Devils review
A crime drama with one hell of a twist. Devils is streaming exclusively on Screambox now.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Devils
Directed by Kim Jae-Hoon
Written by Kim Jae-Hoon
Starring Dae-hwan Oh, Jang Dong-yoon, Choi Gwi-hwa, Jae-ho Jang, Son Jong-hak, Shin Seung-hwan and Yoon Byong-hee
Devils Review
Face/Off is as close as we’ve come to seeing the body swap concept used for something other than comedy. It still has some comedy, don’t get me wrong, but its larger interest is in flipping the cop/killer dynamic. Albeit in an over the top and action-oriented way. Devils also flips the cop/serial killer dynamic…but it doesn’t play anything for laughs. It keeps things grounded. The result works remarkably well. The characters may be flipped…but they are dropped into a realistic crime drama. Like Face/Off, it’s fun to watch a cop in a killer’s face navigate the criminal underground. And just when you think you know where it’s heading…writer/director Kim Jae-Hoon drops an even bigger bombshell.
Jae-Hwan (Dae-hwan Oh) is a detective hunting down a gang of serial killers. His efforts become more vicious when his own brother-in-law falls victim to them. When he manages to get his hands on ringleader Jin-hyeok (Jang Dong-yoon) something unexpected happens. Jae-Hwan wakes up handcuffed to a hospital bed…in Jin-hyeok’s body. He’s tasked by the man wearing his old face with hunting down Jin-hyeok’s old partners. Their betrayal led to this situation…and revenge is due no matter what face delivers it.
We don’t learn how the swap occurred until well into the story. The flashback to Jae-Hwan’s work between losing his brother-in-law and waking up in the hospital shows a more desperate man than we were introduced to. It recontextualizes what we’ve been watching. Seeing Jae-Hwan thrust into the life of the man he hates was already an interesting concept. Watching him unshackled from the rules and regulations that come with law enforcement starts to make a lot more sense.
Jae-Hwan (in Jin-hyeok’s body) continues his hunt for Jin-hyeok’s associates in a more visceral and violent way. He has no choice. The man wearing his face threatens his family if he doesn’t comply with his instructions. That begins in the form of laying out everything about his life that needs to be known for someone to live in their skin. A clever way around the usual beats played for laughs. It becomes an assignment to deliver the men who betrayed Jin-hyeok. The face he’s wearing provides access that a cop could never have, of course.
The dynamic between Jae-Hwan and Jin-hyeok works wonderfully in the non-comedic tone. This is a dark crime drama through and through. Death and torture at the end of every road. A cop in a serial killer’s body hunting down the killer’s associates is a great concept. There is a lot of tension created by the hidden identity trope. It’s almost surprising that we haven’t seen the body swap idea played this seriously before. Both actors do a good job switching roles.
There is a third interesting character in the mix too. Jae-Hwan’s young partner Min-seong Kim (Jae-ho Jang) is given the role of person the hero in the villain’s body confides in. To the movie’s credit…Min-seong doesn’t spend long denying the possibility. It makes sense given that this is a detective…and we don’t need the comedic misunderstandings anyway. Min-seong Kim adds another level of suspense to Devils. He walks a line between being found out by his faux partner while aiding a man wearing a killer’s face. Devils often feels more like The Departed than Face/Off.
Then something unexpected happens. We can’t get into what Devils does in the third act…but I promise you that you want to see it. It’s a very entertaining movie before Kim Jae-Hoon’s brilliant move is made. It’s an even better one afterwards. Devils doesn’t quite stick the final moments as well as you’d hope. What leads up to it is so interesting and suspenseful that it’s a small problem. While the flashback is incredibly important to the story…it is situated somewhat oddly inside the narrative structure of the story. Again…a small complaint in the grand scheme of things…but worth noting.
Devils is an effective crime drama that flips the cop/killer dynamic in a way that feels more natural than you’d think. The concept elevates the tension and suspense throughout the story. And that’s before the masterful third act twist.
Scare Value
Seeing a body swap movie that isn’t played for comedy is an interesting thing. It’s amazing how menacing familiar tropes can be when they’re played straight. Devils becomes a cat and mouse game where the mouse controls the cat. There is palpable concern throughout the movie people will be found out. That’s the mark of a cop/serial killer thriller. Then writer/director Kim Jae-Hoon drops an even bigger bombshell when you least expect it.
3.5/5
Devils Link
Streaming on Screambox
