Dark Figure of Crime (2018)

This movie is nothing new under the sun, but it's still a great thriller.

Kim Yoon Seok and Joo Ji Hoon are so damn good in this movie that their characters almost feels like fully fleshed out people. Even if the story isn't that unique or surprising by itself, following the characters in their cat and mouse game still makes it exciting. It's been a long while since I've last seen a serial killer this interesting and convincing in a movie. Joo Ji Hoon's acting is phenomenal here.

This is not a movie that will keep you at the edge of your seat, but you will not be bored for even a second!
So if you ask me this movie is definitely worth a watch if you are into crime and thrillers.

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Trust but verify

Dark Figure of Crime was based on the true story of a serial killer in the RoK who played a dangerous game of “where are the bodies?” with a narcotics detective. The killer was aware of how to manipulate the judicial system which made the detective’s job all the more challenging.

Detective Kim Hyung Min receives a tip from an informants to meet up with a source who knows where a body has been buried. The source, Kang Tae Oh, is arrested for the murder of his girlfriend before Kim can follow-up on the tip. Kang contacts Kim from prison and promises tantalizing information about other people he has killed. He’s willing to parse out information for contraband and commissary money. Kang is hardly forthcoming with explicit information putting Kim’s job and reputation in jeopardy.

This film paced itself with the speed of a police investigation. The cops were not inept, though the original officers hardly dug very deeply into the missing persons reports they processed. Kim Yoon Seok perfectly encapsulated a dogged detective who was more concerned for the victims and their families than he was about promotions. Good thing, because at every turn someone in the department attempted to discourage Kim from researching the cold cases. His best ally was Detective Jo played by the reliable Jin Sun Kyu. Jo believed in what they were doing even though their cases began to drag him down professionally. Ju Ji Hoon gnawed through the furniture to capture Kang’s malevolent behavior giving much needed energy to the film.

While I enjoyed the thorough nature of the investigation, the ongoing minutiae wasn’t exactly riveting viewing. My biggest problem was that I found the characters, despite their determination, to be coldly detached from the events around them which lessened my connection to their struggles and triumphs. One particularly frustrating hole in the real-life judicial system was filled a year after this film came out. Murder no longer had a statute of limitations meaning criminals like Kang could be held responsible for the full measure of their crimes regardless of how much time had passed. If you enjoy police procedurals, this might be one to try as it had strong acting and followed the relentless work of a detective who refused to give up.

11 May 2026

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