“The Chase” ~ That Happened 30 Years Ago

“The Chase” is a 2017 Korean drama movie, based on the 2010 Korean webcomic “Aridong’s Last Cowboy”, and categorized as Thriller and Suspense, and Crime and Mystery.

♦ Deaths Recorded as Suicides, Natural Causes or Accidents Might Be Murders

“The Chase” begins by introducing Shim Deok-Su, who came from North Korea and now owns of an apartment complex in South Korea where many of the tenants don’t pay their rent. He grumbles and complains and threatens, but he usually never evicts them. For some reason crimes are taking place in his neighborhood, and there are tenants in his building who are victims. However the police record the deaths as suicides, natural causes, or accidents.

One day Shim Deok-Su visits one of his non-paying tenants. The tenant used to be a detective and tells him that the deaths that are occurring now, happened 30 years ago. He said the police are handling the cases the same way they did in the past. After that unsettling conversation, Shim Deok-Su, realizing that he was an elderly man, asked his tenant to come by his place and check on him. One of the tenants had died in his apartment and nobody knew. His dead body was accidentally discovered. Shim Deok-Su wanted someone checking on him regularly because he did not want to die and others not find his body with maggots crawling all over him.

Sadly that tenant could not check him on him because shortly after they had the conversation, the tenant was killed. It was written off as a suicide. The tenant had a friend named Park Pyung-Dal, also a former detective. He met Shim Deok-Su because both came to the deceased tenant’s apartment, at the same time. Park Pyung-Dal also told Shim Deok-Su that similar murders had happened 30 years ago. He even predicted who the next murder victim would probably be.

When he described the next victim, Shim Deok-Su jumped up immediately to go to the apartment of the woman he called “Room 205”. He never called her by her name. Park Pyung-Dal followed him. When they got there they found the body of one woman who had been killed. But the woman he referred to as “Room 205” was missing.

Shim Deok-Su was going to call the police but Park Pyung-Dal advised against it. He said there is a possibility that she is still alive. But if he calls the police to investigated, whoever abducted the woman might go ahead and kill her. Park Pyung-Dal convinced Shim Deok-Su to search together for the missing woman and hopefully save her life. Pyung-Dal had been after this murderer for 30 years. He knew his habits well and Shim Deok-Su knew the neighborhood well. Together they can find her.

30 years ago, after the 13^th murder the investigations stopped. WHY? Not enough manpower and plus, the country was celebriating The 1988 Seoul Olympics. The games are more important than solving murders. Also, Park Pyung-Dal had insisted they were serial murders but had no proof. So his superiors closed the investigation. Last, but not least, the murders stopped. WHY? The answer to that question is unknown. But now, it’s been 3 decades, and the murders are happening all over again. This time, Park Pyung-Dal is determined to catch the killer.

Main Characters:

• Shim Deok-Su (played by Baek Yoon-sik, “The Face Reader”, “Tree With Deep Roots”)
• Park Pyung-Dal (played by Sung Dong-il, “Curtain Call”, “Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days”, “RV: Resurrected Victims”, “The Grand Heist”, “Han River Police”, “Ghost Doctor”, “Sisyphus: The Myth”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 6.6 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 7.7 out of 10 stars

My personal rating is the same as My Drama List.

“The Chase” was added to my watch list because it was on somebody else’s watch list for people who like the older veteran South Korean actors and actresses. Sung Dong-Il was born in 1967 and made his acting debite in 1987. I usually see Sung Dong-Il as a supporting acotr. This time he was one of the male leads. His performances are always good even if the movie or series is just OK.

My rating is the same as MDL because “The Chase” is a YAKSKM. Yet Another Korean Serial Killer Movie. The film was distributed by NEW (Next Entertainment World) but there was nothing new about it. Unless you want to say casting two senior citizens as the male leads is “new”, considering most K-dramas these days cast K-Pop idols as the stars.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

The Fangirl’s Movie Review: The Chase | Dramas with a Side of Kimchi

The Chase (2017) | Gokul’s Movie Reviews

BAEK Yoon-sik and SUNG Dong-il Dive into ARIDONG | Kofic KoBiz

Serial killer Korean dramas that will keep you glued to the screen | Lifestyle Asia (“The Chase” is not on this list.)

Korean Movie Reviews for 2017 | KoreanFilm.org

TRAILERS/TEASERS:

Trailer & All Rex. “The Chase Korean Movie Trailer.” YouTube Video. YouTube, October 14, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qc-2MO003E.‌