Asura: The City of Madness

"Once you trip in, there is no way out."

2016 2h 16m KO

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 126

ActionCrimeThriller

Synopsis

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A shady cop finds himself in over his head when he gets caught between Internal Affairs and the city’s corrupt mayor.

“Once you trip in, there is no way out.”

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Cast

Jung Woo-sung
Han Do-kyung
Hwang Jung-min
Park Seong-bae
Ju Ji-hoon
Moon Sun-mo
Kwak Do-won
Kim Cha-in
Jeong Man-sik
Do Chang-hak
Kim Won-hae
Akeo / Alligator
Kim Jong-soo
Eun Choong-ho
Kim Hae-gon
Tae Byung-jo

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Kim Sung-soo
Writers: Kim Sung-soo
Languages: Nepali, Korean
Countries: South Korea

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 10 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Nepali, Korean.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Kim Sung-soo, shot by Lee Mo-gae. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Lee Jae-jin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Kim Sang-bum shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jung Woo-sung and Hwang Jung-min and Ju Ji-hoon carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Once you trip in, there is no way out.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt5918028 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Kim Sung-soo directs. Lee Mo-gae behind the camera. Lee Jae-jin scores. Kim Sang-bum cuts. Produced in South Korea. Dialogue in Nepali, Korean.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 10 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Nepali, Korean.
3Directed by Kim Sung-soo, shot by Lee Mo-gae. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Lee Jae-jin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Kim Sang-bum shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Jung Woo-sung and Hwang Jung-min and Ju Ji-hoon carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Once you trip in, there is no way out.".
8IMDB entry: tt5918028 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 8 themes, including "street gang", "corruption", "police", "politics".

The technical file

Cinematography: Lee Mo-gae
Original score: Lee Jae-jin
Editing: Kim Sang-bum
Production design: Jang Geun-yeong
Costume design: Cho Sang-kyung
Makeup / hair: Kim Hyun-jung
Runtime: 136 min · 2h 16m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $18,200,000
Original language: KO
IMDB: Asura: The City of Madness (2016)

Also by

Kim Sung-soo

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Dr Nostromo2026-06-04
★ 5/10
53/100 A guy is hopelessly stuck playing both sides between an overly ambitious prosecutor and an ultra-corrupt, violent mayor. The filmmakers didn't really know how to edit themselves. Too long with far too much dialogue, the characterizations were unlikable and forced and the story didn't seem to be going anywhere until the end. Even the big shootout at the end had an almost lazy quality about it and sorta ended on a dud. Nothing really rang true. Certainly not the best Korean movie I've seen lately ...I just can't feel it. -- DrNostromo.com

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