10 Finest South Korean Thrillers, Ranked15 min read

All through the Eighties in South Korea, a number of adjustments in governmental coverage, such because the easing of censorship, the allowance of unbiased filmmaking, and a rise within the distribution of worldwide imports, straight led to a cinematic renaissance within the late Nineties and 2000s within the nation. This motion, often called “New Korean Cinema,” put South Korean films on the map, bringing unprecedented crucial acclaim and field workplace success to the nation.

South Korean administrators like Bong Joon-ho, Park Chan-wook, and Kim Jee-woon helped form “New Korean Cinema” by way of genre-bending thrillers that mix mainstream attraction with arthouse sensibilities. At this time, critics and followers extensively contemplate many of those thrillers to be among the world cinema’s biggest works.

Up to date January 15, 2023, by Anthony Jeanetta. With new films from Bong Joon-ho and Park Chan-wook anticipated in 2024, South Korean thrillers stay poised to dominate the field workplace as soon as once more. This checklist is up to date to replicate CBR’s most present type tips.

10 I Noticed the Satan Is an Ideally suited Mix of Horror and Thriller

Starring Lee Byung-hun and Choi Min-sik, Kim Jee-woon’s I Noticed the Satan is a grotesque revenge thriller a few NIS agent who enacts vengeance upon a serial killer for the homicide of his spouse. The movie was extremely controversial upon its preliminary launch for its graphic violence and sexual content material.

The Korean Media Ranking Board gave I Noticed the Satan a “Restricted” ranking twice, which means the movie would’ve been ineligible for theatrical launch in-country earlier than the filmmakers made a number of cuts to carry it to theaters. Fortunately, for audiences in all places, the ultimate product is an affecting meditation on how revenge is a soul-corrupting pressure. Even good individuals are able to changing into monsters within the identify of revenge. Whereas wonderful, I Noticed the Satan lacks a number of finer particulars of the movies ranked above it on this checklist.

9 Girl Vengeance Is As Heartbreaking As It Is Thrilling

The ultimate installment of auteur Park Chan-wook’s thematically linked Vengeance Trilogy, Girl Vengeance follows a girl lately launched from jail after serving time for a homicide she didn’t commit. As soon as free, she begins the method of pursuing revenge in opposition to the actual assassin.

Girl Vengeance comprises all of the trademark parts of Park’s filmography: impeccable shot compositions, flamboyant enhancing, and scenes of immense brutality. Moreover, Lee Younger-ae delivers an outstanding efficiency that’s equal components rage and heartbreak. Like many South Korean thrillers, Girl Vengeance demonstrates that revenge doesn’t essentially present the satisfaction one believes it should grant.

8 The Wailing Is a Fashionable Horror Epic That Stays With Viewers

The Wailing is a horror thriller directed by Na Hong-jin that brilliantly defies audiences’ expectations by way of its many narrative and tonal twists and turns. The film begins as a thriller a few police officer investigating a sequence of unusual murders and sicknesses plaguing a distant South Korean village. Finally, although, The Wailing transitions right into a supernatural horror masterpiece involving Asian folklore and Christian mythology.

The Wailing provides one of the crucial visceral and affecting cinematic experiences of the 2010s. Its foreboding ambiance, ambiguity, and unsettling picture make The Wailing a very memorable watch. This movie’s depth ensures it stays with audiences lengthy after the ultimate credit roll.

7 The Handmaiden Is a Taught and Horny Thriller

Winner of almost 70 awards out of roughly 175 nominations, The Handmaiden is a psychological and erotic thriller primarily based on the novel Fingersmith by Sarah Waters, with the setting modified from Victorian-era Britain to South Korea below Japanese colonial rule. The movie issues a con man and pickpocket who pose as a Japanese rely and his handmaiden to seduce an heiress and steal her fortune.

The Handmaiden acquired ample reward for its gorgeous cinematography, lavish manufacturing design, and fascinating, unpredictable narrative. The Guardian named The Handmaiden one of many century’s finest movies and primary on its checklist of fashionable South Korean classics.

6 Steven Yeun’s Tour De Pressure Efficiency Shines In Burning

Burning, the one thriller from Korean drama auteur Lee Chang-dong depicts the lifetime of a deliveryman, Jon-su, who reconnects with an previous good friend, Hae-mi. After getting back from a visit to Africa, Hae-mi introduces Jong-su to Ben (Steven Yeun), an enigmatic man Jong-su instantly distrusts. When Hae-mi disappears, Jong-su suspects Ben is concerned.

Apropos to its identify, Burning is a slow-burn character examine that retains audiences on the sting of their seats till it lastly involves an explosive conclusion. Shrouded in unease, paranoia, and existential angst, Burning is a haunting work about anxiousness stemming from the ever-growing class division in South Korea. Rolling Stone, Movie Remark, Indiewire, and The Boston Globe are a number of of the various outstanding publications that named Burning one of many high movies of the 2010s.

5 Reminiscences of Homicide Is a Chilling Investigation Right into a Serial Killer

Bong Joon-ho’s Reminiscences of Homicide is a criminal offense thriller loosely primarily based on the investigation of South Korean serial killer Lee Choon-jae, who murdered over a dozen girls and younger ladies through the Eighties and Nineties. The movie portrays three detectives struggling to trace down the notorious serial killer through the early years of South Korea’s transition to changing into a democracy.

Like a lot of Bong’s biggest films, Reminiscences of Homicide deconstructs style expectations by way of its use of black comedy, social satire, and huge shifts in tone. All through Reminiscences of Homicide, audiences will discover themselves laughing hysterically at one second after which sobbing uncontrollably the subsequent. It is a almost excellent thriller that lacks among the polish of Bong Joon-ho’s later movies, so it lands midway in one of the best South Korean thrillers rating.

4 The Housemaid Is One in all South Korea’s Traditional Movies

Though it went unknown and unrecognized for many years within the West, The Housemaid is a home thriller that many extensively contemplate one of many biggest South Korean movies of the twentieth century. The film’s plot revolves round an upper-middle-class household who hires a predatory femme fatale as their maid. This rent proves to have catastrophic and stunning penalties.

Typically in comparison with the works of Luis Buñuel, The Housemaid is a thought-provoking examination of conservative household values and sophistication division. The movie can be a foundational work of South Korean cinema that impressed many “New Korean Cinema” filmmakers. Particularly, The Housemaid shares many thematic and narrative parallels with Bong Joon-ho’s magnum opus, Parasite.

3 Joint Safety Space Is a Fashionable and Thrilling Political Thriller

Joint Safety Space, closely championed by Quentin Tarantino, is a thriller centered on an investigation right into a taking pictures that occurred with the DMZ – the closely fortified border that separates North and South Korea. The film was so profitable that it ended its authentic theatrical run because the highest-grossing movie in South Korean historical past.

Joint Safety Space is a strong and emotionally devastating movie that highlights the camaraderie that might theoretically exist between North and South Korea and the absurdity of the irrational hatred between the 2 nations. JSA spotlights how political division can rapidly destroy humanity’s capability for empathy, respect, and solidarity. Plus, it options magnificent performances from all the solid and a gut-wrenching last shot that’s not possible to overlook.

2 Oldboy Is a Visceral Thriller That’s Full Of Memorable Twists

Positioned in the midst of Park Chan-wook’s Vengeance Trilogy, Oldboy is a free adaptation of the Japanese manga of the identical identify by Garon Tsuchiya. The movie stars Choi Min-sik as Oh Dae-su, who seeks revenge in opposition to the lads who kidnapped and imprisoned him for 15 years. Complicating issues is a budding relationship between Oh Dae-su and a younger sushi chef.

Amongst Oldboy’s most celebrated sequences is its single-take hallway combat, which often ranks as one in all cinema’s biggest motion sequences. Likewise, Oldboy additionally options one of the crucial memorable and arguably most wicked twists in cinematic historical past. The film, notably this ending, will completely scar anybody who sees it.

1 Parasite Stays One Of South Korea’s Finest Thrillers Ever

Parasite is arguably the best South Korean thriller of all time. Bong Joon-ho’s landmark movie follows a poor household who rip-off their method into working for a rich household. The film explores the financial disaster in South Korea that’s satirically known as “Hell Chosun.” Wealth disparity, class battle, unemployment, and calls for of pursuing larger training are all hot-button matters at present affecting South Korea that Parasite examines.

Thanks to those weighty themes and wonderful execution, Parasite gained over 300 awards out of 570 nominations. Parasite made historical past when it grew to become the primary overseas language movie to win the Academy Award for Finest Image. Equally, it grew to become solely the third movie to win each Finest Image on the Oscars and the Palme d’Or on the Cannes Movie Competition.