‘The Killer: A Girl Who Deserves to Die” Theatrical Poster
Director: Choi Jae-Hoon
Cast: Jang Hyuk, Bruce Khan, Cha Tae-Hyun, Son Hyun-Joo, Lee Seo-young, Anne, Son Hyun-joo
Running Time: 95 min.
By Paul Bramhall
It’s no secret that in the 21st century mainstream Korean cinema has rarely sold itself on action. It’s certainly not for lack of talent, but rather you’re likely to find the countries best action sequences play out as part of a gangster movie, or a crime thriller, with very few productions marketed purely on the strength of being an ‘action movie’. There are a few exceptions to the rule, with the likes of 2006’s City of Violence, 2013’s The Suspect, and 2022’s Carter all proudly wearing their action credentials on their sleeve as the reason for audiences to check them out, and in 2022 they were joined by The Killer: A Girl Who Deserves to Die.
Starring as the titular killer is Jang Hyuk, a talented actor proficient in a number of martial arts, who originally got his big break in 2001’s Volcano High, a kind of post-apocalyptic The Matrix-inspired actioner (in which he was bizarrely dubbed by André 3000 for the MTV sanctioned western release!). Coinciding with the Korean Wave (the name popularly attributed to the recognition Korean cinema started to receive internationally in the early 2000’s), the direction Continue reading
5 Comments