Ki-hoon (Han Suk-kyu) is a brilliant but morally corrupt detective in the Seoul police force. He lives a double life: a devoted husband to his pregnant wife Soo-hyun (Uhm Ji-won) and a passionate lover to his mistress Ga-hee (Lee Eun-ju). When he is assigned to investigate a brutal murder, the prime suspect is a melancholic nightclub singer, Mi-ri (Sung Hyun-ah). As Ki-hoon interrogates Mi-ri, his two worlds violently collide, leading to a shocking, unforgettable climax.

This film shares a title with Hawthorne’s novel but is not an adaptation . It is a dark, erotic neo-noir thriller.

| Aspect | Rating | Notes | |--------|--------|-------| | | Excellent | The 1080p BluRay transfer is a significant upgrade over previous DVD releases. Byun Hyuk’s cinematography uses heavy shadows, deep reds, and cold blues. The H.264 encode preserves film grain naturally without excessive DNR (digital noise reduction). Fine details (fabric textures, skin pores, raindrops) are sharp. Black levels are deep—crucial for the film’s noir lighting. | | Audio | Very Good | The Korean DTS-HD 5.1 track is immersive. The film’s score (by Lee Jae-jin) and ambient sounds (rain, nightclub jazz, tense silence) are well-balanced. Dialogue is clear in the center channel. | | File Specifics | Good | The “H26...” likely indicates H.264/AVC. Typical file size for this release is 15–25 GB (full rip) or 4–8 GB (encode). Avoid very small (<2 GB) files, as they may show compression artifacts in dark scenes. |

Director: Byun Hyuk Starring: Han Suk-kyu, Lee Eun-ju, Uhm Ji-won, Sung Hyun-ah