Chugyeogja (The Chaser): Running with the Night

It has been said that pimpin' ain't easy, and if the theory to that occupation holds any truth in the violent and depressing Chugyeogia then it sure doesn't look like much fun either. This film, in addition to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Mother has ensured that my top ten list at the end of this year is likely to be plagued with extreme thrillers from all over the world.

Jung-ho is a pimp who is having a problem with his ladies of the evening. None of them want to work, and when he finally tough talks one into hitting the curb she winds up missing. It turns out that she has been kidnapped by Young-min, a particularly nasty John, who just so happens to be a serial killer. In a plot point that is both convenient and interesting we discover that Jung-ho is a former police detective who is forced to use his investigative skills in order to find first the killer, and then the call girl.

This may sound like a conventional thriller on paper, but believe me it is anything but. The killer is caught rather early, and even confesses to his crimes. Due to the brutal and corrupt ways the police obtained the confession, and since all eyes are on the police to mask a story involving human feces being flung onto the mayor, they are forced to release him. This doesn't stop Jung-ho from continuing his search, and in the process he realizes that the product he is tracking down isn't just a source of income, but a person as well.

The Chaser lives up to its title by containing a pair of adrenaline pumping foot chases through the dark back allies of this major metropolis. Just watching them might fulfill your daily regiment of cardio. The violence in this film is also incredibly disturbing. There is a vicious and brutally realistic fight that shows how strong a pimp hand can be, especially when it is holding a hammer. The climax is a shocker of such magnitude that I sincerely doubt it will remain in the story by the time this film is remade by Hollywood.

I love films like this not because I am drawn to the brutality and depressive nature. I am drawn more to the risky and chance taking sense of originality that comes with the territory. I respect the material more than I enjoy it. This one is thrilling as Bourne movie and as grisly as Saw movie, yet it still manages to find humanity, and it refuses to end with a pretty bow on top. If you are in the mood for a change of pace then this film is definitely worth chasing down. A