The Chase

A man runs an apartment building; he collects the rent, does the repairs and gets on with nobody. Deok-soo is bad tempered and alone. People in the neighbourhood start dying. Bodies are found and the police do not take it seriously; most of the dead are old and nobody follows it up. One day a man comes to the door. He describes a series of killings from thirty years ago that were never solved and says the same method has come back. Nobody believes him; he is a former policeman and his state of mind is in question. Deok-soo throws him out at first. Kim Hong-sun directs. Baek Yoon-sik, Sung Dong-il and Bae Jong-ok are in the cast. It is a South Korean production. The narrative uses suspense and dark humour together, and the main character's temper is the source of the comedy. The matter it treats is victims nobody sees; the disappearance of old and poor people draws no attention. Two elderly actors are at its centre and the film builds its chases to their pace. The narrative gives the killer's identity early and builds the tension around proof. The film follows the known shape of Korean suspense and does not leave it. The narrative criticises the police as well; the habit of closing files is inside it. Its limit is originality; the premise is familiar, the ending conventional, and the tension stays moderate. Who it is for: viewers who like Korean thrillers and serial killer narratives. Who it is not for: it is conventional, predictable, and the ending harsh.