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Old 02-23-2009, 07:02 PM
Azazel005's Avatar
Azazel005 Azazel005 is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 168
Oldboy was pitched to me as an action film, and my kneejerk reaction upon watching it was that it was pychological horror. I never for a second considered Oldboy a thriller. Of course if someone explained the premise to me I'd say "Oh it sounds like a good thriller", but it doesn't dwell on those elements.

It's constructed around the breaking down of a man through violence and manipulation, we are less focused on finding answers, less focused on a "thrilling discovery" and more on the violent and disturbing process that the protagonist carries out his search with.

It has mystery certainly, the mystery here is only used to drive the plot, thematically the entire film is about destroying a man completely.

Looking at say the examply of 2001, the idea of a computer siezing control is a horrific one, but the themes design is one of a thriller. "How can we beat it? What do we need to do to beat it?" This develops the tensions it is less about being trapped on a ship under computer control, which would be the horrific elements.

The climax of the film is hinged on the horrific, not the thrill of ending the search, not some large set piece battle, but the brutal horror of how corrupted and destroyed the lead had become.

In the end, I truly hate genre classification its a social thing designed for simplicity of description, but if I had to I can't think of a more appriopriate genre then horror for Oldboy.
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