Chaw (DVD)

You know what it's like, you wait for a killer pig movie and two come along at once.  Actually, that's a bit of a lie as I was never waiting for a killer pig movie but, after reviewing Pig Hunt not long ago, I wondered why no one had ever done it since Razorback in 1984.  The template for such nature revenge films is basically Jaws with a giant killer [insert animal here] terrorising a small community.  The town, in this case, is Sam-mae-ri where naïve officer Kim Kang-soo is posted after jokingly writing 'anywhere' as the preferred location for his transfer.
 
Unceremoniously moved from Seoul to a small community that proudly boasts that it has no crime and the law enforcement officials get drunk and pick on locals, it's not long before they have something to do.  When a grave is found opened and there is evidence that the perpetrator ran away, leaving his cap behind, they may have their first crime but things get more serious when the remains of a young woman are found.  However, as the perpetrator may be a giant pig, it is not officially a murder but something must be done before it kills again.          
 

Famed hunter Baek Man-bae goes into the woods to kill the boar and bags himself a culprit but this only makes things worse as he shot the female and somewhere there is her mate who is very big, very angry and very hungry.  Local hunter Chun Il-man, whose granddaughter was the first victim, leads a group including officer Kim, hunter Baek and an ecologist to track down the boar and save the town's population.
 
Chaw isn't a conventional film by any stretch of the imagination and, like so many films from South Korea, defies genre logic and pigeon-holing by incorporating horror, thriller, comedy, action and surrealist Lynchian moments into one film.  The monster movie aspect is only a small part of Chaw as it is the Twin Peaks part, with the odd townsfolk, that is really the substance of the film.  The film definitely borrows from Jaws, even taking the scene where the killed animal is cut open and has its stomach checked to see if they shot the right beast.
 
The film is very madly directed and the screenplay is something that you take a while to really get your head around and when you do, you get the feeling that they weren't really taking it seriously in the first place.  The giant killer boar is far from convincing, probably intentionally so, but this adds to the lunacy that is inherent in the film.  The real humour and horror comes from the variety of weird and wonderful inhabitants of Sam-mae-ri.
 
Chaw is not the most accomplished monster movie around and certainly pales in comparison to The Host, a much better plotted and acted film, but it is very enjoyable with some very funny moments and others that just make you wonder what illicit substances the filmmakers were taking at the time!
 

The Disc

 
Extra Features
Just a trailer.
 
The Picture
A sharp enough anamorphic transfer with good colours which are used to show the lush vegetation in the surrounding forest and the characters' skin tones.  The creature effects aren't the best you'll ever see but they are perfectly adequate for this kind of film, a mix of puppetry, animatronics and CGI.   
 
The Sound
The 5.1 is the way to go as you benefit from atmospherics, rustlings around you and, when Big Papa Boar attacks the town hall (a barn), thumping noises and real tension from around the room.  There's also the stereo option which does the job perfectly well.
 
The English subtitles - I don't speak a word of Korean - are well written, error free and allow you to follow and enjoy the movie.
 
Final Thoughts
As monster movies go, Chaw is pretty good.  It's no classic and, with it not being in the English language, may put off some viewers but it is enjoyable and it's 'oddness' certainly adds to the charm.
 
Watching Chaw was, if you pardon the pun, certainly no chore. In fact, I think I'll just watch it again.