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Released by: Pathfinder Home Entertainment
Released on: October 15, 2002
Director: Kil-chae Jeong
Cast: Se-Chang Lee, Chang Kim, Ho-Seong Lee, Jun-bae, Eom, Seok-cheon Hong
Year: 2001
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The Film:
In Hera Purple - Devil Goddess, director Kil-chae Jeong set out to make a film that would push the boundaries of sexual censorship on film in his country, and this lurid tale is definitely the most explicit film I've ever seen from Korea.
The story revolves around Hyerim (Chang Kim), a loyal housewife who just happens to be possessed by the spirit of Hera, the beautiful but sneaky Greek goddess. Because of this, Hyerim is constantly having horrible nightmares and thus turns to a psychiatrist (played by Ho-Seong Lee) for help.
But the Doctor is unable to help her using standard psychiatric methods, so he puts her into a trance using hypnosis, which inadvertently releases Hera through Hyerim, who proceeds to seduce and then mutilate a group of young men from Hyerium's past.
When the police are called in to investigate the grisly killings, things get more complicated as it turns out that the head inspector may have ties to Hyerim he doesn't know about as they're off to put a stop to these seemingly motiveless killings.
Filled with an abundance of graphic sexual situations (some of which are very athletic in nature!), Hera Purple - Devil Goddess is a well shot film that carefully treads the line between creepy art house fare and hardcore porn.
Well directed with some great cinematography, the film is visually quite impressive. The story is interesting with a few interesting twists, and the violence, while not taking up very much screen time, is very intense and more than a little bit disturbing.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Pathfinder has presented the film in a non-anamorphic 1.85.1 transfer that for the most part looks pretty good, though there is print damage noticeable in a few of the scenes and there are also some instances where some of the darker, nighttime scenes could have been cleaned up a bit. Overall though, it's a decent transfer.
Presented in your choice of a dubbed English track or in the film's original Korean with easy to read subtitles, the audio levels are a bit low. But once you turn your speakers up a bit, things are just fine. There's a bit of hiss in a few spots, but in general the audio track is very serviceable.
Included on the disc is an unintentionally hilarious trailer for the film, focusing on it's more taboo sexual situations and proclaiming things like 'SEX WITH DOCTOR' and 'HOMOSEXUAL LOVE' in big block letters across the screen. There is also a still gallery.
The Final Word:
While it didn't get a massive release stateside, there is enough sex and violence in this film to satiate the appetites of most sleazehounds but is not without artistic merit. The film deserves to find an audience.