Have you ever thought you have cross paths with a real psychopath? Would you be able to tell the difference between the disturbed person and a normal one?
Monster is a 2014 Korean Action/Thriller film. Stars Lee Min Ki (My Liberation Notes, What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim?), Kim Go-Eun(Guardian: The Lonely And Great God, Yumi Cells), and Seo-Hyeon Ahn (Revenge Note 2, Okja). Directed by Hwang In-Ho (Spelbound, Decibel).
Park Bok-Soon runs a small food stand in her rural village. Her grandmother left her a little plot of land for her to sell her goods and she fights for the space with every ounce of energy she has. The local residents in the village thinks she’s odd and has a serious anger problem. When Bok-Soon is not fighting with developers that want to take her plot of land, she cares for her younger sister, Eun-Jung, and is helping her prepare to go to Seoul University.
Tae-Su is a madman. He kills without caring about anything or anyone else. When his older brother, Ik-Sang contacts him after five long years, to ask for a favor, Tae-Su accepts.
Ik-Sang wants him to retrieve a cell phone from a girl that blackmails people with candid pictures. Tae-Su tracks her down and asks for the phone. She demands her money and when Tae-Su refuses to pay for the cell phone, the girl shuts the door in his face.
Tae-Su does something any psychopath would do, he breaks into her house and kills her. Little did he know she had a little sister in the house at the time and he is left with her.
Tae-Su takes Gae Na-Ri back to his creepy house in the woods, far from town and people. He makes a deal with her, run now while he drinks his wine, and he will capture her later, or he can kill her now.
Na-Ri runs for her life into the woods. She runs all night and by the time the sun rises, she runs into Bok-Soon and Eun-Jung walking home. The sisters believe the little girl is mute because she doesn’t speak to them. They take her to back their home and care for her. Soon, Na-Ri starts to come out of her shell.
While walking to school the next morning, Eun-Jung tells Bok-Soon she forgot her backpack. Bok-Soon runs back to the house to grab it for her. When she is returning to catch up to the girls, she hears Eun-Jung screaming. The two girls have seen Tae-Su and he begins to pursue them. Tae-Su manages to kidnap both Eun-Jung and Na-Ri. Bok-Soon chases him through the woods and finally sees them. She grabs a rock and hits him with it to save her sister.
Bok-Soon moves Eun-Jung to a safe place and runs to get the police. She goes back to the area she left her sister and she is no longer there. Na-Ri has gone missing as well. With the police no longer willing to help her, Bok-Soon is now on the hunt for Tae-Su and to find her missing sister.
Monster is a thrilling movie. Tae-Su is really evil. His family is terrified of him, and with good reason, he’s a horrible person. He kills with no regards for life. It’s so easy for him, like breathing.
Lee Min-Ki is fantastic with his cold and alluring demeanor in the movie. You kind of feel sorry for him when you learn his story. Kim Go-Eun really drives the movie forward with her single-minded focus on finding her sister.
Even though Monster is a thriller movie, there were some parts that had some comedic elements to it. The comedic parts are not too distracting, it just seemed out of place considering the tone of the film.
If you’re looking for a serious drama, with an intense killer, Monster is the movie for you.
Rating: 8/10
Monster is now streaming: Tubi, The Roku Channel, Amazon Prime Video
Watch The Trailer Here:
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