There was never going to be a good time to announce a remake a Kim Ji-woon's ultra-violet (and awesome) South Korean thriller, I Saw the Devil, but to do it not long after Spike Lee's disastrous Oldboy remake was just plain stupid. But that's what happened, and now that the project is moving forward the talent coming aboard it could make this American remake far more successful.
The Wrap reports that director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett, whose thriller The Guest opens this week, will bring I Saw the Devil to theaters. The duo also collaborated on the home invasion flick, You're Next, one of the best the genre has seen in years. The original film was released in 2010 and starred Oldboy's Choi Min-Sik as a vicious serial killer who gets more than he bargained for when murders a cop's pregnant fiance. It turns into a brutal game of cat 'n mouse as they both try to outdo the other. The film was known for the increasing levels of violence and a twisted conclusion where the line between hero and monster gets fuzzy.
So at least there's reason for optimism. Wingard and Barrett have the sensibility to do this film the way it needs to be done.
