Memories of Murder (2003)
The worst of them will stay with you... forever.
A sadistic serial rapist and murderer of young women terrorizes a small province in 1980s South Korea. To prevent further crimes, three increasingly desperate detectives with conflicting methods race against time to unravel the violent mind of the killer in a futile effort to solve the case.
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| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 25 April 2003 |
| Genre | Crime, Drama, Thriller |
| Director | Bong Joon Ho |
| Starring | Song Kang-ho, Kim Sang-kyung and Kim Roi-ha |
| Runtime | 131 min |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 8.1/10 · Metacritic 82/100 · Rotten Tomatoes 95% · TMDB users 8.1/10 |
| Budget | $3 million |
| Box office | $1 million worldwide |
Where to watch Memories of Murder
We could not find Memories of Murder on any of the subscription services we track in the US right now. That changes often; open it in Binge Boss and we will show you where it lands.
Rent or buy
You can rent or buy Memories of Murder on Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube and Fandango at Home.
Where to watch Memories of Murder in 5 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Australia | ARD/ZDF |
| Canada | Prime Video $9.99 CAD, Tubi |
| Portugal | Prime Video €4.99, Max €9.99 |
| South Korea | Netflix ₩13500, Watcha, Tving ₩10900 |
| Spain | Prime Video €4.99 |
Subscription, free and ad-supported services we track; prices where Binge Boss has a price list for the country. "About" marks a price the service bills in another currency, converted at the day's rate. All countries as data.
What kind of watch this is
Bong Joon-ho’s 2003 thriller runs 131 minutes, a duration that feels like a slow suffocation rather than a race. The film follows three increasingly desperate detectives with conflicting methods racing against time to unravel the violent mind of a sadistic serial rapist and murderer of young women in 1980s South Korea. Their methods collide, and the tension comes from watching them fail. The tagline promises the worst of them will stay with you forever. It is a study in frustration, where the absence of a clean resolution is the point.
What the critics said
Rotten Tomatoes sits at 95% as of January 2026, with an average rating of 8.2/10. Metacritic landed on 82 out of 100 in November 2025, a score it files under universal acclaim. The consensus notes the film blends crime genre with social satire. Manohla Dargis of The New York Times called it a "taut, effective thriller." Derek Elley of Variety described it as a "slow-burning portrait of human fallibility." It is a hard film to dislike, mostly because it refuses to be simple.
How it did with audiences
The numbers look like a rounding error. It cost $3 million and brought in $1 million worldwide. In the United States, the take was $0 million. Yet TMDB users give it an 8.1. The film didn’t need the money to matter.
What came next for the cast
Song Kang-ho stepped into this film after Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Joint Security Area. He emerged from it with a trail of major roles, including The Host, Snowpiercer, and Parasite. Kim Roi-ha arrived with Barking Dogs Never Bite behind him. He left with A Bittersweet Life, The Host, and eventually Kingdom: Ashin of the North on his resume. The credits do not claim the film caused the shift. They only mark where the path bent.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched Memories of Murder.
Sources
- Memories of Murder on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q488169 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “Memories of Murder” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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