Devils – Fantasia Review (4/5)

DEVILS is a new thriller from South Korea with a character-driven story and a delicious twist. As always, none of the characters are entirely good or bad, which helps fuel the story. Read our full Devils movie review here!

DEVILS is a new South Korean crime thriller currently screening at Fantasia 2023, which is how we watched it. And, good lord, are we happy we did! Just as we’ve come to expect from these thrillers from South Korea, it manages to draw you in and deliver a few surprises along the way.

This particular movie reminded me of other great South Korean crime thrillers. Yes, even I Saw the Devil, though that one is in a league of its own for me. You’ll definitely want to check out this one when you get the chance.

Continue reading our Devils movie review below. Currently screening at Fantasia 2023.

When the hero becomes the villain

Homicide detective Jae-hwan is entirely focused on taking down a serial killer named Jin-hyuk. He has murdered many victims, including Jae-hwan’s brother-in-law, who was also his partner. In that sense, this has become personal both on the job and in his private life.

Driven by blind anger and a desire for revenge, Jae-hwan is ready to do whatever is necessary. When he finally captures the serial killer, an accident leads to them both waking up in the hospital. That’s when things get really weird.

When Detective Jae-hwan wakes up in a hospital bed, he discovers that he looks and sounds like Jin-hyuk. Now his focus is both on finding a way to get back to his own body, ensure the safety of his family, and get the serial killer behind bars once and for all.

The two lead actors, Oh Dae-hwan (Deliver Us from Evil) and Jang Dong-yoon (the wild Project Wolf Hunting) are brilliant at portraying both their own characters and convincing the viewers that their characters’ minds are then stuck in each other’s bodies.

The plot twist and ending of Devils

Don’t worry, this review is spoiler-free and I have no intention of revealing the ending of Devils here. This South Korean movie is one gorgeous enigma and you need to dive headfirst into this Pandora’s box for yourself.

Still, I have to mention that I love it when the big twist is revealed and we start to see the story from a different angle. If anything, the Devils ending (and especially the main plot twist before the third act) show us just how skewed our perspective can be.

We relate to what we’re shown and told, but what if the truth is more complex than that? This is how Devils manages to surprise its audience.

Watch Devils on SCREAMBOX!

Devils is the feature debut of director Kim Jae-hoon which bodes very well for all future projects from the filmmaker. An intense body-swap thriller that is perfect for screening at Fantasia 2023. In fact, it would have been a damn shame if this movie hadn’t been part of the film festival’s 2023 line-up.

The suspense is non-stop and the action is exactly as brutal as we’ve come to expect from South Korean genre films.

This is just yet another example of why South Korean genre filmmaking is such a huge hit internationally. The stories are universal because the stories are character-driven and all characters are flawed. You just know that everyone is capable of doing anything.

Devils (2023) is screening at Fantasia 2023. It will be available on SCREAMBOX from December 5, 2023.

Details

Director: Kim Jae-hoon
Writer: Kim Jae-hoon
Cast: Oh Dae-hwan, Jang Dong-yoon