Finally addressed this major Kubrick blind spot and it turns out the Letterboxd kids who’ve reclaimed this are right …the period setting had always put me off and was usually more interested in the Shinnings, Clockworks and Full Metal Jackets in the great man’s oeuvre.:.more fool me as this a sumptuous, leisurely paced (but never boring…the 3hrs never felt like 3hrs somehow), surprisingly amusing yarn.
And yeah,the visuals are just fantastic…literally every shot like a painting.

Just a barrage of iconic imagery…Kubrick was on fire here, the visuals are just gorgeous (so much COLOUR)…the first half is so good that the second slightly suffers  in comparison (bit similar to Full Metal Jacket), but still a blast that lives up to its notoriety and still as striking over 50 years later.

Top notch found footage antics…probably up there with Blair Witch or not far off.
Intense as hell and properly scary at times…speeds by at just under 80 minutes, no messing about.
Had no idea there was a series of these tbh…may have to explore further.

Absolutely top tier Korean revenge fare… the 2 hours plus runtime  flew by…almost every scene packed with tension and jet black humour …obviously a barrage of wincingly brutal violence comes with the territory and this is as ferocious as I’ve seen, but it’s all so beautifully shot and performed that it somehow makes it palatable rather than the turn off it could have been.
Kudo’s to Choi Min-sik for one of the most disgustingly loathsome performances I’ve ever seen