Being a BBC ( British born Chinese) and being highly influenced with oriental media, I thought it would be influential to look at foreign thriller movies and how they tackle the genre.
Old Boy (2003)
Old Boy is a Korean thriller about Oh Dae-Su who is kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years, he is finally released to which he has to find his kidnapper within 5 days. What I like about this movie is the sense of mystery and enigma it brings to the audience. What I liked about the beginning of the movie is the use of a flashback, switching from the present to the past to slowly reveal the narrative. At fist sight, it gives a complex insight to what happened to him, which us as the audience are immediately confused and a series of questions are bought up. The impression of it knowing, the lack of knowledge and information is what I think makes this a successful action thriller. The sense of suspense, thrill, adrenaline and action create a tense atmosphere when watching. It's different to the typical mainstream thriller in the sense that the villain isn't who a generic villain would be. This South Korean thriller is so successful that there is going to be an American remake of the movie with Spike Lee directing it.
