Customer Reviews

Jin Won Kim's The Butcher

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

When you see a film titled THE BUTCHER and there is a bloody guy with a pig mask on the cover you know you aren't exactly getting a family film so I mostly knew what I was in for. Having seen some of the other films in the Asia Extreme line, I think this lived up to its promise of topping the rest of them for how "extreme" it is, but it was more than just a gore-fest and it got under my skin more than I thought it would.

THE BUTCHER is a POV style horror film from Korea with a simple plot - a group of snuff producers are making their latest film. They have cameras and each of the 4 captives has a helmet-cam on as well (most of the film is seen from the point of view of one of the victims). POV films are hit and miss for me, but this was good use of the technique.

I knew this was going to be a nasty film and although it was very violent and bloody at times, it was actually a bit less viscerally gory than I expected - what I did not expect was how mentally disturbing it was. Based on the plot and if you just watched the first part of the film it may come off as an "August Underground"-style movie, which is OK for some people but a type of film that I don't personally get into that much. THE BUTCHER can work on that surface level, but when you get farther into the film, it gets deeper and when it was over I still thought about it for a couple of days, I couldn't get it out of my head. There really isn't much to the plot, but the pieces of background and character interaction they do give you, especially between two of the victims, took it to another level so instead of being just another gross-out endurance test (yawn!) it was more deeply disturbing and hit me the same way MARTYRS did.

It's not a fun popcorn flick and I can't say I "enjoyed" it per se, but it affected me in a way most films don't, so I have to say it was a good film.

While the movie was a 5 for me, I have to be a nitpicker and knock the review down half a star and call it 4 1/2 because of the DVD. The picture and sound are fine, but the subtitles occasionally slipped into "Engrish" which bugged me. You can still follow along with the film just fine but I thought it was kind of annoying. There were also a couple of special features, including an alternate ending that you can see why they didn't originally use.

If you are looking for the more creepy, spooky Asian horror like THE RING or REINCARNATION, do not watch this film. But if you don't mind gore and disturbing fare like MARTYRS, HOSTEL, INSIDE or Asian horror like Takashi Miike does it, I recommend this.

I'd been looking for this movie for a while... because, based on the trailer, it looked pretty intense... and it is, but not in an OTT gory sort of way.
It leaves a LOT of stuff to your imagination and I like that. My imagination works fine and usually will come up with stuff that's worse than anything they'd show on screen.
It's true that there isn't much plot or character development... but there are subtleties there for folks who are willing to pay attention. The 'villain's' don't come off so much as psychopathic serial killers as they do average sociopathic business men... more pragmatic than angry.
In reading other reviews I've noticed that most are split between, "Oh my god, this is so horrible, what a piece of filth! I thought I was renting a Teletubbies movie!!!" vs. "Bah, they didn't even show the first people being chainsawed to death, what a rip off... not nearly as gory as the movie I saw last night about baby eaters!!!". Both of which I think are missing obvious points... it's obvious what the movie is, no way to be surprised that it's graphic bloody mock-snuff... but on the other hand, just because it isn't chock full of (fake looking) gore scenes like the stuff from Toe Tag doesn't mean it's not fairly intense horror.
There aren't many people I'd recommend this too... but for the one's I think would be interested I'd give it a solid recommendation. It's certainly a lot more to the point than dorky stuff like Saw and Hostel.

If your a fan of the mock snuff-film and can appreciate what it takes to make a film look and feel as real as possible, then Im sure you'll find a spot in your collection for Jin Won Kim's THE BUTCHER. While not so original,it does feel mostly authentic with a very slight suspension of disbelief. The acting is believable and the tension is visceral. Not the best of the it's sub-genre but definitely not the worst.
***1/2!

The acting was stiff and unbelievable. The camera angles and shots created more of a headache than anything. The story was not bad, just badly done. Even gorehounds will be disappointed as you don't see very much and it's nothing that hasn't been done better before.

THE BUTCHER may be the only instance where the term "Torture Porn" can rightfully be used to describe a film. All of the unjust criticisms that fell on remarkable films like WOLF CREEK, SAW, and THE DEVIL'S REJECTS should have been saved for Jim Won Kim's cinematic travesty. Kim takes the popular "found-footage" motif and adapts it to the torture genre, where a group of snuff filmmakers kidnap four helpless victims and attach video camera's to their heads in order to record their gruesome deaths. The perspective constantly shifts between the various victims and their captives, but primarily uses the first-person perspective of those being tortured in order to force the viewer into assuming the role of the victim. In this sense, it is the viewer who is being subjected to the violent beatings and rapes that are occurring on-screen, in a sick and twisted form of sado-masochistic voyeurism that borders on pornography. THE BUTCHER is truly exploitation for exploitation's sake, with absolutely no redeeming value or social criticism to be found beneath its shocking exterior. Although the marketing sells the film as an ultra-violent bloodbath, there is surprisingly little gore to be found anywhere in the picture. One girl's eye is torn out, while her husband's hand is sawed in half by a chainsaw, but outside that, the majority of the attacks occur off-screen. All that leaves is a film with only mild violence, a paper-thin plot, virtually no dialog, and an obnoxious shooting style.

Where the film does succeed is in thoroughly shocking and disgusting its audiences. The 'star' of the sadistic snuff film is a hulking brute that wears a butcher's apron and a horrifying pig mask, who slaughters his victims with a rusty chainsaw. He only speaks through grunts and squeals, and never removes his mask. The men filming the carnage are even worse, mercilessly beating their victims and mocking their pain. In the most disturbing sequence, the pig-faced killer is given a pheromone cocktail that drives him berserk and causes him to brutally rape one of the men as he watches the others slice his wife open and kill her.

It is reckless and dangerous filmmaking like this that gives opponents the weapons they need to attack the Horror genre. If THE BUTCHER had only increased the amount of gore, it may have at least held an appeal in the Asian extreme market, but the overall lack of splatter will disappoint many fans. The film still has a haunting effect on the viewer, and will not soon be forgotten despite its many flaws.

-Carl Manes
I Like Horror Movies

There's a fantastic quote in Screem magazine # 18 by writer, Ken Mcintyre, where he says: "I have no relationship whatsoever with torture porn, and view it as the cinematic equivalent of nu-metal: clanging, soulless, and instantly dated." I couldn't agree more(ironically I received this DVD from Screem magazine!). And though I've given several torture porn films an honest shot, I find that once you get into that grimy room with the masked psycho in the bloody apron, and the screaming starts, along with the whir of power tools and blood and severed limbs, it's all pretty much the same thing.
If you're like me, you look at the box cover of The Butcher and think the Korean dudes that made this film have seen Motel Hell too many times. But once the movie gets rolling, it's apparent they've seen Hostel one too many times(as well as the Texas Chainsaw Massacre if you watch the alternate ending).
There's no plot to speak of, as this isn't storytelling in the traditional sense. Instead, the film tries to mimic a snuff film, having all the action shown through the camera of the snuff director and cameras mounted on the heads of the four victims, who have been assembled in an abandoned building to be tortured and killed on camera. Kind of a Blair Witch Torture Porn Project. No plot, story or anything, just an attempt at a gut punch to the viewer by trying to look as realistic and brutal as possible.
Frankly, I find it more boring and headache inducing than anything else. The first two victims are dispatched quickly, and most of the action is reserved for the central male character and his wife. The guy gets most of the onscreen torture(including a very Hostel-ish cutting off of the fingers by chainsaw) and rape(!), and it's shown through his head mounted camera in a kind of attempt to put the viewer in the guy's shoes to some degree. Kind of an Interactive Torture DVD experience!
This reminded me of the scene in David Cronenberg's Videodrome where James Woods, in describing the plotless torture t.v. show "Videodrome" to a colleague, says, "I think it's what's next". Cronenberg's film now seems more prophetic than ever.
I'm not gonna say this is a terrible movie because if you dig this kind of stuff, it's done quite well. The makers knew what they were doing and competently.....ahem....execute it. So, if you like this genre, by all means see the film. The one star is because personally it's not my thing. A poop sandwich is gonna taste the same whether it was hastily slapped together or whether it was carefully and painstakingly crafted. Gory? Disturbing? Gritty? A tad to close to real life? Perhaps so, but I never got off and gore and brutally for it's own sake. In the end I need some kind of story, even a flimsy slasher film type story, but I need something to keep me interested. The Butcher was a very long and uninteresting 75 minutes.
The Tag Suggestions on this film are pretty funny.

The Butcher was a movie I had bought on a whim based on a quick glance at a trailer and the convincingly brutal cover. I am also a fan of several POV-based films and felt this would add to the idea of the movie. Unfortunately, I feel this movie lacks in a lot of perspectives.

For what it is, a visual-based film created with the intent of placing the viewer in a real snuff situation, the POV cameras do succeed in this slightly. However, the dialog of the filmmakers and the constant crying of the main guy victim are about bad enough to watch the movie on silent. The script must have been key noted allowing the 'actors' to ad lib their own lines. But it seems, from the subtitles, to be a blatant overuse of profanity. Little of the dialog held substance. Of course, substance is hard to find in a movie with a minute story line.

The film starts up in the warehouse of the victims and two of the filmmakers talking. The director comes in and the butchering begins. Unfortunately, the first half of the movie is seen through the lens of a victim kept in a holding area where you are left to only hear the chainsaw and the torturous screams in the distant room. This makes for a monotonous sequence.

The second half of the movie is a bit more entertaining when the couple get dragged into the room together and sat facing one another. Some violence occurs mixed with a disturbing round of sodomy and then more violence continues. The movie progresses in this fashion up until the end where it seems as though the ending was, how should I say, a bit far fetched.

Overall, if you're looking for some cheap frills to maybe gross out a girlfriend or something, this movie may do the trick with its one significant scene. Other than that, if you're looking for a film that will engulf you and truly make you feel some suspense, discomfort and angst, this is not it. The writers and director failed to create any scripted suspense or story to reinforce the violence which really makes the violence pointless and ineffective.

I don't have much intention on watching the movie a second time and may only do so to get my girlfriend's opinion. Other than that, I can see this being sold in the near future for store credit somewhere. I don't believe the cover alone can warrant a permanent spot in my dvd collection.

Take The Butcher for what it is worth; a film with the intention of grossing out the viewer and showing violent scenes many would prefer not to see in a manner that would make sea captains mildly nauseated.

Ok seriously this is an embarrasment for Tartan Asia Extreme to have poduced this movie. I have followed torture porn and Tartan Asian extreme movies for many years now. The problem is, lately these movies are just going for the pure shock value and throwing away plot and creative filming. The Buthcer is a prime example of what is going wrong wih this industry. Here's the plot and please tell me if this doesnt sound familiar. A group of people wake up in a deserted area and find themselves in a predictment becasue a crazy man and his fiend descide it would be fun to watch their retarded pig friend torture them. There are scenes from a POV at are interesting, but nonetheless there is absolutley no point to the movie. Whatever happend to great torture movies like audition, sympathy for mr vengenance or frontier. This movie is diturbing but that does not make it the least bit entertaining. I enjoy watching a film and feeling like my heart was ripped out of my chest, but the only response this movie gave me was a feeling of sorrow fo the director and entire film crew for putting out such a tasteless work of crap.

Terrible. Even if you are a fan of the torture horror genre - there are no "money shots" here for you at all gore-wise. You see really pretty much nothing except people staring into the screen the entire time flinging a hammer at you. There is NO tension - the only tension is in the form of a tension headache from a soundtrack of screams spanning the entire film and a shaking camera that shakes so much and so bad it will give you motion sickness and a killer headache- no joke. We are not talking Blair Witch or Cloverfield shaking - this is just plain awful and overboard. I am a huge horror fan, big time, I am a fan of Asian Cinema - big time and this movie had nothing positive about it what-so-ever. Even a fan of this type of torture cinema, I say STAY AWAY.

I'm not one to shy away from gore. I actually don't mind it at all. But I am truely and honestly ashamed of myself for watching this. Really dissapointed. I kept hoping for something different to happen but before I knew it the "film" was over and I was left feeling like I needed a shower. A disgusting movie. I'd rather have a Saw marathon with my Grandma and neices than watch this crap again.