"Bedevilled" is a decent Korean revenge flick. Thing is, I was hoping for a 'sharper' storyline to go along with the ensuing carnage...
A city girl is having problems with her finance related job and decides to get away by visiting her relatives on a remote island. Her childhood friend, a pusillanimous woman in a horribly abusive marriage, is beginning to reach her breaking point as all of the island's residents defend her aggressor (as well as his equally aggressive buddies). After being sexually abused and beaten, repeatedly, the lambasted woman retaliates full force...
The build-up was extensive, though the over-all plot device fell a little short. City Girl's excuse to travel to the island was almost non-existent - presumably a "relaxing" getaway, yet the unwelcoming inflection was apparent right from the start. Focus ultimately shifted to the orange-faced simpleton whose abusive home-life contradicted the established female lead I had seen established in the start. As the film progressed, the City Girl character seemed more and more unnecessary and confusing as we see an awkward flashback to a childhood kinship between them that insinuated a lesbian accord in the making. The way in which the climax attempted to "tie in" the loose ends was extremely blundering and rushed. In fact, "Bedevilled", as a whole, felt fragmentary and disjointed. Just too many things that I was entirely unable to grasp due to a cluttered array of characters and situations that came and went with not nearly enough explanation.
That said, the finale is a fine bit of blissful vengeance that helped to leave me with a satisfying viewing experience, nevertheless. A touch of splatter and grisly hacking is what every revenge film should end with. Still, "Bedevilled" stumbled far too much to sway me toward a recommendation. The atmosphere, performances, and bleak tone were solid, but the construction of the premise lacked...
"Bedevilled" is a decent Korean revenge flick. Thing is, I was hoping for a 'sharper' storyline to go along with the ensuing carnage...
