The Exclusive: Beat the Devil's Tattoo (2015) (DVD) (Taiwan Version) DVD Region 3

The film stars Jo Jung-suk (Time Renegade) in the lead as down on his luck television reporter Heo Moo-hyuk, suspended from his job and on the verge of being divorced by his gallery owner wife Soo-jin (Lee Ha-na, R2B: Return to Base). Heo sees a chance to turn things around when he comes across a handwritten message from a serial killer terrorising the city, which newsroom head Baek (Lee Mi-sook, Horny Family) promptly releases without checking the facts. Although the note causes a media frenzy, Heo soon finds out that it was actually a fake, and he sets about trying to cover his track as the police investigate, led by the dogged Chief Inspector Oh (Bae Sung-woo, Inside Men). Things get worse when an apparent witness gets involved, and a real life murder is uncovered that seems to have been inspired by Heo's report.

It's never the easiest task to combine humour, social commentary and thrills, though with The Exclusive: Beat The Devil's Tattoo Roh Deok does a very satisfactory job. This is largely down to a clever and engaging script, which balances a scathing portrayal of the Korean media with character drama and an interesting, if somewhat scattershot serial killer story. Though it's been done before, the media theme is put to good use here, and Roh gets plenty of mileage both from amusingly cynical observations and from posing questions as to the nature of the truth and the ways in which it can be appropriated and manipulated. Whilst its conclusions might not be particularly biting, the film is worthy and at least vaguely challenging in this respect, and it does offer something different to the usual corruption conspiracy thrillers that continue to dominate Korean cinema.

The film basically operates as an increasingly chaotic and deadly comedy of errors, Heo's life quickly spiralling out of control, and though it feels a little random in places, it's generally tense and creative. This is undermined to an extent by an overly long running time, the second act being in need of judicious trimming, and an uncertain pace, Roh in places getting a bit tangled up with the many twists and turns of the plot. The final third edges a little too far into generic thriller territory, and while this does provide a welcome excuse for some bloody scenes, the serial killer clichés employed are at odds with the sharper content of the rest of the film.

This is alleviated by the fact that Heo makes for a very likeable protagonist, Jo Jung-suk turning in a great, everyman performance. Rather than being either this kind of slick high-flyer or tough anti-hero that might have been expected, he comes across as an average guy, simply trying to drag his life out of the toilet, spending most of the film clinging onto some semblance of control by his fingertips. This really helps anchor the film, and the viewer roots for him from the start, the suspense building as things get worse for the poor fellow despite his best efforts. While Lee Ha-na doesn't have much to do, Lee Mi-sook is great value for money as the ruthless and contemptuous station head, getting most of the film's best lines and chewing the scenery in enjoyable fashion.

There's more than enough here to make The Exclusive: Beat The Devil's Tattoo an entertaining watch and an effective piece of social commentary. Though lacking in focus at times, it's nevertheless a fine sophomore offering from Roh Deok, and marks her as a director worth keeping an eye on.

by James Mudge -