The Chaser
Short description
Joong-ho is a former police officer who now runs a call-girl operation in Seoul. When several of his employees vanish without paying off their debts, he initially assumes they have simply run off. He then notices that each missing woman had last been booked by the same telephone number, and that his remaining girl, Mi-jin, a single mother, has just been sent to that same client. With the police unwilling to pursue the matter, Joong-ho investigates on his own, racing to find Mi-jin before it is too late.
The film is the directorial debut of Na Hong-jin, who wrote the screenplay with Hong Won-chan and Shinho Lee. Kim Yoon-seok plays Joong-ho, with Ha Jung-woo as the client Young-min, Seo Young-hee as Mi-jin and Kim You-jung as her daughter Eun-ji. Released in February 2008, it launched the feature career of a director who went on to make The Yellow Sea in 2010, The Wailing in 2016 and Hope in 2026, and drew a credited cast of 65.
Made for about 3 million US dollars, the film took roughly 36 million worldwide, a strong return that reflected its popularity in Korea. On TMDB it holds 7.8 out of 10 from over 1,600 votes, while its critics' rating stands at 6.7 out of 10 from 34 reviews, so audiences rated it appreciably higher than reviewers did.
What's left behind the scenes
- When the hero Ha Jung-woo flees from pursuit down an alley, he slips and almost falls, but continues running. This was not in the script, and the actor simply slipped, but director Na Hong-jin liked the take and decided to include it in the film.
- Filming took place mainly in the Manwong district of the Mapo district of Seoul.
- The film is based on real events – the crimes of the serial killer and cannibal Yoo Yeong-cheol. From 2003 to 2004, in the Seoul districts of Mapo, Gangnam, and Jongno, he committed murders of prostitutes and wealthy elderly people. The criminal was arrested on July 15, 2004, confessed to the murder of 21 people, and was sentenced to death on December 13, 2004. Although the death penalty is legal in South Korea, it has not been carried out since 1997, so the serial killer effectively received a life sentence.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
