The Chupacabra, the Jersey Devil, and the Dover Demon. History books are filled with sightings of sinister, horned creatures believed to be Satan. But old Beelzebub probably looks a lot more like Gov. Rick Scott than anything on four legs. That’s why I Saw the Devil, the latest from South Korean director Kim Ji-woon, is so damn terrifying. Behind psychopath Kyung-chul’s demure appearance is a freak who hacks up women and then dines on their flesh. His killing streak is interrupted, however, when he murders a government official’s pregnant fiancée. The agent captures Kyung-chul, implants a tracking device under his skin, and then sets him free. Oh, sweet vengeance. The hunter is now the hunted. Before the film’s release, Korean censors petitioned to have 90 seconds of footage removed, alleging that seven scenes “severely damage the dignity of human values.” Because can you really ever unsee human body parts being handled as if they were pork chops? Watch I Saw the Devil — sans a minute and a half of explicit cannibalism — at Coral Gables Art Cinema this Wednesday.
Wed., April 20, 8 p.m., 2011