Lady Vengeance, an unsettling mix of stylish visuals, surreal fantasy, and shocking violence, is the last in revered South Korean director Park Chan-wook's trilogy of revenge movies. Geum-ja (Lee Young-ae) was imprisoned 13 years ago for the murder of a child; now she is free and mysteriously out for revenge against former teacher Mr Baek (Choi Min-sik). It's an engaging hook, and though this film sometimes feels a little slow, it remains a thrilling, intelligent study of sin and retribution.

Via a choppy narrative that exerts a deft control over the release of information, we learn the essentials; how, before her imprisonment, Geum-ja fell pregnant to Mr Baek, how, behind bars, she embraced Christianity and became known as "kind-hearted Geum-ja", and how now, with clinical determination, she is calling on the friends she gained to help her execute her revenge. It's a slow, subtle accumulation of tension.

"A PERVASIVE SENSE OF UNEASE"

Plenty of time, then, for Chan-wook to parade his talent for crafting beautiful, devastating films. He doesn't disappoint, using surreal set-pieces - the imaginings of the obsessed Geum-ja - to forge a pervasive sense of unease. South Korean legend Min-sik is chillingly creepy as the inhuman Mr Baek, and Young-ae is masterful, at once driven and broken by her need for payback. The only problem, really, is pace: in the long middle section it drifts. But the wait is worth it. When Geum-ja and her enemy finally meet, it's the psychological intensity, not the gut-wrenching violence - though there's plenty - that will haunt you for days.

In Korean with English subtitles.