In-nam (as Hwang Jung-min) is a former Korean government black-ops agent turned assassin-for-hire. He is an expert at his job, but now it is time for him to retire, agreeing to do one last job, executing ruthless Japanese mobster Koraeda, before heading off to some tropical location. However, someone didn’t do their research, and it turns out that Koraeda has an estranged brother, Ray the Butcher (Lee Jung-jae)—and Ray is plotting to get his revenge on everyone who played a role in his brother’ death, which puts In-nam on the top of his list.

Meanwhile, In-nam receives a phone call regarding a woman named Young-joo (Moon Choi), whose daughter Yoo-min (So-yi Park) had been kidnapped in Thailand. The girl may have already been killed or sold off to a child trafficking ring, and time is running out. Young-joo is a name that In-nam hasn’t heard in a long time, a part of his life he thought he had put in the past. But he heads off to Thailand to try to track down and rescue the girl. Not familiar with the language or area, he asks a friend to hire him a local—a transgendered woman/drag queen named Yui (Park Jung-min), who serves as his reluctant translator. Meanwhile, In-nam is unaware that he is being hunted down by the merciless Ray, who will stop at nothing to get his revenge, even if that means finding the girl first and using her as leverage. In-nam has a very particular set of skills and he’s going to use them to get the girl back and get his revenge on those who took her. (It’s very much a Taken story, but with a sidekick, and a killer hunting him as well.)

Deliver Us From Evil is an action-packed thrill ride, a cat-and-mouse thriller following two trained killers, each on his own mission of revenge, on a collision course with one another that will leave a lot of death and destruction in its wake. Adding to the mayhem is the fact that the men are heading into a location controlled by a ruthless crime lord, who runs the largest drug and child abduction empire in Thailand. He doesn’t appreciate this vendetta being taken onto his turf, and has a massive army to back his interests. From gunfights, to car crashes, to close quarter hand-to-hand combat in stairwells and hallways, this film is loaded with non-stop action and explosions. The film makes use of a very specific aesthetic for the action, often pausing mid strike before resuming, to emphasize the blows. Sometimes the action can get a bit over-the-top and unbelievable, with some characters being seemingly bulletproof, making it through a barrage of bullets unscathed, or taking knife stabs and bullets and just walking it off like a couple of T-2000s with a few scratches. However, that didn’t prevent me from thoroughly enjoying it nonetheless.

In addition to the action, the film also has a lot of heart and humor. The heart is especially evident in scenes involving In-nam and the girl. In-nam has never really had any experience with children—he gave up his ideas of having a family when he became a contract killer. But now he is the only person who can help Yoo-min, and he would do anything for her. When In-nam first partners up with Yui, she is this source of comic relief, as his reluctant helper in way over her head, not realizing the dangerous situation she has gotten herself into. Yui only agreed to assist In-nam for a week, in order to get the money she needs for her gender reassignment surgery. As the duo starts to get deeper in danger, there are still some comedic moments to play off the tension, but there is also a much more dramatic turn for Yui. In most movies a character like Yui would just be a one-dimensional comedic sidekick, but this film delves a lot deeper into her situation and motivation, making Yui one of the more sympathetic and caring of all of the characters.

Well Go’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds great. The film takes place in three main locations—Japan, Thailand and Korea—and each have their own unique look and color palette. The Blu-ray presentation captures all of these locales nearly flawlessly, and with an excellent level of detail. Usually these Well Go releases offer an English dub track, but unfortunately this Blu-ray only includes the original Korean soundtrack. The good news is that Korean DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is fantastic, making excellent use of the surround channel to provide a fully immersive experience, with bullets constantly flying across the room. It also utilizes the subwoofer nicely to really accentuate the explosions and action. The English subtitles are well done and feel quite natural. The disc is packed in a standard HD keepcase without a slipcover. Like other Well Go releases, there is no digital copy included. However, the disc includes 2 short behind-the-scenes featurettes with the cast and filmmakers as well as some trailers and previews.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:48:09)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: Korean DTS-HDMA 5.1, Korean Stereo
• Subtitles: Full English, English

Extras:
Bonus material plays back-to-back.

• Bonus
  The two featurettes are presented in Korean with English subtitles, and include lots of behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director Hong Won Chan, producer Kim Chul Yong, stunt coordinator Lee Geon Moon, production designer Cho Hwa Sung, DOP Hong Kyeong Pyo, and stars Hwang Jung Min (“In-nam”) & Lee Jung Jae (“Ray”).
  • Making Of (5:29)
    In this promotional featurette, the cast and filmmakers discuss the film’s action sequences, shooting in Korea, Japan and Thailand, deploying different filming techniques, the production design, and more.
  • Filming Location (3:12)
    In this promotional featurette, the cast and filmmakers discuss the various filming locations across Korea, Japan and Thailand.
  • Teaser (1:36)
  • International Trailer (1:32)
  • US Trailer (1:23)
• Previews
  • The Paper Tigers (2:25)
  • The Swordsman (1:59)
  • Train To Busan Presents: Peninsula (1:55)

Final Thoughts:

Deliver Us from Evil is an action-packed adrenaline ride, a Korean version of Taken, but with the main character also being hunted down by a skilled psychopath while he tries to rescue the kidnapped girl. The action sequences are amazing, plus there are also some great dramatic and comedic moments to help round things out. Well Go’s Blu-ray presentation looks and sounds excellent, but there is no English Dub option, and the supplemental material is a little light. That said, the film itself is such an enjoyable and entertaining experience that the release comes Highly Recommended, particularly for any action movie fans.