The only problem that out-shadowed the existence of Korea's first psychotic serial murderer was the state of the Korean police in such sleepy towns as the one in Memories Of Murder.

Due to a lack of familiarity with such events in the 80s, the cops failed to do such simple things as secure crimes scenes or create character profiles of the killer.

So writer/ director Bong Joon-Ho opens the movie as though it were a comedy, outlining the sheer ineptitude of the police force by portraying them as bumbling fools.

We are introduced to the lead cop, Detective Park Doo-Man, as he struggles to maintain a degree of authority over the scene of the first murder – kids playing in the adjacent field, reporters crowding the scene and farmers driving tractors over evidence all give a good hint as to the shambolic nature of the detective work.

But as he and his equally rubbish colleagues watch the body count rise, it isn't until a big city cop comes to investigate matters when the cops begin to get a foothold on the case.

Initially, the cops pull in a range of suspects, including a mentally retarded kid who, like most of the others, is coerced into confessing to the crimes.

But their interrogation techniques are somewhat limited. These techniques include hanging suspects upside down, or using the none-too-bright Det. Cho Yong-Koo, whose nickname, Detective Combat Boots, is derived from his liberal use of kicking in order to extract confessions from innocent subjects.

The introduction of a big-city cop soon spurs the detectives on and sees a marked improvement in their work, but the killer too improves his techniques and by the time the cops begin to make the most of the given evidence, the killer is canny enough not to leave any.

The film could easily become unstuck due to a lack of a villain, but this is well structured stuff and the suspects written into the plot make for a storyline equal to any fictional crime thriller.

This is, in part, thanks to the depth or research put into the history of the crimes by director Joon-Ho.

Credit must also go to Joon-Ho for the progression of the movie. The bright and breezy comedy element that outlines the incompetence of the police is slowly replaced by dark and moody atmospherics and a big finish that displays the frustration and anger of the cops that, despite their shortcomings, would give anything to crack the case.

Unlike conventional crime thrillers of today, the pieces of the puzzle do not fit together to create a picture of the killer. Instead, the various clues – relevant or otherwise – a mulled over by a group of cops who simply do not know what approach to take.

Films based on true stories are often constrained by the rules of life. But Memories Of Murder utilises poetic licence to enough of a degree to make it eminently watchable. And you’d be hard pressed not to feel the sadness for the victims that met with such brutal ends.

Richard Phippen