Chinjeolhan geumjassi [Lady Vengeance] (2005)

(On DVD, November 2018) Park Chan-wook doesn’t mess around when it comes to vengeance stories, and Lady Vengeance is a masterful companion to the thematically-linked Old Boy. Telling us a highly melodramatic story about a young woman manipulated into accepting a prison sentence for a murder she did not commit, it’s a feature-length vengeance story with wild twists and turns, spectacular sequences and strong characters. It doesn’t pull punches when comes the time to show human depravity, and doesn’t try to paint even its heroine as being completely justified. Stylish but not duplicating other films from the same director, it’s an extreme character study as well, playing off our ideas of what good and evil looks like. Lady Vengeance may not be to everyone’s liking, but it’s a strong entry for thriller fans with the stomach to appreciate what it’s trying to do.