Any definition of grim and dark is not complete without
mentioning Asian cinema. And any list of Asian cinema masterpieces is not
complete without mentioning “The Chaser”.
Although at times the film feels too macabre to be anything
but a dark fantasy it is based on true events:
the story of the South Korean serial killer and cannibal Yoo
Young-chul who is currently on death row since 2004. His crimes are still
sparkling the death penalty debate in South Korea, the country where death
penalty is still permissible by the law but hasn’t been executed since 1997.
What is the best about the film is that it feels like real
life with all its randomness. South Korean police is not shown as incapable.
They are real people who make reasonably logical judgments in the circumstances
they are in. They get side-tracked on other, more “important” things, get
tired, and make mistakes. Plus their minds just can’t comprehend the full
extent of the un-human illogical horror that is Yoo Young-chul.
There is a bit of hope added into the scary mix in the form of Eom Joong-ho, dirty cop turned pimp. He is the main force that drives the chase which is as much the chase after the remains of his humanity as the chase after the serial killer.