OLD BOY: BEAUTIFUL VIOLENCE (Guest Post)

Today I am delighted to announce that ScaryDee will be my first guest poster! Today he will be joining the platform to discuss the South Korean thriller, Old Boy. Enjoy and don't forget to check out his platform for more horror discussions!

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Hello! My name is ScaryDee, and I’m a scaredy cat turned horror superfan. In my blog hosted in https://scarydeehorror.wixsite.com/scarydeehorror I talk all things horror from movies, television, anime, comics, videogames, and more! Today I have the pleasure to be a guest in East Asian Flicks, one of my favorite review sites, and just for this occasion I’ll be revisiting one of the most traumatic movies I have ever had the pleasure of seeing: Old Boy (2003).

No, I’m not talking about the steaming pile of 똥 that was the Hollywood remake from 2013 starring Josh Brolin; I’m talking about the masterpiece, award-winning movie directed by South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-Wook. Based on the hit manga series of the same name, this neo-noir psychological thriller would go on to win the Grand Prix in the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and be almost universally appraised as one of the best East Asian movies ever made.

The movie follows the story of Oh Dae-Su, an alcoholic businessman who is kidnapped and locked away in a hotel room with no doors nor windows for fifteen years, where he spends his time watching television and shadowboxing planning his escape. After he manages to leave his mysterious prison, he goes on a quest to discover who his kidnappers were and enact his revenge. Investigating the dark alleys of South Korea and facing brutal gangs, he will uncover a terrible conspiracy, with a final reveal that is sure to send chills down any viewer’s spine.

I’ll be completely honest, the first time I watched this movie I felt sick to my stomach. In the good way, of course! It’s a fascinating movie, reminiscent of Scorcese’s best cinematography, exuding the grit and brutality that the noir genre can offer. The acting is top notch, with lead Choi Min-Sik giving one of the best performances in his career. The script is fantastic, and the photography is out of this world. The violence, while tremendously graphic, is used to add to the story rather than being just a tasteless attempt at attention, something Hollywood could have remembered when trying to adapt the film for Western audiences.

As a fun fact, there is a scene in Old Boy that has been referenced in several movies, videogames, and television shows. A continuous lateral take of Oh Dae-Su fighting a band of thugs in a small hallway with a hammer is one of the most recognizable shots of recent action cinema, and has been paid homage in shows like Netflix’s Daredevil.

(Here is a provided clip of that scene)

Overall, this movie is not for the squeamish. The ambience is dark, the violence is gruesome, the acting is harrowing and the story itself has one of the most disturbing endings of any recent movie, inspired by a famous Greek tragedy that I won’t give away for the sake of not spoiling it for you.

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Old Boy earns 5 out of 5 zombie heads from me. I could be actually bitten by the undead and wouldn’t feel a thing while watching this film because I’d be too invested to care about my survival.

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Thank you ScaryDee for your contribution! This was a fun read! Again, don't forget to give his platform a look.