Another revenge-thriller from the cinema industry that now has an unprecedented mastery at it, Bedevilled is the tale of two women who grew up on a desolate island as friends but separated when one of them moved to the city. The film primarily concerns Bok-nam; the one who stayed back & who faces abuse from her husband to everyone on a daily basis but still endures everything for her daughter, whom she cares about most. But when a deadly tragedy occurs, she lets out all her anger & frustration that has built over years of abuse to exact revenge on everyone in an extremely violent manner.
For a debut effort, the director has done a fine job with more rights than wrong, the plot is a bit thin & progresses itself through shock value only which is present in abundance in the second half of the film, the technical crew also does its job pretty well but it's Seo Young-hee who impresses the most as Bok-nam. She puts up an absolute raw, maddening display of miserable life & yet makes the audience feel sympathetic towards her. Next best is Ji Sung-won as Hae-won, who returns to the island after many years without knowing what devilry awaits her.
On an overall scale, Bedevilled may suffer from many flaws which are too hard to ignore & mostly relies on its disturbing or violent content to reach out to the fans of its genre but it also shows the beast within all of us that's feeding on anger & frustrations, is waiting to be let out & sometimes does in a way that's beyond our control. The film works as an unforgiving thriller to a considerable extent but in its third act turns into a nightmarish horror thanks to a woman gone crazy with a sickle in her hand. Watch it at your own risk.
For a debut effort, the director has done a fine job with more rights than wrong, the plot is a bit thin & progresses itself through shock value only which is present in abundance in the second half of the film, the technical crew also does its job pretty well but it's Seo Young-hee who impresses the most as Bok-nam. She puts up an absolute raw, maddening display of miserable life & yet makes the audience feel sympathetic towards her. Next best is Ji Sung-won as Hae-won, who returns to the island after many years without knowing what devilry awaits her.
On an overall scale, Bedevilled may suffer from many flaws which are too hard to ignore & mostly relies on its disturbing or violent content to reach out to the fans of its genre but it also shows the beast within all of us that's feeding on anger & frustrations, is waiting to be let out & sometimes does in a way that's beyond our control. The film works as an unforgiving thriller to a considerable extent but in its third act turns into a nightmarish horror thanks to a woman gone crazy with a sickle in her hand. Watch it at your own risk.