Deliver Us From Evil (2020) Blu-ray Review

Bloody Korean Action

The Korean smash Deliver Us From Evil is a blood-soaked action thriller about a former government assassin rescuing a young girl in Thailand from human trafficking. Seven years after teaming up in New World, stars Hwang Jung-Min and Lee Jung-Jae reunite on screen in grueling combat.

The two Korean stars elevate a well-executed but predictable premise with an all-out clash set on the mean streets of Bangkok. Shades of The Professional and Taken are clear influences. The slick action vehicle isn’t particularly original but offers impressive set pieces and memorable characters.

Deliver Us From Evil has relentless pacing and enough suspense to keep viewers engaged waiting on the impressive action scenes

Kim In-nam is a contract killer for hire wanting to leave that life behind him. Operating in Japan, his last job is on a powerful Yakuza boss. He is soon pulled towards Bangkok, when a former flame’s young daughter is mysteriously kidnapped. Feeling a sense of duty, he begins a frantic search through Bangkok with help from Yui, a colorful local personality.

Yui is a Korean man living as a female “performer” in Bangkok’s night club scene. Things get infinitely more complicated for Kim In-nam when a ruthless Yakuza gangster known as Ray the Butcher comes looking for revenge. Their explosive confrontation is packed with action and bloody violence. Ray the Butcher is a nasty piece of work. Actor Lee Jung-Jae creates one of cinema’s more unique killers.

Deliver Us From Evil has relentless pacing and enough suspense to keep viewers engaged waiting on the impressive action scenes. Wildly successful at the Korean box office, stars Hwang Jung-Min and Lee Jung-Jae share an intense chemistry as dueling protagonists. The screenplay doesn’t pull any punches and director Won-Chan Hong never flinches when delivering raw bloodshed and high-octane thrills. This is a lean, mean action extravaganza with real star-power.

Video

Deliver Us From Evil resembles many action thrillers hailing from Korea and China these days. The digitally-shot 2.39:1 production is filmed with top-notch resolution and definition on ARRI Alexa cameras. The cinematographer and director go overboard on the extreme yellow push favored for all exteriors set in Thailand.

There are even hints of last decade’s most loathsome digital grading trend, the sickly teal-green tone applied in post. Interestingly enough, each country receives a wildly different color temperature and palette. It’s a rather crude color correction that leaves no room for subtlety.

There’s no doubting the pristine set pieces and Asian films rely far less on CGI than most Hollywood blockbusters, producing excellent detail and clarity. Well Go USA grants the movie a solid Blu-ray presentation with no glaring issues beyond the questionable grading. The main feature runs 108 minutes on a BD-25; the satisfactory AVC encode easily handles the high-quality digital capture.

Audio

The primary 5.1 DTS-HD MA Korean audio is robust and muscular with significant thump. The fairly spacious soundstage offers effective panning and engaging directional cues. Dialogue is finely reproduced. Dynamics are fairly good with plenty of headroom in the mix.

There’s plenty of action which will give all your speakers a workout. The discrete audio hits listeners over the head with immersive mixing. Bullets whiz over the rear speakers while explosions rock the front. No English dub is included.

Two different sets of optional English subtitles are available. The subs marked “Full” are basically SDH subs which display even for the limited English dialogue heard in the movie. Most English speakers will want to use the second set of English subtitles unless they have hearing problems. Secondary 2.0 Dolby Digital audio is a back-up choice.

Extras

Well Go USA digs up a couple perfunctory special features for the Korean thriller. The Blu-ray is coded for Region A and no slipcover is included.

The featurettes are in Korean and have English subtitles.

Making Of Deliver Us From Evil (05:29 in HD) – A short but interesting look behind the scenes with stars Hwang Jung-Min and Lee Jung-Jae, who discuss reuniting after their memorable pairing in the noirish New World seven years ago.

Filming Location (03:12 in HD) – The brief featurette discusses the challenges and benefits of shooting the movie in three different countries: Korea, Japan and Thailand.

Deliver Us From Evil Teaser (01:36 in HD)

Deliver Us From Evil International Trailer (01:32 in HD)

Deliver Us From Evil U.S. Trailer (01:23 in HD)

Well Go USA Trailers (06:41 in HD) – The following trailers for other Well Go releases play before the main menu and can also be selected within the special features: The Paper Tigers, The Swordsman, and Train To Busan: Peninsula.

Full disclosure: This Blu-ray was provided to us for review. This has not affected the editorial process. For information on how we handle review material, please visit our about us page to learn more.

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