A Devilish Homicide

Lore & Background

The film follows family man Lee Shi-mak, who arrives at an art exhibition to find a portrait of his ex-wife Ae-ja, whom he has not seen for ten years. He is taken to a countryside house where artist Park Joon-chul gives him the portrait and hides him under the bed as a woman stabs the artist. Shi-mak flees with the painting and finds the unconscious body of Ae-ja, who later awakens and kills his friend Dr. Park before vanishing. Strange occurrences plague Shi-mak's family: his mother is attacked by Ae-ja and falls into a river, his wife Hye-sook cannot stop Ae-ja from taking their eldest daughter, and his mother returns acting oddly, licking the children like a cat. A new housemaid arrives, and soon the other two children disappear. Shi-mak follows his wife to an abandoned temple where she is killed by Ae-ja, but the housemaid prevents him from saving her, giving him a globe. Shi-mak returns home to his mother, whose reflection in a mirror is that of a cat; she reveals herself as a spirit and attacks him, but he stops her with the orb. Distraught, Shi-mak smashes the portrait and finds a diary revealing the plot ten years earlier: Hye-sook, jealous of Ae-ja, conspired with Shi-mak's mother, who despised Ae-ja for infertility, and with Joon-chul and Dr. Park to poison Ae-ja. As she lay dying with only a cat for company, Ae-ja swore vengeance. Shi-mak later replaces the missing third eye of a Buddha statue with the orb, and his children reappear, realizing the housemaid was a guardian angel.

Reader's Guide

A Devilish Homicide is a late addition to the lineup of the 7th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (2003) and was described by Midnight Eye correspondent Jasper Sharp as 'a delirious B-movie shocker.' In a review for BeyondHollywood.com, James Mudge noted that the film shares many themes and motifs of more recent Korean horror films, blending folklore with then-current concerns over the changing role of the traditional family unit. Mudge commented that Lee's direction has an almost expressionistic feel, with exaggerated camera angles and weird set design, and that the murky black-and-white photography and suggestive use of shadows give the film a nightmarish, gothic air. He considered the special effects fairly accomplished for the time and regarded the film as far more than just a curiosity piece. The Korean Film Archive offered free viewing of the film on its website in July 2008 and on YouTube since December 2, 2015.

Did You Know?

• The film was released on DVD in 2007 by CineLine Korea.
• The Korean title is interpreted as 'Murderer' or 'Murderous Fiend.'
• The film was originally released on August 11, 1965.
• The film was produced by Jeil Films.

The Story of Vengeance

The narrative unfolds as a layered mystery of supernatural retribution. Lee Shi-mak, a family man, stumbles upon a haunting portrait of his long-lost wife Ae-ja at an abandoned art exhibition. His reluctant journey to a rural house ends in horror when he witnesses a woman stab the artist Park Joon-chul at midnight. He flees with the painting and the unconscious figure of Ae-ja, who appears as she did a decade earlier. At his home, disturbances escalate: his mother is dragged into a river, his wife Hye-sook vanishes with their eldest child, and the remaining children disappear. A mysterious housemaid offers cryptic warnings and a small orb. When Shi-mak confronts his mother's true nature—her mirror reflection is that of a cat—he defeats her with the housemaid's gift. The truth emerges from a diary hidden inside the portrait's frame: ten years earlier, a jealous cousin-maid and a bitter mother-in-law, aided by the artist and a doctor, poisoned Ae-ja out of resentment over her childlessness. Her dying vow bound Joon-chul to paint the cursed portrait. The housemaid, revealed as a guardian angel, is thanked as the orb replaces a missing eye on a garden Buddha statue and the children reappear.

Production, Release & Availability

Written and directed by Lee Yong-min, A Devilish Homicide was produced by Jeil Films and hit South Korean screens on August 12, 1965. The Korean title, 살인마 (Sarinma), translates roughly as 'Murderer' or 'Murderous Fiend,' while English-language releases have used the alternate titles A Devilish Murder and A Bloodthirsty Killer. For decades the film remained largely obscure outside its home market, but its profile grew when it was added as a late entry to the seventh Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival in 2003. That festival screening helped draw international attention to the picture. In 2007, CineLine Korea issued a DVD edition, making the film accessible to collectors and scholars of Asian cinema. The Korean Film Archive later offered free online viewing of the complete picture on its website in July 2008, and the film has been available on YouTube since December 2, 2015. The cast includes Lee Ye-chun as the lead, alongside Do Kum-bong, Jeong Ae-ran, and several other performers of the era.

Critical Reception & Visual Style

Upon its rediscovery at the 2003 Puchon festival, Midnight Eye correspondent Jasper Sharp characterized the film as a delirious B-movie shocker, a label that captures its raw, unapologetic energy. A more detailed assessment came from James Mudge writing for BeyondHollywood.com, who argued that the picture shares many thematic and visual motifs with the wave of Korean horror that would follow decades later. He highlighted how Lee Yong-min's direction carries an almost expressionistic quality, with exaggerated camera angles and unusual set design keeping the audience perpetually on edge and lending the whole production a surreal atmosphere. The murky black-and-white photography, combined with a suggestive use of shadow, gives the proceedings a distinctly nightmarish, gothic air. Mudge also praised the special effects as fairly accomplished for their era and concluded that the film is far more than a mere curiosity piece, deserving serious attention as a foundational work in the genre.

Themes & Cultural Resonance

Though made in 1965, the film's preoccupations feel remarkably prescient. As critic James Mudge observed, the picture weaves traditional Korean folklore together with anxieties about the shifting role of the traditional family unit in a modernizing society. The murder plot at the story's core is driven by deeply personal resentments: a cousin's jealousy over her lowly position as the family's maid, a mother-in-law's contempt for a daughter-in-law who cannot bear children, and the social machinations that convince a husband his wife is unfaithful. These domestic tensions give the supernatural vengeance a grounded, almost psychological weight. The resolution, meanwhile, draws on Buddhist imagery—the missing third eye of a garden Buddha statue, a rosary that triggers fear, and a guardian angel who guides the family to safety—blending spiritual protection with the film's darker folk-horror elements. This interplay of domestic drama, folk belief, and supernatural punishment positions the film as a significant early example of Korean horror, predating the genre's global resurgence by four decades.