Die Bad

Die Bad is a feature in four distinct episodes, each with its own tone and style, two of which have had screenings as shorts in their own right. With their criss-crossing characters and themes, they add up to a fairly comprehensive account of the causes and effects of male aggression, both tribal and individual. But it’s also a pretext for the young and spirited actors to stage their own fight scenes and do their own stunts, which makes it – as some Korean critics have pointed out – an interesting indie response to the Jackie Chan school of film-making.In Part 1 (Rumble) a pool-hall brawl between art college and tech college students results in an accidental death. In Part 2 (Nightmare) the accidental murderer comes out of jail still haunted by his victim, and finds that his former best friend has become a cop. In Part 3 (Our Contemporary) the cop is staking out a car-park when he runs into a gangster, his old friend’s new boss. And in Part 4 (Die Bad) the cop clashes with his younger brother, who wants to be a gangster. Die Bad is actor-director’s Ryoo first feature, and it’s very promising. (Tony Rayns)