Monstrum (2018)

It’s not even fun bad… It's just bad.

How they got this cast to do this movie is beyond me. The best part were the bad subtitles that kept calling Hyeri “he” and later Yoon Gyeom “sis”. There were just so many writing and directing choices I did not understand…

First of all, there is no set up for anything. They don’t tell, they don’t show. Half way through the movie you will still not truly understand the past events, current characters; motivations, who is on whose side and why. Not explicitly telling every little detail about the plot is fine, most viewers can put two and two together. Here… they told me close to nothing. I feel like I had to basically write 50% of the plot in my head, to make any sense of it. The vague idea of the plot in Monstrum is interesting, but that’s it - just a vague idea, a first draft of the plot…

I can't really comment about the acting, because the characters were so painfully one-dimensional a brick wall could play them and the result would be similar.

The comedy was also misplaced and just in poor taste. This is not a slapstick sitcom, so why are we getting fart jokes?

Overall… It’s been a while since I watched something so bad I was actually annoyed watching.

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A highly entertaining movie with action, suspense, politics and comedy

The story is clever and well written. The cinematography is beautiful. The cast is great in their respective roles. CGI is pretty decent. It draws its premise from the annals of the Joseon Dynasty. The movie takes inspiration from the legendary creature called "haetae" from Chinese and Korean mythology. If you look a bit deeper into the plot you will find that the movie is also a commentary on politics, powerplay and manipulation. The story keeps you engaged and guessing. I found myself genuinely rooting for the leads and the people on their side. Would be a loss to miss, especially if you like this genre. The chemistry between the cast is enjoyable and doesn't feel forced. The father-daughter relationship between Yun Kyum and Myung is portrayed beautifully. Overall the movie is a highly entertaining watch.

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