Chaser (2008)

Option 1Option 2

Avg Rating: 4.4 / 5. Voted: 59

No one cared thus far. Do you?


AKA: Chugyeokja
Directed by: Na Hong-jin
Starring: Kim Yoon-seok (Jung-ho), Ha Jung-woo (Killer_, Seo Young-hee (Mi-jin), Koo Bon-woong (Jung-ho’s employee), Kim Yoo-jung (Mi-jin’s daughter)
Country: South Korea; Effed Up Asian Cinema
Language: Korean (Eng Subs); Effed Up Korean Movies
Runtime: 02:04:59
Genres: Gruesome, Serial Killer, Cops, Prostitution, Violence against Women

Plot – Spoilers:
Jung-ho, a Korean cop-turned-pimp, gets back to his detective ways when his girls start to go missing. He usually only cares about squeezing every drop of hookerism out of them whether or not they’re physically capable. But now it’s getting personal, as the guy he suspects of abducting his girls is really starting to piss him off.

Jung-ho tethers on the brink of turning into a tragic hero by also caring about things that don’t affect his business. So when he visits the home of the last missing girl and finds her daughter there all alone, the cop with him gives her his card asking her to call if she needs anything. But Jung-ho, rather than walk away, takes her along with him on his hunt.

The Chaser is a taut thriller that raises the hopes of its characters and viewers, only to mercilessly crush them. The maudlin angle with the little girl is merely an aside in an otherwise typically enjoyable Korean killer movie.

guest
22 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Andrew Robinson
Andrew Robinson
October 26, 2023 4:22 pm

baffled why this has 4.4 stars as it’s totally shit

Old Mother Hubbard
Old Mother Hubbard
Reply to  Andrew Robinson
December 3, 2023 1:52 pm

I totally agree. This movie sucks.

Tyrone
Tyrone
April 28, 2023 5:13 pm

Like this comment if you’re gay, dislike if you’re a faggot

Dr Chopper
Dr Chopper
April 23, 2023 10:11 pm

Another marvelous Korean movie.
Taut and visceral and yes typically Korean .. horrible and hilarious just the way we like them.

Never seen a bad Korean film yet. And can’t believe I’ve overlooked this one

A great two hours of proper cinema

Shinzengumi
Shinzengumi
April 18, 2023 3:43 pm

I thought this one was fantastic. Nothing really negative to say. One of the few Koreans’ where I actually cared about the characters.

Old Mother Hubbard
Old Mother Hubbard
April 16, 2023 10:17 am

This is a crime drama. It started out pretty good but it really lost steam. About an hour in to it, our hero the ex-cop now pimp with a heart of gold, picks up the hooker’s 10 year old daughter as a comic relief side kick and it just gets more corny from there. The inevitable fight scene with our hero and the killer was so cliched it was a joke. First the hero gets the upper hand, then he turns his back and the killer gets the upper hand, etc. And of course you know who wins. 33 people so far have voted for this and it has a 4.5 out of 5 rating. Have you ever seen “Dirty Harry” (1971)? That is a 5 star crime drama. This one isn’t even close. I would give this one 2 and a half stars but since you guys have over rated it I will give it one star. Come on guys.

Old Mother Hubbard
Old Mother Hubbard
Reply to  Old Mother Hubbard
April 16, 2023 11:07 am

If you want to see a great documentary about an unsolved triple murder watch “641 Muriel Court” (2016). There are some astounding coincidences and truly incredible and bizarre turns that unfold throughout the course of the investigation. A fascinating and heartbreaking story.

Doll Face Dōrufeisu
Doll Face Dōrufeisu
Reply to  Old Mother Hubbard
August 16, 2023 7:54 am

I actually haven’t seen that doco, but I definitely will, tyvm OMH x

Cole
Cole
Reply to  Old Mother Hubbard
April 17, 2023 6:29 pm

Here comes spastic turtle eyes having been allowed to play vidya by his diarrhea oozing mother. But instead, he decides to come on eum and go on a predictable rant against an Asian/Korean film. We get it. You watched a scene from Dirty Harry while you were being ejected from your mother’s anus. But stfu and stop commenting on cinema you don’t understand. Stick to reviewing big mac fries or whatever shit is your little weekend treat.

Now as usual. Fuck off. And you too, little imposter cunt Cole.

Old Mother Hubbard
Old Mother Hubbard
Reply to  Cole
April 17, 2023 6:35 pm

This movie totally sucks and you’re a fucking asshole. No wonder you like this corny movie.

Cole
Cole
Reply to  Cole
April 21, 2023 10:08 am

Stop using my name, you pathetic cutrate jackoff retard and go crawl right back up your mother’s anus where you belong.

Get angry, shoot, ?
Get angry, shoot, ?
April 10, 2023 2:52 am

People who have a need to fill the gap before the next film upload. Amin The Rise and Fall, 1981 is doing the rounds. My prefered title being Carry-On Uganda. What it lacks in production value is outstripped by its frenetic pace and the comic timing of Joseph Olita.
Best scenes for me were his angry meeting with the bishop and his entertaining of the russians at the air-port. Not to forget his rally driving bunk-up. Thanyou very much.

Berkowitz
Berkowitz
April 6, 2023 3:29 am

Its ok,i thought it was maybe gonna maybe on the level of i saw the devil & imo it wasn’t,but thats on me for having those expectations

fred fat
fred fat
April 4, 2023 11:53 am

is this the Bradley Walsh version?

fred fat
fred fat
April 4, 2023 11:48 am

This film is so Korean. The way it is shot and the way the story is told doesn’t conform to the way many Americans think genre clues should be presented and adhered to. At it’s heart, The Chaser is a crime drama about a serial killer and the guy who’s chasing him, but it evolves from many different angles. It’s a comedy of errors in the way the police and politicians are portrayed; a melodrama with its inclusion of the precocious little girl who belongs to the woman serving as the film’s primary “chase” and investigative point; a psychological thriller in the way the serial killer messes with the minds of the police; a mildly gory film in the way the bad guy uses a hammer and chisel; a bit of a tragedy in the way it ends. The only thing missing from this film is romance. Thank god they didn’t make one of the missing girls a love interest of the pimp—he’s only after the money they owe him. That’s where the brilliance of the chase begins. There’s a fight scene early on where our protagonist, an ex-detective gone bad turned pimp, is beating the crap out of some guy he thinks has kidnapped and sold some of his girls. A long uphill foot chase precedes the brawl so both combatants are extremely winded when the fighting begins—punches don’t land and there’s a girly incompetence to the whole thing, which is to say, it’s realistic. After finally landing a… Read more »

bies
bies
Reply to  fred fat
April 6, 2023 3:56 pm

Dear Fred, do not be bothered by some of the blunt reactions here, write whatever you want. This director Na Hong-jin made just three movies so far, as far as I know, and they are all superb: ‘The Wailing’ (also here, thanks Admins!!) being one of the best Korean movies of all time. And Fred, be grateful that foreign movies ‘do NOT conform to the many ways Americans think genre clues should be respected and adhered to’ ! I sometimes get the impression that too many fans of this site have ‘the American point-of-view’, which makes me feel sorry for them: open up your mind before looking at anything foreign, you will benefit from it (in the way that Quentin Tarantino and many other American directors did)!

Dear Admins, thanks for having this film here. I guess it is now just a matter of time till the masterpiece ‘A Bittersweet Life’ will be here too?

Harken Dunce
Harken Dunce
Reply to  bies
April 6, 2023 11:35 pm

Fred did not even edit the pasta. QT has made more shit films than good. QT was also just pasta.

bies
bies
Reply to  Harken Dunce
April 7, 2023 4:41 pm

QT is also not one of my favorite directors, but by simply stating ‘QT has made more shit films than good’ you make a fool of yourself. Sorry.

Vicent Vega
Vicent Vega
April 4, 2023 9:56 am

One of my all time favourite S Korean movies. Up there with Old Boy, The Yellow Sea, Bittersweet Life, I Saw the Devil. Very grim and the most unlikely “hero” as the description states. 10 out of 5 stars!!!

Burnt like St Joan
Burnt like St Joan
April 3, 2023 11:16 pm

The last korean film was about as gruesome as a fried egg sandwich.

Kikitza
Kikitza
April 3, 2023 11:10 pm

Dear fred fat nobody gives a shit about your monologues

fred fat
fred fat
Reply to  Kikitza
April 4, 2023 12:38 pm

i give a shit