Review: Based on true events that took place in Korean from 1986 to 1991, Memories of Murder is not your typical serial killer movie. Instead of focusing on the murder scenes and shocking images like most conventional serial killer films, the movie puts much more time and details into the story, the situation of the time and the strong leading characters. These factors all put together by director Bong Joon-Ho resulted in a memorable cinematographic experience.

The background of the story is very well known in South Korea, some people even call it the Korean Jack the Ripper as the case has never been elucidated. During the time of the theatrical release, the movie received a very strong reaction from the population as the movie accurately shows how unfair potential killers were treated at the time and how unprofessionally the police proceeded in tracking the real assassin. There was even pressure from the public to reopen the case but unfortunately the authorities said that there’s not enough evidences left since the case was closed more than 10 years ago.

However, there’s one big question here, since the killer was never arrested in real life, then it means that we already know the ending right? So what’s the point of a serial killer movie if we already know the ending? Well, there might not be a totally unexpected punch line at the end of the film but the great flow of the story, the frustration witnessing the many problems the investigators are facing, the strong characters supported by incredible actors and the very high tension during the murder scenes will keep you hooked all along for sure. This approach is very refreshing, especially if you experienced other recent Korean thriller movies (with very few exceptions of course), which failed due to their weak plot and poor conclusion.

If you are familiar with Korean comedy, I’m sure you’ve heard about Song Kang-Ho. One of the top Korean actors of the moment who also appeared in numerous classic Korean comedies such as The Quiet Family and Foul King, and also in much more serious movies such as Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and J.S.A. Again Song Kang-Ho gives an incredible performance, his character is unlikable but he also brings a bit of humor along with his seriousness. The Seoul cop, played by Kim Sang-Gyeong is also a very interesting character. Very clever and serious, he is the total opposite of his partner. There’s a lot of tension and competition between these two characters as they both use different investigation methods and they both want to prove that they are right.

The thriller aspect is really toned down in this movie, as there are only a few scenes that actually show dead bodies of the victims or when the killer is stalking new prey. The make-up is very realistic but doesn’t appear on screen very often. Don’t expect a pint of blood and gruesome gory stuff here, as you will be very disappointed. The movie was based on a true event and that is probably why the killings are realistic and believable and not over the top gory.