Unsettling in all the right ways
This drama seriously messed with my head in the best way. Strangers from Hell is one of the most unsettling things I’ve watched, and I loved every second of it. It’s not horror in the typical jump-scare way—it’s slow, creepy, psychological horror that builds up little by little until you’re completely hooked.The acting is insane. Everyone nailed their roles, especially the more mysterious characters who always keep you guessing. The vibe of the whole show is dark and claustrophobic, and the way it’s filmed and scored makes everything feel just off enough to keep you on edge.
I also really liked that it didn’t rely on gore or action to keep things interesting. The tension comes from the characters and the atmosphere, and honestly, that made it so much more effective. It’s the kind of show where you’ll be thinking about the little details days after finishing it.
If you’re into psychological thrillers with a dark, eerie tone—and you don’t mind things getting a little weird—this one’s 100% worth watching. Easily a 10/10 for me.
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This was a masterpiece
I really loved this show. As someone who really enjoys thrillers this has to be my favorite one so far. The acting and casting for this show was amazing. Lee dong wook did a really great job portraying a psychopathic character. He was out here eating and chopping people up and serving face card at the same time. The plot twist at the end was really unexpected but did confused be a bit. Yim Siwan also did a really good job in this too, his acting was amazing. The only thing that really irritated me was his girlfriend, like how are you not gonna believe your own boyfriend when he says he’s living with crazy people!? I would 100% rewatch this show and I highly recommend.Was this review helpful to you?
Entire Personality: "I Read The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka"
TL;DR: A pretentious drama crutching so much on metaphors relating it to another story that it ends up being not only exceptionally dull but also extremely grating.Whump meter: ▲▲▲▲◭ (there's a lot, ok).
── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋅ ⋅
I won't make this long because I honestly don't want to waste any more time with this drama. The worst offender regarding this drama is just how pretentious it feels. It really took the "It's all a metaphor related to The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka" and made that its entire personality. Because trust me when I say, the drama has little identity other than that. The characters are shallow, most being shy of a caricature we unfortunately and for some reason spend HOURS following. Especially SML (portrayed by Lee Dong Wook) was an inconsistent nightmare (LDW acted the crap out of this role, though, I'm in awe). I'm not gonna lie, for most of the drama I thought he was gonna end up being a slenderman-like entity with how all-over-the-place he was (which might've single-handedly made this drama a 9 for me) but that obviously wasn't the case. Even the phenomenal performances from literally every single actor in this drama couldn't save such midcore writing.
The best thing the drama does (casting aside) is the unsettling vibe. I will admit, that was well captured and executed. From the claustrophobic feel to the overall 'wtf is wrong with this place' vibe. Kudos. Cinematography, production quality, OST, etc were all serviceable to good so no real complaints there either.
Without going into spoiler territory, the ending was bad. Nonsensical and not well executed. All tying back to this overly presumptuous superiority complex either the screenwriter or the original IP's writer had of making it 'poetic' and 'subverting expectations' and being 'deep'. I heard a lot of people call this a descent into madness, and I guess you could call it that? But even that feels a too generous. The drama has an unreliable narrator, but rather than being engaging and exciting to follow the main character's story from his unstable POV, it felt more dumb, boring, and irritating. Especially with the ending 'plot twist', it really brings to question the rest of the drama and how it unfolded, and not in the 'wow, I missed so much' kind of way but rather in the 'wtf, this makes no sense' kind of way. It's also strange for a drama already almost half the length of the usual Kdramas to still somehow be so exceptionally slow. So much time is spent meandering around half-baked side characters or just, standing... If this were an hour and a half long indie film, then whatever, but come on.
In the end, the drama is merely alright. It does some things good, some things bad, like most dramas out there. However, this drama somehow manages to have mostly 9s and 10s across the ratings, which is shocking to me but I'm glad people like it. Would I have enjoyed watching this more if people didn't unanimously claim that it was the best thing since slice bread? Probably. But that wasn't the case, so I'm not only disappointed I watched a mid show; I'm also disappointed I watched a pretentious show everyone claimed to be phenomenal.
This isn't the first time something referencing The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka was midcore and irritating so I think it's best for me to just stay away from that all together, lmao.
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◇ Was it what I was expecting? No.
◆ Did it live up to its potential? No.
◇ Would I watch it again? Definitely no.
◆ Would I recommend it to others? Probably not.
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True terror is being under the thumb of society.
Atmosphere & Suspense: The drama is consistently praised for creating a genuinely creepy, paranoid, and claustrophobic feeling, transforming mundane, annoying neighbors into extreme, terrifying threats.Acting Performances: Im Si-wan (Jong Woo) is highly praised for depicting a character on the brink, while Lee Dong-wook (Moon Jo) is described as "mesmerizing" and "chilling" in his role as a dentist.
Character Development: The series is lauded for its deep dive into the protagonist's psychological decline and his gradual acceptance of the darkness surrounding him.
Finales and Pacing: Despite a slow burn, many reviewers found the finale to be a perfect, intense conclusion to the story.
Extreme Content: The show is noted for being violent and disturbing, which may not appeal to all viewers.
Pacing: Some viewers found the pacing too slow, arguing that the show meanders in the middle.
Unreliable Narrator: The story heavily relies on the protagonist's deteriorating mental state, creating a highly subjective experience.
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Mind-blowing and Fantastic
Strangers from Hell was unlike anything I had seen before. Im Siwan's rent must have been due because he bodied JongU. The acting, especially Siwan's was impeccable. Lee Dongwook is my favorite acter and watching this after seeing him as Lee Yeon in Tale of the Nine-Tailed was crazy. The twists and turns in Strangers from Hell we're just twisty and turny enough to make it mind-blowing but not completely unbelievable. Strangers from Hell had one of the craziest endings in anything I'd ever seen. When I finished it for the first time, I was completely shocked by it. Watching JongU's sanity deteriorate was fascinating yet heartbreaking. Strangers from Hell is truly one of, not only Kdramas, but piece of media I've ever seen.Was this review helpful to you?
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Why the ML Can’t See Red Flags
I am only partway through this drama but it’s dawned on me that part of the overall horror and a big part of what keeps the plot going is that Jong-woo, the ML, doesn’t have a healthy instinct for self-preservation. if he did he would have left Eden Boarding House in 5 minutes even though his rolling suitcase was broken.It’s not that he’s stupid or oblivious or anything like that. We do see early on that he has a knack for making not-great choices. The big problem is that he’s just so accustomed to dealing with dysfunction, humiliation, and outright abuse in his day-to-day life and just brushing away all the ill feeling it gives him that he can no longer recognize when he’s in a dangerous situation and react appropriately.
Look at how he gets treated by the people in his workplace and elsewhere: he’s told he’s too sensitive, has his emotions invalidated, and even gets told to smile more! A lot of women are probably all too familiar with this kind of treatment. Jong-woo has internalized a lot of it too. He keeps telling himself to ignore really bizarre and awful things at the boarding house, insisting to himself that he’s being ridiculous, so by the time he realizes how bad the situation really is, it’s almost too late.
It’s this dynamic that makes the progression of the story so natural and adds to the subtle sense of horror/dread.
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Better a movie than a drama!! overhyped
I know it’s a 2019 drama, but seriously! I’ve watched slow-paced dramas before, but this one was just repeating scenes over and over. From episode 1 to 7, that was basically the whole plot! Jong-Ju’s character wasn’t used properly same people kept annoying me for seven episodes straight, and he didn’t even react!
The detective was frustrating, and the characters who kept bothering Jong-Ju made me want to slap them through the screen!
They tried to make the female police officer seem tough and dedicated, but all her decisions were just plain foolish.
I get that it’s based on a webtoon, but K-dramas need to understand that live-action is different! They didn’t need to drag things out just because that’s how it was in the original story.
Honestly, it was a waste of a strong cast and a good premise. This is exactly why I don’t trust Asian drama ratings!
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THIS IS CRAZY
listen, this is very good kdrama that you will not rewatch it again. I MEAN ITS VERY GOOD BUT ITS TOO CRAZY Y'ALL, at least for me.. im too scared to rewatch it... okay I will continue review it in my mother language. JADI INITUH POKOKNYA MANTEP BGT DAH. awalnya mungkin kalian bakal mikir kayak "ooh ok dia gila ok" tp trust me, jangan didrop, nikmati sampe tamat and u will find the reason why people call this drama CRAZY. buatku ini oke bgt, alur thriller yang bagus banget, plottwist juga oke banget. ini salah satu contoh gimana seharusnya genre "thriller" itu ada.Was this review helpful to you?
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Everything about this drama is amazing!
I can't remember the last time I watched something so exhilarating that I was completely immersed in it.The acting, soundtrack, storyline — everything is mind-blowing. I don't usually write reviews, but I want to show my appreciation for this outstanding piece of art.
I can't wait to watch it again — it was that good! The direction and production were well done, because I found that hallway and the room so creepy. As soon as he walked in, I wanted him to check under the bed — and, hey presto, there was something there in the next episode! That made me feel so immersed in the show!
I don't usually get creeped out easily, but Lee Dong-wook's acting, where he would make sudden gestures and get really close to the protagonist, made me jump out of my chair.
The whole show was brilliant, though, because everything felt like it fit perfectly into place.
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Masterpiece ig
Honestly I was avoiding this drama for a long time but it actually turned out really good.The only thing that really pissed me off was Jong-woos girlfriend why didn't she belived him when he told her things abt the residence, she just said that he prob imaginate it all.
Overall I think it was masterpiece that I would rewatch I wouldn't say that the end was really that predictable. (Im talking abt the how it turned out that Jong Woo was the one who killed everyone in the residence)
And I was really hoping that he would move out after all.
Sadly there is not gonna be season 2 but I get it.
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Great premise but painfully ableist
I started watching the first episode and I was very happy with it. I loved the main character instantly and it had very good dry humor. As far as I understood the premise of the story was basic but that doesn't mean anything, I'm sure they made something great out of it.What wasn't great was that carricature of a disabled person. I was in physical discomfort seeing the actor act like that. The character is a harmful stereotype of disabled people being stupid, strange and - what I found worst - dangerous. Of course disabled people can be bad people, but the drama implied he's bad because of his disability. It would have been very easy to come up with a different character, just saying.
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eu não sou tão chegado em terror, mas Strangers From Hell entrega o que promete. a escolha de sequência dos acontecimentos é muito perspicaz, conseguimos acompanhar o desenvolvimento do protagonista com muita proximidade e os mistérios acerca dos outros personagens fazem com que a obra fique ainda mais instigante. a trilha sonora foi uma das coisas que eu mais gostei – beijos pro Woosung. te amo, amor – mas a atuação é sem dúvidas o que mais me impressiona, desde as sutis expressões até às cenas de maior violência, pode-se ver um elenco extremamente imerso em seus papéis.
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