A Devilish Homicide
A Devilish Homicide | |
---|---|
Hangul | 살인마 |
Hanja | |
Revised Romanization | Salinma |
McCune–Reischauer | Sarinma |
Directed by | Lee Yong-min |
Written by | Lee Yong-min |
Produced by | Park Ui-sun |
Starring | Lee Ye-chun Do Kum-bong Jeong Ae-ran Lee Bin-hwa |
Cinematography | Hong Jong-mun |
Edited by | Jang Hyeon-su |
Music by | Kim Yong-hwan |
Distributed by | Jeil Films Co., Ltd. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 93 minutes |
Country | South Korea |
Language | Korean |
A Devilish Homicide (Korean: 살인마; RR: Salinma) is a 1965 South Korean film written and directed by Lee Yong-min. It tells the story of a woman, who, having been murdered by her jealous cousin and mother-in-law, returns as a spirit to take vengeance on her killers. The film's English title is sometimes given as A Devilish Murder or A Bloodthirsty Killer. It was released on DVD in 2007.
Plot
Family man Lee Shi-mak arrives at an art exhibition only to find the building empty, and is shocked to find a portrait of his ex-wife, Ae-ja, whom he has not seen for ten years. Shi-mak takes a taxi home, but is taken against his will to a house in the countryside. There he meets an artist, Park Joon-chul, who gives him the portrait of Ae-ja and pleads with him to take it and leave. At the stroke of midnight, he becomes hysterical and hides Shi-mak under the bed, who watches as a woman stabs the artist in the back. After she has gone, Shi-mak flees with the painting, only to find the unconscious body of Ae-ja, looking as she did ten years earlier. He takes her to his friend Dr. Park, who, perplexed by her condition, doubts that she is alive. While Shi-mak is out of the room, Ae-ja awakes and kills the doctor before vanishing again.
After he returns home with the painting, Shi-mak's family continue to be troubled by strange occurrences. As his mother returns home from the temple, she is attacked by Ae-ja, and, after a struggle, she falls into the river and is swept away. At the house, Shi-mak's wife, Hye-sook, is powerless to stop Ae-ja from disappearing with their eldest daughter.
Shi-mak's mother then returns home apparently unhurt, though she acts oddly, showing fear at the sight of the
Distraught, Shi-mak takes the portrait and smashes it on the floor, discovering a diary that was concealed in the frame. Reading it, he finds a confession made by the artist Joon-chul, telling of the plot made ten years ago to kill Ae-ja. At that time, Shi-mak and Ae-ja had been a happily married couple. Hye-sook, jealous of the couple and resentful of her position as the family's maid, conspired with Shi-mak's mother, who despised her daughter-in-law for her inability to bear children. Enlisting the help of Joon-chul and Dr. Park, they convinced Shi-mak that his wife was having an affair, and poisoned Ae-ja. As she lay dying with only a cat for company, Ae-ja swore vengeance on those that had killed her. Years later, Joon-chul was enslaved by Ae-ja's spirit, who commanded him to create the cursed portrait as a means of taking her revenge.
Though saddened by this news, Shi-mak is relieved to hear the voices of his children. Noticing that the
Cast
- Lee Ye-chun ... Lee Shi-mak
- Do Kum-bong ... Ae-ja
- Jeong Ae-ran
- Lee Bin-hwa
- Namgoong Won
- Ju Seok-yang
- Gang Mun
- Jo Seok-geun
- Ra Jeong-ok
- Lee Up-dong
- Kim Hwak-sil
- Choe Jeong-ae
- Chu Seok-yang
- Im Yun-hui
- Han Jae-gyeong
Release and critical response
A Devilish Homicide was produced by Jeil Films, and was originally released on August 12, 1965.[1]
It was a late addition to the lineup of the 7th
The Korean Film Archive offered free viewing of A Devilish Homicide on its website in July 2008[4] and on YouTube since December 2, 2015.
References
- ^ "A Bloodthirsty Killer ( Sal-inma )(1965)", KMDb. Retrieved on July 31, 2008.
- ^ Jasper Sharp, "PiFan 2003 Report", Midnight Eye, August 4, 2003. Retrieved on July 31, 2008.
- ^ James Mudge, "A Devilish Homicide (1965) Movie Review" Archived 2008-01-14 at the Wayback Machine, BeyondHollywood.com, May 29, 2007. Retrieved on July 31, 2008.
- ^ Lee Eun-joo, "Creepy days ahead online as cult horror classics arise from the vault", JoongAngDaily, July 2, 2008. Retrieved on July 31, 2008.
External links
- A Devilish Homicide at IMDb
- A Devilish Homicide at the Korean Movie Database
- "Korean Horror Films: Yi Yong-min and renaissance of 1960s' horror film" (in Korean). Interview 365. 2007-11-29. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
- Kim, Hui-chan; Lee Soonjin (2001-11-26). "When a maid comes down from a devil stair" (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
- 주성철 (Joo Seong-cheol. "국내 호러 영화 명장면 베스트 10 (Best Scene Top 10 in Korean Horror Film)" (in Korean). ONKINO.com. Retrieved 2008-01-28.