BAD GUY is not a nice film. Director Kim Ku-Duk seems to intentionally try to offend, insult and degrade his audience in much the same way that Sun-Hwa (Seo Wun) is treated throughout the story. That’s not to say that BAD GUY doesn’t make for interesting cinema, it just means that you should prepare yourself for an uncompromising subject with equally disturbing imagery.

BAD GUY is a strange combination of a sleazy sex film, an unlikely love story and an examination of obsession, class, voyeurism and violence. It is these themes that you have to concentrate on while watching the film, otherwise it feels uninspiring pretty quickly. The narrative itself is confused and unconvincing: Sun-Hwa’s life as a prostitute never rings true - there’s many reasons why this would may not happen to her, and never convinces us why she would submit so easily. In fact, the film barely cares about Sun-Hwa at all, as she is stripped of her identity and comfort and reduced to nothing but a figure for Han-Gi to obsess over. Instead the focus is directed towards Han-Gi, the bizarre central ghost-like pimp and thug of the film. While thematically the film is at times thought-provoking, the narrative is - in many ways - a cheap, dirty tease.

Han-Gi (Cho Jae-Hyun) is a strange central character. For the first half of the film it is almost as if he is not even completely there. Although events unfold as a result of his actions and scheming, Han-Gi watches those around him from the background with a mad, wide-eyed stare and an otherwise totally unresponsive expression on his face. Han-Gi also barely utters a word (typical of the ‘mute’ character reoccurring in Ki-Duk’s films). This makes both those around him uncomfortable, as well as us the viewers. We are forced to empathise with a figure who is committing these terrible acts – but it is almost impossible to try to understand the reasons why. This is reason why the film is both interesting and at the same time, unsatisfying. In a film that presents us with some contradictions and ironies in class (Han-Gi is a college girl reduced to a street whore), violence (Han-Gi beats some of Sun-Hwa’s disrespecting clients even though he is responsible putting her in her unfortunate situation) and voyeurism (Han-Gi watches Sun-Hwa through a double-sided mirror, while we watch him watching her) it never worries about reasons why. Kim Ki-Duk seems to be saying ‘look at this - it’s terrible - what do you make of it?’ It’s as if Ki-Duk asks this over and over without offering his own interpretation.

BAD GUY is quite a surreal film. Visually the film is a treat, full of blindingly obvious paradoxes and ironies – the red-light district is a sea of colour and energy but it is essentially a love-less environment, Han-Gi’s office is lit only by unforgiving artificial white light, and scenes on the beach are grey and cold but strangely comforting. The theme of voyeurism is explored not only through Han-Gi’s two-way mirror, but scenes are often framed at a distance, or through objects such as fences and plants. Several key-images are what makes the film worthwhile - such as a moment where the two central figures are on opposite sides of the double-sided mirror cleverly symbolising role-reversal and reflection. 

Sadly, BAD GUY outstays its welcome. The film is nasty and violent and I have little tolerance for scenes of rape, but surprisingly this wasn’t what stopped me from liking the film. The final third of the film veers off as Ki-Duk makes an attempt to tie up his ideas and the result is less interesting than the earlier part of the film. The narrative takes over at the end of BAD GUY, the themes become bloated to a ridiculous level and start making little sense before starting to disappear up their own backside. Ultimately, what BAD GUY leaves us with is some shocking imagery and ideas which are less complex than it seems to think they are. There’s little subtlety in the film, but this is probably it’s strongest point: there are moments which may well haunt you long after viewing. This in itself makes BAD GUY almost worthy of a recommendation.