells the policemen that he has killed the missing women, and the last girl, Mi-jin, may still be alive. As the police force is obsessed with a random search for corpses, Jung-ho is the only one who believes Mi-jin is still alive. With only 12 hours left to detain the serial killer without a warrant, Jung-ho’s hunt begins.
Notes
- "The Chaser" is based on the real life serial killer Young-cheol Yoo (유영철), who was convicted in 2005 of murdering 20 people.
- How the "Chaser" followed the real life killings of Young-chul Yoo.
- Young-chul Yoo initially targeted the rich, specifically wealthy homes in the upscale neighborhoods of Seoul. He would first locate a church in such an area and then look for a nearby home that was large and featured a courtyard, surrounded by a walled area.
- Young-chul Yoo often used a hammer as his primary weapon.
- During Young-chul Yoo's killing spree he was arrested once by the police, but they failed to check his background of past criminal offenses and mistook him for a petty thief. He was released.
- Young-chul Yoo then targeted prostitutes, specifically ones who would visit his home.
- Pimps for the missing girls began to get suspicious of a certain anonymous client and his unique phone number which were linked to the phone numbers of the missing women. The pimps then notified an acquaintance, who was also a police officer, and they eventually caught Young-chul Yoo.
- Related titles:
- Forgiveness (2008)
Cast
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| Kim Yun-Seok | Ha Jung-Woo | Seo Young-Hee |
| Jung-Ho | Ji Young-Min | Mi-Jin |
Additional Cast Members:
- Park Hyo-Joo - Detective Oh Eun-Shil
- Jeong In-Gi - Detective Lee Gil-Woo
- Jo Duk-Je - Det. Choi
- Kim You-Jung - Mi-Jin's daughter
- Ko Bon-Woong - Meathead
- Kim Young-Sun - Young-Min's sister
- Son Hee-Seon - Grocery store owner
- Choi Jeong-Woo
- Min Kyeong-Jin - Captain
- Oh Woo-Jung - Sung-Hee
- Jeong Jae-Hun
- Jo Seok-Hyeon - escaped man
- Jeong Gi-Seop - public prosecutor
- Yeo Moo-Young - Police Commissioner
- Lee Sang-Hee - cop 4
Trailers
Image Gallery
Film Festivals
- 2008 (61st) Cannes Film Festival - May 14th-25th - Out of Competition
- 2008 (12th) Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival - July 18th-27th - Puchon Choice (Competition Section)
- 2008 (13th) Pusan International Film Festival - October 2nd-10th - Korean Cinema Today - Panorama
- 2008 (41st) Sitges Film Festival - October 2nd-10th - In Competition Fantastic Selection
- 2008 (28th) Hawaii International Film Festival - October 9th-19th
- 2008 (3rd) Korean Film Festival In Paris - December 17th-23th - Feature Films
- 2009 (38th) International Film Festival Rotterdam - January 21st-February 1st - Bright Future
- 2009 (19th) Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival - February 26th-March 2nd - Official Selection
- 2009 (11th) Deauville Asian Film Festival - March 11th-15th - The Action Asia Competition
- 2009 (13th) Fantasia Film Festival - July 9th-29th (Canadian Premiere)
- 2011 (10th) New York Asian Film Festival - July 1-14, 2011 - Sea of Revenge: New Korean Thrillers
- 2011 (6th) The London Korean Film Festival - November 4-10, 2011 - Director-Spective at the KCCUK
Awards
- 2008 (12th) Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival - July 18-27, 2008
- Best Film
- Best Actress (Seo Young-Hee)
- Asian Award
- 2008 (45th) Daejong Film Awards - June 27, 2007
- Best Film
- Best Director
- Best Actor
- Best Production
- Best Cinematography
- Popularity Award (Kim Yun-Seok)
- 2008 (41st) Sitges Film Festival - October 2-10, 2008
- ORIENT EXPRESS - CASA ÀSIA - Best Motion Picture
- 2008 (29th) Blue Dragon Film Awards - November 20, 2008
- Best Actor (Kim Yun-Seok)
- 2008 (31st) Golden Cinematography Awards - December 23, 2008
- Best Actor (Ha Jung-Woo)
- Best New Director
- 2009 (19th) Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival - February 26-March 2, 2009
- Yubari Fantaland grand-prix:
- 2009 (11th) Deauville Asian Film Festival - March 11-15, 2009
- Best Action Asia Film
- 2009 (3rd) Asian Film Awards - March 23, 2009
- Best Editor (Sun-min Kim)
Comments
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Categories:
- South Korean films
- 2008 South Korean films
- 2008 films
- Films
- Thriller films
- 2008 Thriller films
- K Thriller films
- Serial Killer films
- 2008 Serial Killer films
- K Serial Killer films
- Based on True Story films
- 2008 Based on True Story films
- K Based on True Story films
- Award Winning films
- 2008 Award Winning films
- K Award Winning films
- Award Winning-Thriller films
- 2008 Award Winning-Thriller films
- K Award Winning-Thriller films
- Award Winning-Serial Killer films
- 2008 Award Winning-Serial Killer films
- K Award Winning-Serial Killer films
- Award Winning-Based on True Story films
- 2008 Award Winning-Based on True Story films
- K Award Winning-Based on True Story films
- Showbox/Mediaplex distributed films
- 2008 Showbox/Mediaplex distributed films
iliekater Says:
May 24 2010 4:40 pm
I don't know if it helps , but in the movie it mentions the "Mangwon district" in Seoul .
Oh , by the way , quite a good film .
JohnBTK Says:
May 04 2010 6:49 pm
Please please please juseyo!
can someone tell me: WHERE IS THIS SET>?
i mean like what district in seoul - better yet a google map location or something.
i dont have the film and i cannot find the setting on any website
please contact my facebook /johnBTK
i would really appriciate this and i could reccomend you loads of other movies similar
The reason i want to know is because i am going to sout korea in july and id love to see where it was set
if anyone can help i would apreciate it so much
jugang Says:
Sep 22 2009 7:16 pm
People who haven't see it, you guys should watch it! It's actually not a so thriller film but put the concentration on the human EQ & IQ part of describing the whole incident that happen whether in the real one or in the movie. And the whole arrangement of the movie was fantastic....in the sense that the purpose of doing the movie is to tell a real happening & shocking story and not to thrill stupid things to audience. Even I didn't like to watch thriller movie but this is really not a stupid scary movie (can consider not a scary one). So people who like to watch scary movie please watch it & you will feel stupid for watching all the stupid thriller movie.
Sly Says:
Apr 28 2009 5:01 am
This is one mean yet so bloody brilliant film out there... I'd literally freak out in most parts and the word for it is definitely RIVETING!
Rumi Says:
Dec 22 2008 5:58 pm
Great movie and great plot. It's something that you rarely see in movies nowadays.
Ki Says:
Jun 28 2008 12:00 am
Upon its theatrical release in Korea (Feb. 14th, 2008), "The Chaser" simply took the box office by storm and packed Korean cinema houses for 3 consecutive months. Currently the movie is the highest grossing film of the year in Korea, yet that highest grossing title doesn't always correspond to a great film or even a decent film. Just think back to 2007 and recall that the two highest grossing films in Korea were "D-War" and "May 18." Two films that were simply aweful. Despite that, in the case of "The Chaser," something tells you that there must be something special about the film. The movie doesn't possess gaudy special effects or actors that would bring many people to theatres by name alone (at least when the movie initially opened). More surprisingly, "The Chaser" centers around a serial killer, a topic that's quite common in Korean films these days (Our Town, Seven Days, Rainbow Eyes, Black House, etc). So why exactly did "The Chaser" attract so many movie goers? The answers (please take note Korean movie execs) are found a few paragraphs below.
In "The Chaser," a former cop turned pimp Jung-ho (Yun-seok Kim) is having one of those days. Two of his girls have gone missing (one with his car) and a third girl calls in sick. He's strapped for cash and owes money to unscrupulous characters. Jung-ho then makes the fateful decision to call the sick girl, Min-Jin (Yeong-hie Seo) and demand that she meets another client.
Later that evening, Jung-ho drives off in his recovered Jaguar only to find the missing girl's cell phone in his car. When he gets back to the office he looks through her phone to find out the identity of her last client. The last phone number is 016-9265-4885, the "4885″ ringing a familiar note in Jung-ho's memory. He then checks through his client list notebook. Both of the missing girls' last clients were 016-9265-4885 and further more... Min-jin is now meeting that same person.
What the Chaser brings to the table is a potent combination of a "you gotta grab-your-armchair" like intense script and performances from the entire cast that is worthy of "encore!" chants. The movie is directed by newcomer Hong-jin Na, a name that will likely become much better known in the coming months. The beauty of Na's "The Chaser" is that the movie leaves out all the gimmicky parts of recent Korean thrillers (the hokey plots twists and CSI like over visuals) to focus on nothing but the core of the film: an intense chase to uncover bodies before the killer is released. Yes you heard that right. The killer is actually apprehended in the first quarter of the film! When have you seen a movie where the killer is found, chased, and then apprehended in the early portions of the movie? The real drama, certainly unique for its genre, begins once the killer is captured.