Thriller is a genre that has been done to death in South Korea and directors now need to constantly reinvent narratives and genre tropes if they want to make a substantial feature that stands the test of time. Where many fail to do so, Director Kim Sung-soo managed to do just that in 2016 with “Asura: The City of Madness”, a production which subverted expectations in a number of different ways.
This is a very dark film featuring a number of characters, all played by A-listers, yet manages to surprise as every single one of these characters is so despicable and deplorable that you do not find yourself rooting for any. This is particularly an achievement for a narrative that has you hooked from the first minute to the last, with the power struggles between the characters proving to be the best part. Genre fans can revel in its web of complications and the many unpredictable bouts of violence, which culminate in an insanely epic bloody, brutal and oh-so-violent final act that will have you riveted to the screen.
Set in the fictional city of Annan, “Asura: The City of Madness” follows corrupt cop Han Do-kyung (Jung Woo-sung in his fourth collar with the director), whose only job seems to be at the beck-and-call and do the bidding of the even more corrupt Mayor of the city, Park Sung-bae (Hwang Jung-min), who is looking to earn a housing development contract that is set to make Park a lot of money. The DA (Kwak Do-won) however is onto Park. As good as Jung Woo-sung and Kwak Do-won are, as well as Ju Ji-hoo and Jung Man-sik in their respective roles, “Asura: The City of Madness” belongs to Hwang Jung-min and his deliciously demented Mayor Park, in what is easily one of his best works ever.
Come to Annan for the superlative thriller and stay for the glorious violence, twists aplenty and a Hwang Jung-min on his absolute A-game. A modern day classic.
