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One Of The Best Korean Dramas In Years....
There has been a noticeable recent wave of South-Korean horror shows in recent years, and there’s no denying that OCN’s The Guest (2018) is not a byproduct of this recent trend.
Yet despite this label as a contemporary drama, The Guest truly plays upon something timelessly classic within its universal horror theme of primeval and the unknown through suspense and dread.
The story premise revolves around our main Male lead, psychic Hwa Pyung ( Kim Dong Wook) chasing after a malevolent demon called Sohn who disturbingly drives people insane. Under the non-conspicuous job occupation as a taxi driver, Hwa- Pyung’s journey to finding Sohn seemingly becomes closer when he is invariably connected with the mysterious Catholic priest Choi Yoon ( Kim Jae Wook) and cynical detective Kang Gil Young ( Jung Eun Chae) ; all of whom have mysterious links to Sohn through their pasts.
As our main lead,Kim Dong Wook seems an unlikely choice to play our main hero,however, his sense of genuine sincerity and anguish in his performance truly captured the essence of Hwa Pyung as a sincere and scarred individual. Alongside Dong Wook costar Kim Jae Wook’s role as the aloof and taciturn Catholic Priest Choi Yoon, truly captured the intrinsic and deeper questioning of a man shaped by traumas. Although less in the limelight than her fellows costars, Eun Chae channelled also the genuine cynicism and doubt of one of the few female officers in her department as well as an individual led by logic.
Yet beyond some more questionable acting performances by some members of the cast, The Guest’s beauty lay within its characterisation; Choi Yoon initially distrusts Hwa Pyung just as much as Eun Chae is doubtful of the “ mumbo jumbo” beliefs of the “ superstitious” duo on their first initial meeting. It is only when the entire trio are forced to rely heavily upon one another, that they begin to develop genuine friendships and bonds, trialed and tested repeatedly throughout the drama’s later revelations.
Adding to theme of horror , The Guest refreshingly did not rely upon cheap jump scares to generate the genuine bloodcurdling moments when demons transcended beyond the realms of nightmares to reality.
In one scene in particular when Hwa- Pyung is walking through a hospital, the specific usage of lucid lighting and an eery blue glow in the background will truly send shivers down your spine before the climax of the scene. In another scene in the show, Yoon’s quick walk down a district street in Seoul becomes contorted with distorted streetlights, a clear and purposefully ironic homage to The Exorcist (1973).
Although not flawless from several moments of lacklustre acting and undeniably slow pacing in earlier episodes, The Guest was undeniably a brilliant show filled with intriguing storyline, characters and true spine tingling moments as well. Certainly one of the best Korean Dramas in a long time.
Yet despite this label as a contemporary drama, The Guest truly plays upon something timelessly classic within its universal horror theme of primeval and the unknown through suspense and dread.
The story premise revolves around our main Male lead, psychic Hwa Pyung ( Kim Dong Wook) chasing after a malevolent demon called Sohn who disturbingly drives people insane. Under the non-conspicuous job occupation as a taxi driver, Hwa- Pyung’s journey to finding Sohn seemingly becomes closer when he is invariably connected with the mysterious Catholic priest Choi Yoon ( Kim Jae Wook) and cynical detective Kang Gil Young ( Jung Eun Chae) ; all of whom have mysterious links to Sohn through their pasts.
As our main lead,Kim Dong Wook seems an unlikely choice to play our main hero,however, his sense of genuine sincerity and anguish in his performance truly captured the essence of Hwa Pyung as a sincere and scarred individual. Alongside Dong Wook costar Kim Jae Wook’s role as the aloof and taciturn Catholic Priest Choi Yoon, truly captured the intrinsic and deeper questioning of a man shaped by traumas. Although less in the limelight than her fellows costars, Eun Chae channelled also the genuine cynicism and doubt of one of the few female officers in her department as well as an individual led by logic.
Yet beyond some more questionable acting performances by some members of the cast, The Guest’s beauty lay within its characterisation; Choi Yoon initially distrusts Hwa Pyung just as much as Eun Chae is doubtful of the “ mumbo jumbo” beliefs of the “ superstitious” duo on their first initial meeting. It is only when the entire trio are forced to rely heavily upon one another, that they begin to develop genuine friendships and bonds, trialed and tested repeatedly throughout the drama’s later revelations.
Adding to theme of horror , The Guest refreshingly did not rely upon cheap jump scares to generate the genuine bloodcurdling moments when demons transcended beyond the realms of nightmares to reality.
In one scene in particular when Hwa- Pyung is walking through a hospital, the specific usage of lucid lighting and an eery blue glow in the background will truly send shivers down your spine before the climax of the scene. In another scene in the show, Yoon’s quick walk down a district street in Seoul becomes contorted with distorted streetlights, a clear and purposefully ironic homage to The Exorcist (1973).
Although not flawless from several moments of lacklustre acting and undeniably slow pacing in earlier episodes, The Guest was undeniably a brilliant show filled with intriguing storyline, characters and true spine tingling moments as well. Certainly one of the best Korean Dramas in a long time.
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