Fantastic Fest 2008

Brief Summary:
A serial killer is preying on call-girls from various escort agencies. In the midst of police indifference and incompetence, Jung-Ho (Yun-Seok Kim), an ex-cop-turned-pimp must dust off his old flatfoot skills to find the killer and save the life of one of his girls who has gone missing.

Full Description:
I sat on the Asian Features Jury at the Puncheon International Fantasy Film Festival this year. Of the 32 films in competition, our jury unanimously decided THE CHASER to be the grand prize winner. This is a return to form for the Korean crime film after a string of fairly disappointing efforts. The story is gritty and intense, the pacing taut, and the performance of lead actor Yun-seok Kim is phenomenal. Korean genre films sometimes manage to pack in a much wider array of emotional notes and complex character interaction than their American counterparts. In much the same way that THE HOST was a dysfunctional family drama that happened to have a monster running a muck, THE CHASER is a tender portrait of a jaded, hard-boiled ex-cop who realizes that he still has deep pathos and compassion beneath his stony veneer.

And there's bloody rampage serial killer on the loose. THE CHASER was a box-office hit in Korea this year, topping the charts until the blockbuster THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE WEIRD took top honors. Look for the American remake, by the same production team behind Scorcese's award winning film THE DEPARTED, to begin production soon. (Tim League)

Plot Summary
The debut feature from award winning short film director Na Jong-Jin, THE CHASER, tells the story of Jung-Ho, a former cop turned pimp. Think for a moment about what sort of cop would choose to become a pimp in his post-law enforcement career and you have an immediate grasp of Jung-Ho. He is a surly, foul tempered, hard talking man driven by the pursuit of easy profits. And Jung-Ho is in a bad mood because a number of his girls - girls who he effectively owns, having bought out their bad debts - have recently gone missing. Jun-Ho believes a rival pimp is simply stealing his girls and reselling them for profit but the truth is far worse. There is a serial killer on the prowl, one that has not been detected because he preys exclusively on call girls hired from a variety of escort agencies.

When the call comes in for a girl one night, Jung-Ho realizes too late that the client's phone number matches the number used to book sessions with a pair of his missing girls, and he rushes off to protect his investment. The rival must be captured and taken out of the picture. But while a chance encounter leads Jung-Ho to the correct man, his girl Mi-Jin is nowhere to be found, and the client - Young Min - is spouting nonsenses about having killed a dozen women. It's enough to bring Young-Min to the police but the killer is smart enough to give them only enough to taunt but not enough to actually charge him or even hold him for an extended period of time. And so the chase is on. It is not a chase to find the killer - he has already been found - it is a chase to find the girl. If they can't find her - or other significant evidence - within twelve hours, Young-Min must be set free. (Todd Brown)

Check out the Korean trailer here.