The Chase (2017) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

The neighborhood blamed Deok-su because of his harsh reputation as a landlord who collected rent ruthlessly and showed no compassion to his tenants, including the sick Mr Choi. When the church volunteers visited to plead for Choi, Deok-su's cold response made him appear sinister to the community. His earlier confrontation with the church group and his general unpopularity made him an easy target when suspicion spread after the murders.

Foreshadowing: Deok-su's gruff attitude toward Mr Choi and the church volunteers early in the film sets the stage for the community wrongly turning against him.

• deok-su
• blame
• murders
• neighborhood
• landlord

Mr Choi was a retired police detective who recognized the pattern in the deaths. He explained to Deok-su that the first victims, an elderly pensioner and a local drunk, were likely practice victims. The killer was testing methods on the elderly before moving to younger targets. Choi's detective instincts allowed him to see the connection that others missed.

• mr choi
• detective
• pattern
• murders
• connection

Retired Detective Pyung-Dal discovered that the current murders matched the exact pattern of a series of unsolved killings from three decades prior. Both sets of crimes targeted elderly victims first, then young women, and used similar methods. This connection revealed the killer had been active for decades, operating under the radar.

Foreshadowing: Mr Choi's theory about testing on elderly victims directly foreshadows the pattern Pyung-Dal later confirms from the cold cases.

• thirty years
• murders
• pattern
• pyung-dal
• unsolved cases

Ji-Eun fit the exact victim profile from the 30-year-old cases, she was a young textile mill worker living alone. The killer's pattern from three decades earlier showed he targeted young women in their early twenties who lived independently. This specific profile made Ji-Eun the next likely victim.

Foreshadowing: The timeline shows the killer moved from elderly victims to younger ones, exactly matching how Ji-Eun became the next target.

• ji-eun
• kidnapped
• victim
• target
• pattern

The killer was revealed to be a mild-mannered doctor who was respected in the community for his volunteer work and devotion to his paralyzed wife. Behind his kind exterior, he was a calculating serial killer who had been murdering people for thirty years while maintaining a normal public image.

Foreshadowing: The film establishes early that the killer could be someone who appears completely ordinary and trustworthy, hinting at the doctor's true nature.

• doctor
• killer
• reveal
• serial killer
• identity

The film reveals the doctor had been committing murders for thirty years, suggesting his killing behavior predated his current life. He used his trusted position in the community to approach victims and commit murders while maintaining the appearance of a gentle, helpful physician. His caring image as someone who volunteers and cares for his paralyzed wife made him seem incapable of violence.

• doctor
• serial killer
• community
• trusted
• 三十年前

The summary indicates Deok-su and Pyung-Dal race to save Ji-Eun after discovering the killer's identity. While the exact outcome isn't detailed in the provided summary, the film focuses on their urgent attempt to rescue her from the doctor before he can strike again.

Foreshadowing: The discovery of the roommate's severed head in the refrigerator signals the extreme danger Ji-Eun faces and creates urgency for her rescue.

• ji-eun
• rescue
• ending
• doctor
• save

Mr Choi was murdered because he was actively investigating the murders and had already figured out the killer's pattern. The killer needed to stop Choi from connecting the current deaths to the cold cases from thirty years earlier. By staging Choi's death as a suicide, the killer hoped to prevent the police from realizing the murders were connected to the unsolved cases.

Foreshadowing: Mr Choi's dinner conversation where he explains the murder pattern directly leads to his being targeted, his detective knowledge made him a threat.

• mr choi
• killed
• staged suicide
• murder
• detective

The summary does not detail the specific psychological motive behind the doctor's killings. However, the film frames his crimes as stemming from 'darkest impulses' that remained hidden beneath his virtuous public persona. The three-decade span of murders suggests a deeply ingrained pattern of violence that the film explores through the theme of how evil hides behind normalcy.

• killer
• motive
• reason
• psychology
• evil

Pyung-Dal, Mr Choi's former partner, used his detective experience to connect the current murders to the unsolved cases from thirty years earlier. He uncovered evidence that Choi's death was not a suicide and traced the pattern of victims. This investigation led him and Deok-su to the doctor, whose profile matched the historical killer but had gone unnoticed due to his respected position in the community.

Foreshadowing: Pyung-Dal's refusal to accept the official narrative and his determination to review old cases is what ultimately reveals the killer's true identity.

• pyung-dal
• identify
• detective
• evidence
• killer identity