Paid in Blood (2022) Movie Drinking Game
Take a Drink: every time a drink is poured
Take a Drink: any time somebody asks if the other has eaten
Take a Drink: for every gangland murder
Take a Drink: whenever somebody drinks by the beach
Do a Shot: every time the upcoming Olympics are mentioned
By: Henry J. Fromage (Three Beers) –
By now it’s old news to those in the know that South Korea is producing some of the most polished action and crime films out there- they have been for the last twenty years. If you’ve been waiting for the next good one, then Paid in Blood will scratch that itch.
He’ll scratch that itch for you.
Paid in Blood starts with a grisly discovery- a feral, possibly cannibalistic man in the hold of an otherwise crewless fishing vessel. Jump ahead to 2017, just before the Pyeongchang Olympics. Two gangs have formed an uneasy truce to get the chance to come clean, running a brand new resort built on dirty money that’s sure to be profitable in this auspicious time – if they can keep the peace.
A Toast
Director Yoon Young-bin directs with a steady hand and professional polish, and his Gangneun setting is an under-filmed but quite beautiful part of Korea. His film also gives some interesting insight into Korean culture – not all the crime and violence, but around the edges, the drinking and street food culture, politeness and slights to it, and how business is expected to be conducted.
Like any good crime film, there’s also lots of gangster philosophizing (and great acting in its delivery), twists and double-crosses, and dire threats made good or foiled in the trying. This is a truly brutal and bloody film – the fact that there are few to no guns in Korea even among the criminal element just means a lot more knife wounds and blunt object battery, and Yoon skimps on none of it.
A moment of good natured levity
Beer Two
This probably didn’t need to be a period piece set all the way in the distant 2017- the Olympics are a motivating factor, but not really a necessary one.
This is, of course, a quibble. The real only drawback of this film once you’ve keyed in on how unrelentingly brutal it will be is the lack of a rooting interest. Not everything needs to be White Hat/Black Hat Hollywood, that’s for sure, but it’s really difficult to get terribly attached to any of these characters. Even the police officers are bad decision-making, law-breaking makers of their own fates.
Presenting: The Good Guys
Verdict
I love watching rich vapid people as much as the next person, but it feels like the film thinks it is deeper than it really is. Not bad, but not good either, just somewhere in the middle.
Paid is Blood has been out on Hi-YAH! exclusively as of June 17, and is coming out on Digital widely on July 26th. We recommend you check it out!
