''Bedevilled'' (; lit. "The Whole Story of the Kim Bok-nam Murder Case") is a 2010 South Korean horror film starring

Seo Young-hee Seo Young-hee (born June 13, 1979) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her supporting role in thriller ''The Chaser The Chaser are an Australian satirical comedy group, best known for their television programmes and satirica ...

and

Ji Sung-won Hwang Geum-hee (born August 20, 1977) is a South Korean actress. Previously known by her stage name Ji Sung-won, Hwang began using her real name professionally in August 2013. Her most notable work is the critically acclaimed horror film ...

. The film premiered as an official selection of

International Critics' Week The International Critics' Week (french: Semaine de la Critique) was founded in 1962 and is organized by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics. It was created following the showing of '' The Connection'' directed by Shirley Clarke which had been ...

at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. It is the feature directorial debut of

Jang Cheol-soo Jang Cheol-soo (born 1974) is a South Korean film director. Filmography *'' The Coast Guard'' (2002) - assistant director *'' Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring'' (2003) - 1st assistant director, assistant editor *''Samaritan Girl' ...

, who worked as an assistant director on the

Kim Ki-duk Kim Ki-duk ( ; 20 December 196011 December 2020) was a South Korean film director and screenwriter, noted for his idiosyncratic art-house cinematic works. His films have received many distinctions in the festival circuit, rendering him one of ...

films ''

Samaritan Girl ''Samaritan Girl'' () is a 2004 South Korean film written and directed by Kim Ki-duk. Synopsis Yeo-jin and Jae-yeong are two teenage girls who are trying to earn money for a trip to Europe. To reach this end, Jae-yeong is prostitution, prostituti ...

'' and '' Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring''. The film was a runaway hit in Korea, with the box-office returns far exceeding its () budget.

Plot

Hae-won works in a Seoul bank. A stern, tense woman, her work status and hyper competitive mentality make her apathetic to the plight of other people. After witnessing violence against a woman resulting in the death of the victim, she refuses to identify the culprit because it's not her problem, even after the offender tries to sexually harass her. In the office, she is accidentally locked in the toilet by the janitor and assumes it's one of her co-workers pranking her. She slaps her co-worker in public, realizing she is wrong right after. These incidents cause her boss to fire her. Hae-won takes up a friend's offer to take a vacation in Mudo, a desolate and socially-backward Southern island where she spent her childhood. At the island, she is warmly welcomed by Bok-nam, with whom she had a close friendship when they were teenagers, but whose constant letters she's since ignored. Life on the undeveloped regressive island is hard, and Bok-nam is treated as little more than a slave by her abusive husband Man-jong, his lustful brother, and the local mean women. Bok-nam's love is reserved for her young daughter Yeon-hee, with whom she tries to escape for a better life. Man-jong is secretly making Yeon-hee into a sexual object for his own sick pleasure much to Bok-man's rage. Her daughter is accidentally killed after she tries to defend her mother against Man-Jong. Bok-nam cries and reveals that Yeon-Hee may not be his daughter as Bok-nam was raped by many men on the island before. In a flashback, it's revealed that Hae-won was teaching Bok-nam how to play a tune on her recorder when four local boys on the island began harassing them. Hae-won fled and witnessed the boys assault the knocked-out Bok-nam. The locals lie to police when questioned about the death of Yeon-hee and Hae-won does not support Bok-nam. Bok-nam finally snaps and kills anyone she finds, armed with a

sickle A sickle, bagging hook, reaping-hook or grasshook is a single-handed agricultural tool designed with variously curved blades and typically used for harvesting, or reaping, grain crops or cutting Succulent plant, succulent forage chiefly for feed ...

. After murdering three mean old women, she chases her mother-in-law to the cliff. The old woman tries to jump into the sea but lands on the rock, killing herself. Bok-nam then decapitates her brother-in-law. Man-jong decides to kill Bok-nam, causing Hae-won to snap out of her apathy and threaten to call the police. Eventually, Bok-nam brutally finishes off Man-jong. Terrified, Hae-won runs to the boat to escape but Bok-nam catches up and drowns the boat driver for letting her husband keep abusing her, leaving Hae-won to escape to the mainland. Bok-nam travels to Seoul with the recorder from their childhood and tries to kill Hae-won in police custody because she refused to help her or her daughter. It is revealed that Hae-won did witness Yeon-hee's murder and had lied to the investigator about being asleep. A policeman shoots Bok-nam multiple times. Bok-nam kills him with a sledgehammer. Hae-won kills Bok-nam with the broken recorder; she dies in Hae-won's lap. On the island, all the murdered victims have been buried and cremated by Bok-nam, leaving the island void of human life. Traumatized and guilt-ridden, Hae-won realizes the repercussion of her apathy and points out the culprits of the sexual assault she'd witnessed to the police. She takes Bok-nam's letters out of the trashcan and reads them, regretting not helping Bok-nam when she had the chance.

Cast

Main characters

– Kim Bok-nam *

– Hae-won * Park Jeong-hak – Man-jong * Baek Su-ryun – Dong-ho's granny * Bae Sung-woo – Cheol-jong * Oh Yong – Deuk-su * Lee Ji-eun – Kim Yeon-hee * Kim Gyeong-ae – Pa-ju's granny * Son Yeong-sun – Sun-yi's granny * Lee Myeong-ja – Gae-tong's granny * Yu Sun-cheol – Old man with Alzheimer's * Jo Deok-jae – Police officer Seo * Chae Shi-hyeon – Mi-ran

Supporting characters

* Tak Seong-eun – Ji-su * Hong Seung-jin – Yankee's * Hwang Min-ho – Dodger's * Hong Jae-seong – Police officer Jang * Jeong Gi-seob – Officer Choi * Ahn Jang-hun – Mr. Jang * Myeong Ro-jin – Bank manager * Kim Gyeong-ran – Old lady at bank * Jae Min – Victim * Park Jeong-sun – Victim's father * Seong Won-yong – Supervisor * Han Dong-hak – Superintendent * Yuk Sae-jin – Mudo policeman * Shim Seung-hyeon – Mudo policeman * Kim Yong – Seoul policeman * Yu Seung-oh – Seoul policeman * Na Jong-ho – Old villager * Hang Hae-ji – Old villager's daughter * Yu Ae-jin – Young Bok-nam * Chun Yeong-min – Young Hae-won * Park Jong-bin – Young Man-jong * Lee Da-un – Young Cheol-jong * Park Seung-ah – Young Deok-su * Kim Woo-seok – Young Seo * Seo Seung-hwa – Banker * Kim Hyeon-su – Banker * Lee Kang-hee – Tearoom waitress * Ahn Su-yeon – Restaurant waitress * Kim Woo-geun – Coupon boy

Awards

2010

Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (), or BiFan, is an international film festival held annually in July in Bucheon, South Korea. Prior to 2015, it was known as the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival or PiFan. Inaugurate ...

* Best of Puchon * Best Actress –

* Fujifilm Eterna Award 2010 Cinema Digital Seoul Film Festival * Butterfly Award 2010

Fantastic Fest Fantastic Fest is an annual film festival in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2005 by Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse, Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News, Paul Alvarado-Dykstra, and Tim McCanlies, writer of ''The Iron Giant'' and ''Secondhand ...

* Audience Award * Best Actress AMD & Dell "Next Wave" Spotlight Competition –

2010

AFI Fest The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...

* New Auteurs 2010 Grand Bell Awards * Best New Director –

2010

Korean Association of Film Critics Awards The Korean Association of Film Critics Awards (), also known as the Critics Choice Awards (), is an annual awards ceremony for excellence in film in South Korea. It was established in 1980 by the Korean Association of Film Critics (KAFC). The c ...

* Best Actress –

* Best New Director –

2010 Korean Film Awards * Best Actress –

* Best New Director –

2010

Director's Cut Awards The Director's Cut Awards () is an annual awards ceremony for excellence in film in South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sha ...

* Best Actress –

* Best New Director –

2011 KOFRA Film Awards (Korea Film Reporters Association) * Best Actress –

2011 Gerardmer International Fantastic Film Festival * Grand Prix 2011 Fantasporto Oporto International Film Festival * Best Actress –

2011 Imagine: Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival * Black Tulip (Grand Jury Prize) 2011 Golden Cinematography Awards * Best Film * Best New Actress –

* Bronze Medal Cinematography – Kim Gi-tae

References

External links

*
''Bedevilled''
at Finecut * * * * {{Hancinema film, Bedevilled, Bedevilled 2010 films 2010 horror films 2010 horror thriller films South Korean horror thriller films Sponge Entertainment films 2010s Korean-language films Incest in film Splatter films Rape and revenge films Films about child sexual abuse Films set on islands South Korean films about revenge Films directed by Jang Cheol-soo 2010s South Korean films