Directed by: Kim Tae-gyun (김태균)
Starring: Kim Yoon-seok (김윤석), Ju Ji-hoon (주지훈), Moon Jeong-hee (문정희), Jin Seon-kyu (진선규)
The Film: Victims of mysterious murder cases, gone undetected by the rest of the world due to the lack of reports, bodies, and investigations. “Seven, it’s a total of seven. The people I’ve killed.” Convicted murderer, Kang Tae Oh (Joo Ji Hoon) confesses to additional murders to detective Kim Hyung Min (Kim Yoon Seok). Hyung Min, who is convinced that the confession is truthful based on his intuition, takes the list of 7 murders given to him by Tae Oh and proceeds with an investigation. “If we don’t trust this, we can’t investigate. Let’s trust it for now and doubt it till the end.” Tae Oh’s additional murders are mysterious cases that have not been revealed to the world. Despite realizing that Tae Oh is deftly blurring the line between lies and facts, Hyung Min refuses to give up on the investigation. However, the investigation faces trouble due to the statute of limitations and the lack of evidence…
Dark Figure of Crime, directed by Kim Tae Kyun, is a true crime film loosely inspired by events documented on an episode of Unanswered (a long running Korean investigation television show). The actual Korean title Amsu-Sarin more or less literally translates to “hidden murders” which is an apt description of the underpinnings of this case that is the focus of the film’s narrative.
The film almost entirely centers around the dynamic between its lead detective character Hyung-Min, played by veteran actor Kim Yoonn-seok (The Chaser, Tazza), and the convicted murderer Tae-Oh, portrayed by Ju Ji Hoon (Confession, Asura: The City of Madness).
The movie opens with Hyung-Min, a respected detective in Busan’s narcotics division, meeting his confidential informant for some new leads when he is introduced to Tae-Oh who, unbeknownst to Hyung-Min, is about to get arrested for the brutal murder of his girlfriend. Tae-Oh is convicted for the crime and sentenced to 20 years. Hyung-Min hasn’t seen him until he is contacted by Tae-Oh a few months later with a shocking confession, claiming to have murdered seven additional people. This immediately compels Hyung-Min to delve deeper into these claims and he decides to meet with Tae-Oh in prison to verify the veracity of his confession.
Of course, nothing is ever quite as simple as it seems as Tae-Oh immediately asserts control of the situation by demanding favors that run the gamut from witness testimony to photochromic sunglasses in exchange for more information surrounding his confession. He eventually hands Hyung-Min the first piece of the puzzle, a list with vague descriptions of the seven alleged murders. However, with no other leads besides Tae-Oh’s claims, no bodies, no reports, and little support from his superiors, Hyung-Min has to essentially embark on a one-man mission to uncover the truth while trying to sift through a mixture of fabrications and facts and maintain the upper hand on Tae-Oh whose true motives for confessing remain ambiguous.
And so begins the psychological war of attrition between a righteous detective and a cold-blooded sociopathic killer.
The crux of Dark Figure of Crime is unquestionably the investigation itself and, in that sense, the film does an admirable job of engaging the audience into the intrigue of the mystery surrounding this particular case. The idea of certain murders going completely unnoticed and undiscovered by the rest of the world is a heartbreaking prospect and the audience is naturally drawn into the detective’s plight as he struggles to seek justice for the possible victims without allowing Tae-Oh to send him chasing after wild geese. The fact that the film is based on real events makes the details surrounding the case that much more harrowing and it is a depressing glimpse into the unfortunate reality of unsolved murders and possible victims that get lost in the shuffle.
The narrative is also supported by strong performances from both leads. Kim Yun-Seok gives a surprisingly understated yet impactful performance as Hyung-Min who exudes conviction and honor to offset the unhinged nature of Tae-Oh, who is portrayed by Ju Ji Hoon with about as much braggadocio and scene chewery as one may come to expect from this type of character. However, although Ju Ji Hoon’s performance is mostly applaudable, I did find myself desiring a bit more subtlety from him in certain moments. His performance is constantly at an eleven and certain scenes seemed to be designed more around his acting display as opposed to better facilitating the character himself. A more balanced performance with moments of quieter intensity could have gone a long way in giving the audience more insight into Tae-Oh’s psyche.
Since the narrative of the movie is so focused on portraying the investigative process and conveying the details of the case, the pace of the film moves at an extremely fast clip with quick edits and scenes delivering fact after fact. This, unfortunately, leads to some of my issues with Dark Figure of Crime. The pace of the narrative moves so quickly that it leaves little room for these characters to properly breath and develop. The story almost immediately goes straight into the investigation and glosses over a lot of information that could have helped flesh out both Hyung-Min and Tae-Oh’s characters. Hyung-Min’s unwavering sense of justice is made clear but we never get to know what truly motivates him to continue on this difficult journey while Tae-Oh’s motives and the dark corners of his twisted mind are never truly explored further beyond the character’s surface evil.
Since character development comes off as secondary, it’s difficult to become invested in the conflict and the stakes begin to feel lessened which causes the movie to lose some of its emotional weight towards the end. Also, the actual events that unfold within the story are not impactful enough to warrant the same kind of suspense building displayed in similar, superior true crime thrillers such as Zodiac and Memories of Murder. Thus, some of the “Ah Hah!” moments come off as a bit contrived and designed more for cinematic effect as opposed to inciting a genuine, emotional reaction.
Once the film concluded, I couldn’t help but feel that this story, despite the intrigue, is better suited for a documentary rather than a cinematic adaptation. There simply may not have been enough material in terms of the factual occurrences within this investigation that could have lent itself to a more cinematically appropriate interpretation without completely tainting facts of the actual events. And although director Kim Tae-Kyun reportedly spent five years working on the script and spent a lot of time interviewing the lead detective, all that effort isn’t necessarily translated and reflected as well on screen and the film, as a total package, doesn’t quite land the emotional wallop that it may have intended and leaves a bit to be desired.
Dark Figure of Crime is still, despite its flaws, an interesting enough watch and I was certainly never bored throughout its two-hour runtime. The film has enough merit to be recommended and fans of both Kim Yun-Seok and Ju Ji-Hoon will most definitely find this movie worthwhile for the performances alone. Even those who don’t enjoy the movie itself, may, at the very least, become curious about the actual real-life investigation and do supplemental research on Naver/Google.
Score: 6.5/10
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