It's sadly common that in the cases of assault, many are hesitant to speak up. The hesitation in question makes sense– After all, there's a possibility that the assaulters they could've reported would take their fists towards them. Bedevilled is centered on one such hesitant bystander, but through learning what's become of her childhood friend, writer-director Jang Cheol-soo depicts how, when left unchecked, the very same violence that Hae-won was avoiding inevitably escalates without intervention, and the only time to stop it from growing is when you can. Bedevilled is impressively shot, and holds a haunting score, but most of the terror stems from how this can be real.

What keeps this film from being rated higher is the fact that more time is dedicated to the abuse. But the thing is, knowing that so many people wouldn’t recognize some of these scenes as abusive, it’s necessary to depict, even if it does make the film a tad too long for some viewers.