Memories of Murder



Memories of Murder is a 2003 South Korean drama directed by Byong Joon-ho (The Host, Barking Dogs Never Bite) based on the still unsolved serial murders that took place in Hwaseong between 1986 and 1991. The film follows police detectives Park Doo-Man (Kang-Ho Song) and Seo Tae-Yoon (Sang-kyung Kim) in their investigation to track down and apprehend the killer.


 * A Date with Rosie Palms: While Seo investigates one of the crime scenes there is a man caught masturbating. He becomes a suspect
 * Anti-Hero: Detective Park and his colleague who enjoys kicking suspects.
 * Bishōnen: The factory worker, who is a major suspect.
 * Black Comedy
 * Downer Ending: Made worse by the fact that it's Truth in Television.
 * Foregone Conclusion
 * Hidden Villain: Combined with The Faceless.
 * High Altitude Interrogation
 * Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Used liberally by the police. Though it doesn't help much.
 * Just a Flesh Wound: Averted. One of the detectives
 * Karma Houdini: The killer.
 * Mood Whiplash: Only slight one. The first half of the film (roughly) focuses a lot on Black Comedy, and the second half entirely on drama.
 * Perp Sweating
 * Rabid Cop
 * Rape as Drama: The murderer raped his victims before killing them.
 * Scenery Porn: Some of the country scenery is just beautiful.
 * Serial Killer: Obviously.
 * Squick: Some of the murders may cause this reaction.
 * Ted Baxter: Detective Park, who claims that he can instinctively tell who's a bad guy.
 * The Unsolved Mystery: To this day.