A great idea ruined by forced romance and bad writing. You should ignore the 10/10 reviews as they're written by K Drama stans and the actress's fans. I'm not saying it's a problem, but they wont give you an honest review.
Positives, one star for each:
That's where the pros end. The rest is honestly downright insulting to viewers as the writer and director treat you like a child.
I can genuinely go on, but that would mean putting more effort into this review than the writers and script supervisors did on this tv show.
It's a shame because the premise is great. It's a shame because the setting is super interesting. They should've stuck to the horror element of the monster and explored it deeper. Instead they show us the full monster quite early and all the tension and fear is gone. Similarly, there is a throwaway line which suggests that the Japanese Army are desperate for men and therefore conscript Korean men. This means most of the army folks killed are Korean and this would've made for a great internal dilemma about soldiers who are just following orders from Japanese commanders. But we don't get any exploration.
Similarly, for an occupied city, it seems to be quite well off. We don't get to see the oppression - we're only told of it. Otherwise you're just surrounded by rich characters enjoying great luxuries. Schindlers List and the Pianist are great examples of how to show occupied oppression.
If you think you'll be on the edge of your seat wondering if a soldier or monster is in the next corridor of a spooky hospital - you'd be wrong. Our characters can fight hordes of enemy soldiers with guns and avoid the monster blindfolded.
And if you're a K drama fan, don't downvote this review just because you like the actress and actors. See the story and writing for what it is, and don't lie about the 10/10 ratings.
The characters are forgettable, the plot armour is laughable, and the writing is offensive to anyone who is looking for anything remotely thriller / drama.
What a shame, it could've been good. And what a shame for some of these misleading 10/10 reviews.
Positives, one star for each:
- Good premise: human experimentation and it's consequences with a scary evolving monster.
- good setting: WW2 Korea when Japan is losing the war makes for an intriguing set up
- monster design: the monster, while poor in CGI, can be compelling as it evolved and grows.
That's where the pros end. The rest is honestly downright insulting to viewers as the writer and director treat you like a child.
- Flat characters: the main characters are extremely dull, especially the female protagonist. She cannot act, albeit for one emotional scene where she cries. I don't blame her - she has two emotions for 8 hours. Stoic or slightly sad. The characters with the most development are the Korean boy turned Japanese soldier, and the old caretaker of the golden house.
- ZERO chemistry: the two main love interests have no chemistry. And no, having them accidentally fall into an intimate pose isn't good writing.
- brain dead character decisions: if you dislike poor decisions, you have to skip this show. The Japanese Military are told to be this menacing force, but the way they're depicted make them look like a bunch of idiots and makes you question how Korea was occupied in the first place. You will come across several instances where the military can get rid of their issue but refuse to because of:
- INSANE plot armour: After episode 3, all sense of tension is gone. Why? Because you will realise all the main characters will never get harmed. The Japanese army aren't a threat, and neither is the monster. The monster can slaughter a room full of soldiers in 5 seconds, but cannot catch our protagonists over 5 minutes. It suddenly loses its abilities with no explanation. The plot armour also comes in the forms of Japanese soldiers not being able to do their job, lucky timings and characters forgetting they're injured. For example, our main protagonist is stabbed in the stomach by thugs and this injury is shown to have an affect on his ability to move (and more importantly, make his love interest care for him). One episode later, that injury is long forgotten, which leads me to:
- AWFUL continuity: injuries disappear, characters disappear with no explanation, entire firefights happen in corridors and other people in the hospital can't hear it, the police who visit the hospital vanish and the list goes on. One of the MAIN characters, Sachinoto (or something) disappears entirely after his plot line is resolved.
I can genuinely go on, but that would mean putting more effort into this review than the writers and script supervisors did on this tv show.
It's a shame because the premise is great. It's a shame because the setting is super interesting. They should've stuck to the horror element of the monster and explored it deeper. Instead they show us the full monster quite early and all the tension and fear is gone. Similarly, there is a throwaway line which suggests that the Japanese Army are desperate for men and therefore conscript Korean men. This means most of the army folks killed are Korean and this would've made for a great internal dilemma about soldiers who are just following orders from Japanese commanders. But we don't get any exploration.
Similarly, for an occupied city, it seems to be quite well off. We don't get to see the oppression - we're only told of it. Otherwise you're just surrounded by rich characters enjoying great luxuries. Schindlers List and the Pianist are great examples of how to show occupied oppression.
If you think you'll be on the edge of your seat wondering if a soldier or monster is in the next corridor of a spooky hospital - you'd be wrong. Our characters can fight hordes of enemy soldiers with guns and avoid the monster blindfolded.
And if you're a K drama fan, don't downvote this review just because you like the actress and actors. See the story and writing for what it is, and don't lie about the 10/10 ratings.
The characters are forgettable, the plot armour is laughable, and the writing is offensive to anyone who is looking for anything remotely thriller / drama.
What a shame, it could've been good. And what a shame for some of these misleading 10/10 reviews.