What in flapjacks name did I just watch and why in holy heck did I decide to watch it so late at night? I'M GONNA DREAM OF KILLER ANTS! With the starting moments set in 1988, this film follows the journey of ex-alcoholic Oh Dae Su, who was imprisoned for 15 years in a single room resembling a cheap hotel room. He is given no explanation for his imprisonment, he does not know the identity of his captor nor does he know their motives, his only friend for the next 15 years is the battered old TV. After being spontaneously released Dae Su strives for vengeance against his unknown captor and thence begins his quest. On his journey he falls in love with an attractive young sushi chef, who becomes his lover and his greatest weakness. Cheerful story, I know. As many people have said this is not a bad film it's just... fudging weird, beautifully presented but fudging weird. Like... it was okay up till about the half way point. Adapted from a manga I've never read and later remade as an English film which I've never seen, this version contains picturesque camera angles, single shot fight scenes (I'm sorry I love them), live octopus eating (like for real) and a whole ton of queasy scenes. It has it's moments, but I think you could also make a decent drinking game out of the times you shout WTF or NOOO WHY at the screen. Double shots if death is mentioned. We began the film on the edge of our seats; What? Who? Why? We exclaim as a rugged man dangles another off a building. Then we cut. A drunken man in a police station. Frame passes by, frame by frame. Then we're in a room, a monologue narrates across the scenes. We watch in fascination as the drunken man evolves in the room he is imprisoned. It's fascinating, the audience is curious. When he is finally free of his tiny prison he embarks on a quest to answer the questions we had at the beginning. It's an awesome start to the film I must admit. Couple ALL of this with some gorgeous cinematography and BOOM BABY. It's beaut. But it's around here things start to get weird. Like. Real weird. I'm pretty sure I had a permanent WTF face for at least an hour of this film, and I can't even say why without spoiling it for you. It's certainly an experience to watch, I understand the good ratings. What makes this film so powerful, away from the fact some weird shizzle goes down, is probably the way it tries (and succeeds) it capturing the raw emotion of the human being. Not only do we see our protagonist get stripped bare, both metaphorically and not, we also get our own walls taken down. The innocent moments we enjoy are torn down and peed on, making us almost disgusted at our own moments of happiness within the movie. We, as humans, find a strange fascination in the protagonist as he falls again and again, pitifully scrambling against his unknown opponent. I would advise those not fond of needles, blood or sex to bring a pillow with you into viewing, it gets a little graphic especially towards the end. I was super surprised at seeing naked boobs in this, it's a Korean film! Tbh though, this is not a genre I often explore. Then again I didn't notice the thriller tag until AFTER I sat down for two hours and watched it, wanting to know wtf I just watched and why there was so much violence. At least it distracted me from my ever looming exams. It wasn't really my kind of film I must admit, but it was very well made and a unique experience to watch nether the less. Thrillers really aren't my kinda thing and I have a thing about not wanting to see teeth pulled out or needles stuck in, so i shall probably never watch this film again unless I want to weird a friend out. That being said it is very hard to ignore how pretty this film is, hence I shall give it an 8. Fun Fact: This film was inspired by King Oedipus, a mythological Greek king. Whether you know of this lovely man or not, the fact that this story mimics a Greek tragedy should give you an idea of what you're in for. They really did like tearing down their hero's over there. Edit: Just thought I should point out that I felt physically ill when it ended. Just putting that out there.