I didn't know this film was based on real events until after I had seen it. And once again, not knowing what it is about really adds to the drama of the film.
So if you haven't seen the film, I think it is good, but don't read the rest of this review... especially the end... since you will enjoy it more if you don't know the story in advance.
SPOILERS
This film is based on a real series of 10 murders that happened in South Korea between 1986 and 1991. It is almost comical how inept the local police are at the outset - trying to pin the murders on a local boy who they beat a confession out of.
Only later when the city cop is called in does the investigation start looking hard at the evidence. But the killer is clever and keeps striking without leaving useful evidence.
Remember that this is before DNA testing was common. In fact the cops do send some material to the USA for testing, but it only serves to rule out the prime suspect.
There's not a lot of action here and the movie squashes the time frame to make the pressure on the police seem more acute. But it really paints an interesting picture of the police teams desperately trying to solve the murders before the killer can strike again.
And as the film progresses, suspects come and go, with the locals beating a confession out of anyone they can get their hands on, but you start to get the impression that they just aren't going to catch the guy...
...and they don't. The murders are still unsolved to this day. It's quite nice how the film handles this. It is not an anti-climax at all. You are left feeling that maybe one day justice will be done... even though it hasn't been yet.
(from the extras I learned that one of the murders, the 8th, was solved as it turned out to be a copy-cat murder and not the work of the original killer)
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