Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub
It’s been 20 years since the release of director Choi Dong-hoon’s Tazza: The High Rollers in 2006, one of the defining productions of the 2000’s K-Wave that, unlike today, was mainly driven by the countries cinematic output. A TV series adaptation followed in 2008, while the 2010’s delivered 2 sequels (2014’s Tazza: The Hidden Card and 2019’s Tazza: One Eyed Jack), and who can forget 2024’s (definitely not officially related) Female Tazzas trilogy!? In 2026 a fourth instalment hit the screens in the form of Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub, and while I’d hoped the cameo by the original’s director Choi Dong-hoon at the end of One Eyed Jack was a hint he’d be returning to the franchise, alas it wasn’t to be. In his place is Choi Gook-hee, who helmed the likes of the 2018 Asian Financial Crisis thriller Default, and 2022 musical Life is Beautiful, his latest offering up the opportunity to continue exploring his versatility as a director.
Not many Korean movie sequels in the 21st century make it to a 4th instalment (the only company I can think the latest instalment has is The Roundup: Punishment, which arrived just 7 years after the original), and the heady mix of gambling, violence, and sex which defined the series so far is one which has become increasingly sanitised in recent years. Thankfully such worries are put to rest in the opening scenes, which finds Byun Yo-han (Believer 2, No Tears for the Dead) sitting in a pool of dried-up blood on a ship somewhere off the coast of Vietnam, his face already Continue reading
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