THE CHASER/CHUGYEOGJA

ONLY IN Korea do film-makers scramble their genres in such bewildering fashion. The latest festival of liver and bananas - or custard and pilchards - finds an ex-cop tracking down a serial killer in contemporary Seoul.

Calling to mind the similarly diverse Memories of Murder, The Chaserveers from broad comedy to damp-eyed pathos in the space of a millisecond. The most unforgettable passages, however, are those in which heads gets whacked by hammers, prostitutes get locked in meat cellars and dogs chew body parts. Even if you didn't care for The Chaser, you'd have to admit that it defies superficial characterisation.

As it happens the film proves to be a gripping piece of work. The deceptively amiable-looking Kim Yoon-suk stars as Jung-ho, a former policeman who now works as an enforcer for a prostitution ring. One evening, he drags Mi-jin (Seo Young-hee), one of his charges, from her sick bed and dispatches her to a mysterious young client.

Too late, he realises that the John might be the same man who has abducted (or killed) a number of missing women. After grumpily taking Mi-jin's young daughter under his wing, Jung-ho sets out to do the right thing (or something like it).

It is to the debut director's credit that each of the jarring genres is handled with conviction. One moment we are deep in the charnel house, the next we are asked to snigger at the uncomfortable relationship between child and protector. As this elegantly shot curiosity drifts to its gloomy conclusion, it gradually becomes clear that the jarring shifts of tone are intentional, and that they add to the film's unlikely appeal.

The Chaserwas a huge smash in its home territories and it's easy enough to see why.