This blew me away

Watching this with little knowledge of the plot based off of reviews from Venice was a jarring experience. I was absolutely riveted. Having grown up watching all kinds of exploitation films and other kinds of grotesqueness I was surprised to be not only thoroughly disturbed by but also completely engaged with the material. Never seen any of Ki-Duk's films before (though I've heard of a few) and I guess it's time to delve into his work. Watching this reminded me of why I used to love Takashi Miike and so many other filmmakers when I first discovered them, primarily through extreme Asian cinema. That a movie this uniquely bizarre and utterly disgusting can also manage to be hysterically funny in parts is a marvel. My hat goes off to Kim Ki-Duk for running with the insanity and not caring who gets left behind in the wreckage. Fascinating stuff.