Hell, it is said, hath no fury like a woman scorned. The scorn in Bedevilled simmers gently for about an hour and half before bubbling over in a manner which the Old Testament God would have stepped back from, mused for a moment before declaring: "why didn't I think of that".
Jang Cheol-So's directorial debut opens in Seoul where the compassionless banker Hae-won, played by the gorgeous Ji Sung-won, will seemingly turn a blind eye to anything; an ageing woman's plea for a loan that, apparently, Hae-won promised her, an old friend's letters and a woman about to be murdered.
It is this murder, the Keystone Cop handling of her as a witness and the slapping of a work colleague in the face that prove pivotal in Hae-won taking a holiday to an Island she last visited as a child.
Seeking a week away from the stresses of big-city living, and death threats, she heads to Moo-do (not Mordor) island to visit her long-ignored friend, Bok-nam (Yeong-hie So). Island folk have a reputation for being slightly odd and, it seems, this is no different in South Korea.
It becomes clear that Bok-nam's ignored letters are myriad pleas for help in escaping her life of imprisonment, slavery, rape and abuse.
Bedevilled is the portrayal of two women who find that living in denial is easier than confronting reality. Until one is pushed to breaking point and blood lust replaces tension, forcing both Hae-won and Bok-nam to turn their eyes firmly on each other. As the two come face to face, denial is no longer an option.
Hell, it appears, is an island off South Korea.
I'm not sure I could say I enjoyed this film, I spent too much time wincing and watching through my fingers (I'm very squeamish when it comes to blades), but I liked it - even if I needed to watch a double bill of Southern Comfort and Deliverance for light relief.
The direction was tense when it had to be, gruesome when it decided to be and for the rest largely unobtrusive: too often in modern cinema, with the employment of MTV-style effects and ultra-emotive close-ups, direction is all too apparent. A deft touch, a trust in your actors and a good story will, for me, always be more impressive than a movie that relies on effects to paper over the chasms in narrative.
Bedevilled, 18. Released on DVD/Blu-ray 28 February, 2011.
