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A Bloodthirsty Killer
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - South Korea - Korean Film Archive/Blue Kino Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (24th September 2023). |
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The Film
 "A Bloosdthirsty Killer" <殺人魔> (1965) Lee Si-mok (played by Lee Yea-chun) is invited to an art exhibit which is almost entirely empty, with only one piece of art being displayed. It is a portrait of his late wife Ae-ja (played by Do Kum-bong), which disturbs him deeply. It is arranged for him to meet Chun-cheol (played by Chu Seok-yang), the artist who painted the artwork who says there is more to the painting than meets the eye. Unfortunately, Chun-cheol is killed by before he can reveal the details. Outside, Si-mok mysteriously finds the unconscious body of Ae-ja, who looks just as she had a decade earlier, and takes her to a hospital. Though the doctor claims she is deceased, she awakens and kills him, only to disappear again. The mystery follows Si-mok home, as bizarre happenings surround his family, with his second wife Hye-suk (played by Lee Bin-hwa), his mother Mrs. Huh (played by Jeong Ae-rang), and his young children. “A Bloodthirsty Killer” might be taking place in a modern era (in this case, 1960s South Korea), though the story takes heavy inspiration from traditional folklore. In this case it is with ghostly cats. Felines have long been associated with the supernatural, both in the west and in the east. Witches are often accompanied by cats in western folklore. In Japanese and Korean folklore, cats have been depicted as shapeshifters. “A Bloodthirsty Killer” depicts a vengeful spirit that lies within a cat that is able to shapeshift into the dead to fool others and carry out a series of murders, but for what purpose and why? This is a mystery film that uses creative special effects and tense scares for its storytelling, and while there are a lot of fascinating aspects to the film itself, it is not entirely concise or logical. There are a number of unexplained moments such as the mysterious taxi driver and the all too convenient timing of the painter’s death, as well as how Si-mok is able to go from place to place while deaths and disappearances occur. But once the story gets on its feet with the disappearances of his children as well as what happens with his second wife (who happens to be Ae-ja’s relative) and his mother, there are some genuinely creepy and unforgettable moments. The cat shapeshifting into his mother who starts to lick the faces of the children as they sleep, the mirror scenes, as well as some intricate yet primitive looking superimposed shots are quite memorable and disturbing. Once Si-mok discovers the painter’s diary that exposes the family secret and his own torment does the plot start coming together to reveal the whys of the macabre happenings, and it is quite a heartbreaking tale that could only spike vengeance. Director Lee Yong-min started his career as a film director in 1946 with the documentary “Holiday in Seoul”, though his most well known works were in the horror genre. Like many who directed horror films in the period, they were not as recognized as other directors due to the genre not being in the same class as award winning dramas, though they have been more celebrated in hindsight. As for South Korean horror, there have been a great number of critical and commercial successes in the 2000s. Though the genre existed even in the golden age of the 1960s, the works of filmmakers from Kim Ki-young to Lee Yong-min are gaining better recognition. There are a number of creative shots in “A Bloodthirsty Killer”, such as the hospital scene in which the mirrored image differs from the actual shot when panned, and the sudden shattering. The melting of the painting at the start of the film is simple yet incredibly effective. The shapeshifting sequences with superimposition of multiple shots is one of the weaker examples, as by this time there have been better examples of similar special effects in international cinema. But as for South Korean cinema, they were quite unique. Director Lee crafted his camera skills as a cinematographer on both documentary and narrative features, so it seems like it was a natural transition for him to experiment with visual techniques in horror features, which included “Flower of Evil” (1961), “A Neckless Beauty” (1966) (which also featured actors Lee Yea-chun, Do Kum-bong and Jeong Ae-ran), “Revenge of the Snake Woman” (1970), as well as his final film “Black Ghost” (1976). Lee passed away on April 26, 1983. “A Bloodthirsty Killer” was the first South Korean film to feature a shapeshifting cat, and it would not be the last. Shin Sang-ok’s “A Ghost Story of the Joseon Dynasty” from 1970, Jang Il-ho’s “Remodeled Beauty” (1975), as well as Byun Seung-wook’s 2011 feature simply titled “The Cat”. Lee Yea-chun was born on July 20rd, 1919 and appeared in more than 250 films during his lengthy career. He debuted in 1955 in “Piagol” and appeared in works such as “Rhee Syngman and the Independence Movement” (1959), “Goryeojang” (1963) and “A Neckless Beauty” (1966). He died on November 23rd, 1977. Do Kum-bong was born on August 27th 1930 and appeared in more than 300 films. Her highlights include “Forever with You” (1958), “Dongshimcho” (1959), “Rhee Syngman and the Independence Movement” (1959) (alongside Lee Yea-chun), “Drifting Island” (1960), “Under the Sky of Seoul” (1961), “Mother and a Guest” (1961), “A Neckless Beauty” (1966), and “Burning Mountain” (1967). She died on June 3rd 2009. Although she played the mother in-law of Do’s character Jeong Ae-ran was only three years older, being born on April 15th, 1927. She appeared in more than 200 films during her career, including “The Money” (1958), “Drifting Island” (1960) (alongside Do Kum-bong), “A Bonanza” (1961), “The Devil’s Stairway” (1964), “Black Hair” (1964), “A Neckless Beauty” (1966), and “The General’s Mustache” (1968). She died on November 10th, 2005. Lee Bin-hwa was born in 1934 and has also appeared in more than 200 films. She appeared in “Rhee Syngman and the Independence Movement” (1959) (alongside Lee Yea-chun and Do Kum-bong) “Drifting Island” (1960) (alongside Do Kum-bong and Jeong Ae-ran), “Mother and a Guest” (1961) (alongside Do Kum-bong), and “Mist” (1967). As of this writing she is 89 years old. Born on August 1st, 1934, Won Nam-Koong, who played the doctor that was having an affair with Mrs. Huh has a lengthy filmography with nearly 350 feature films. He appeared in “Rhee Syngman and the Independence Movement” (1959) (alongside Lee Yea-chun, Do Kum-bong, and Lee Bin-hwa), “North and South” (1964), “The DMZ” (1965), “Assassin” (1969), “The Old Potter” (1969), “Insect Woman” (1972), “Woman Chasing the Butterfly of Death” (1978), and “The Hut” (1981). His career continued into the 2000s, with his role in the SBS TV series “Scent of the Woman” receiving high praise. He also was the 25th President of the Korean Film Industry Association from 2013 to 2015. As of this writing he is 89 years old. Chu Seok-yang has the lengthiest filmography of all with more than 400 titles to his credit. Born on June 12th, 1923, he appeared in films such as "A Female Boss" (1959), "Emperor Gojong and An Jung-geun, the Patriot" (1959), "Bloodline" (1963), “Black Hair”(1964) (alongside Jeong Ae-ran), “The Old Potter” (1969) (alongside Won Nam-Koong), "The March of Fools" (1975), "A Beauty" (1975), "A Fine. Windy Day" (1980), "Jagko" (1980), and "People in the Slum" (1982). He died on May 22nd, 2000 at the age of 76. Released on August 12th, 1965 in South Korean, the film didn't quite have a critical impact on its release and quietly faded into obscurity. It was first brought to DVD in South Korean by Cine Line in 2007 under the English title of "A Devilish Homicide", which gave it a wider though still limited audience. KOFA uploaded the film to its YouTube channel in 2016 in an unrestored form. KOFA has lovingly revisited the film with a full scale restoration, and given it the Blu-ray treatment in 2023. Note this is a region ALL Blu-ray
Video
The Korean Film Archive/Blue Kino presents the film in the original 2.35:1 aspect ratio in 1080p AVC MPEG-4. The original 35mm negative was scanned in 4K resolution by KOFA in 2021, with their restoration concentrating on digital editing and color balance while digital cleaning and image restoration was done by Image Power Station. There were numerous issues with the original film including dust, scratches, stains, as well as imbalanced black and white levels, warping causing instability, and more. The greyscale has been well balanced throughout for great detail in wardrobes and textures, while keeping deep blacks and bright whites. Major amounts of damage were removed with almost no trace of dust or speckles left in the picture, while still keeping film grain intact. Stability is also excellent without major issues of telecine wobble. As there are a number of optical effects, there are some shots that have a thicker look than others with some instability and a more limited greyscale, though these are inherent to the original picture and look "natural" considering the source material. This is another winning transfer from KOFA. The film's runtime is 93:18 which includes restoration text at the start.
Audio
Korean LPCM 1.0 The original Korean audio track is presented in uncompressed mono. A 35mm master positive element was used for the audio restoration. Like all other South Korean productions of the period, all audio was post-synchronized, so there are examples of mismatched lips, though it should be expected. The audio was digitally restored, removing loud clicks, pops, and crackle, while keeping sound effects well balanced against the dialogue and music cues. There were points where the music and dialogue were recorded much louder, an KOFA chose to balance the audio rather than keeping the suddenly loud points for a more natural and consistent sound. Fidelity is excellent with voices sounding clear and not having unnecessary distortion. Another great example of sound restoration by KOFA. There are optional English, Japanese, Korean subtitles in a white font. There is one point at the start that the subtitles mistakenly say "This can't happening" rather than "This can't be happening", but other than that, there are no other examples of spelling or grammar errors in the English track. In addition, given names of characters are not hyphenated, such as Si-mok being spelled "Simok" and "Ae-ja" being spelled "Aeja", which is a minor odd choice, as it is more common to hyphenate Korean names between the first and second syllables. It's also inconsistent as the booklet has the names in hyphenated form. (This review has the character names in hyphenated form, rather than how they are presented with the subtitles.)
Extras
Audio commentary by film critic and filmmaker Chung Sung-ill A newly recorded commentary by Chung who has frequently appeared on various KOFA commentaries returns here, though unfortunately it follows the trend of KOFA no longer providing English subtitles for their commentary tracks. in Korean Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles "Digital Restoration: Before & After" featurette (3:07) Presented are a side by side comparison of various sequences from the film with restoration tools applied. The before and after shots show quite a difference with the amount of speckles, scratches, and instability that was part of the original film. Color correction is also applied to smoothen the image to reduce flickering and shows the effort that the restoration team went through. But like all other of KOFA's before/after featurettes, it only applies to the image and not the audio, as it is shown without sound. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in English & Korean text Booklet A 48 page bilingual booklet is included in Korean and English. First are the film credits and a synopsis. This is followed by the director's filmography and restoration notes for the film. The first essay is "An Invisible Man in the History of Korean Cinema: Director Lee Yong-min" by Jang Byung-won, programmer for the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival which is a biography for the director and notes on some of his horror features including "A Bloodthirsty Killer". Next is a review for the film entitled "The Birth of Korean-Style Horror Films" again by Jang Byung-won. An interview with KOFA's Oh Sungji, recommending "A Bloodthirsty Killer", courtesy of the George Eastman House.
Packaging
This is spine #29 in KOFA's Blu-ray series. The disc is packaged in a clear keep case which also holds one lenticular card which is enclosed in a plastic bag with fake blood streaks printed on it. The keep case and booklet are housed in a slipbox. 
Overall
"A Bloodthirsty Killer" is a fairly impressive early South Korean horror film with folklore mysticism, creative special effects, and an eerie modern environment, though there are some reservations due to the illogical nature of certain portions. The Korean Film Archive's restoration is excellent, with a great Blu-ray release, though again an unfortunate case of not subtitling the seemingly informative audio commentary. It still comes as a recommended release. Note the film is available to watch for free on Korean Film Archive's YouTube Channel with English subtitles, in an unrestored form.
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