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painfully slow and boring
the acting is absolutely top notch, the production value is all there, and thats about it. the material here is barely enough for a 2 hour movie, having this stretched out over 10 episodes is simply painful.i assume this is a problem inherited directly from the webtoon. while i havent read the source material for this show, webtoons in general tend to be paced... badly, to say the least, and profit from some very aggressive restructuring in adaptation.
the idea seems interesting, if only the execution could be at least decent.
i wouldnt recommend this to anyone.
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it could've been better
the drama started out interesting, but the middle part was empty, repetitive and boring.. I always say shorter dramas don't get 16eps just because the producers know they can't drag it for that long.. basically, a movie or 4 eps would've been enough...the acting was PHENOMENAL from everyone.. I think they all portrayed their characters perfectly, and I think they alone carried this show.. but they also felt like, puppets? the writer didn't let them reach their potential...
and beside the main "group" the rest of the characters were empty fillers..
the gore and graphicness of this was, funny.. they promised a 19+ last ep and they still blurred the tiny knives and blood splatter.. and the fight scenes looked over dramatic to the point it was comical? also I think the writing was weak too.. by the last ep everyone just started to feel forcibly flat, like the writer just wanted to wrap everything up in a little bow for his own perfect ending..
The ost was another beautiful thing about this drama, it was perfectly hunting and mesmerizing..
Noh Jong Hyun stole the show for me.. among psychopaths, there needs to be something you can connect with. also that last friend, he was a hero :)
my rewatch values are always a 1 or 10 and I don't think this needs anther watch..
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This review may contain spoilers
I saw a lot of people mention the book the metamorphosis , and I think those theories are great , but I haven't seen anyone mention "hell is other people" which is another title from jean Paul Sartre . In the play, three people are trapped in Hell — which is a single room — and ultimately while confessing their sins to one another, end up falling into a bizarre love triangle." Hell is other people has always been misunderstood. It has been thought that what I meant by that was that our relations with other people are always poisoned, that they are invariably hellish relations. But what I really mean is something totally different. I mean that if relations with someone else are twisted, vitiated, then that other person can only be hell. Why? Because … when we think about ourselves, when we try to know ourselves … we use the knowledge of us which other people already have. We judge ourselves with the means other people have and have given us for judging ourselves. "
The hell here would be the studio , as he is trapped in there he starts to go crazy and by "confessing their sin" we can maybe think it's about how the dentist forces him to bring out the "psychopathic" nature in him and his killing urge .
"We judge ourselves with the means other people have and have given us for judging ourselves." The people around him make him think he's overreacting and imagining things , that the people there are okay and he's just paranoid , so we literally see him become more and more paranoid during each episode , as he starts to believe what other people (especially his girlfriend) are telling him . We can also interpret that , since the dentist keeps telling the protagonist he's just like him , that's why he starts to believe that . His coworker says he only pretends to be a nice person on the outside , so Jong Woo acts as according to those prejudices , smashes his keyboard and beats him up sending hum to the hospital. If we take the metamorphosis in question , as the protagonist begins his transformation and becomes a bug , he completely forgets what he used to be like and starts to become what the people around him think he is , paranoid , crazy , rude , a murderer .
This is just my theory based on what I heard about these books , I'm going to try reading Sartre and Kafka and completing the webtoon and see if I can correct it or come up with something more .
This drama is really amazing , I watched it in one day . The actors did a really great job , especially Lee-Dong Wook , it's not easy for an actor with an already established image as a sweet and nice character to break form that and play a completely different role as a psychopathic killer , but he managed to do that and played out his character really well . This is my first time watching Im Shi Wan and he did great as Jong Woo .
If I have any complaints about this drama , it would be that the last episode is a bit rushed , but that's the case for many dramas so I'm not going to hold it against it , overall this was a thrilling and exciting watch , definitely worth a rewatch someday .
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the acting was great and if we going to give credit between plot or acting in this drama although the plot was good, the acting was the best in this drama, everyone portrayed his character perfectly, they amazed me by there acting skills.
Cinematography i think they did good in using that studio with narrow and suffocating rooms and their best was the lead dreams, i think they could do better in filming the murders it self, i didn't notice the music that much in this drama.
i like what they did in the ending it's really fit well with the story the drama build from the start and how the Mental control is the main force in moving everything and making the world around the person. " WE AREN'T STRANGERS, THE PEOPLE AROUND US MAKE US STRANGERS" not only the Eden Studio and Moon Jo was part of Jong woo' end but everyone> his gf(that never believed him), his office collage, his army days and the irresponsible police in his country.
Im Shi Wan / Yoon Jong Woo really did great job it was the first time i watch him and he amazed me he descript every emotion so well i fell to him. Lee Dong Wook / Seo Moon Jo never thought he can be scary character he is great actor for sure.
it's not something i can enjoy if i re-watch it's onetime drama that lose it's power after you know everything. Over all this drama did so well in it's Genres i give it 8.5
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Even when I know this drama is going to upset me, the journey and visuals are outstanding!
A young man moved to a cheap but in poor condition run-down building, planning to stay just until he can save up for a better place. Right away, he experienced strange occurrences in his corridor, around the neighbourhood and he starts suspecting there's some weird stuffs going on. He has a growing suspicion that someone has been entering his room...Everything on screen is super unsettling and mysterious. All characters, including our male lead Jong Wo (Yim Si Wan) are creepy, sweaty, and they’re interacting in a weird way in this dirty old building. At first, I kept wondering whether they are truly strange people or if there’s something evil within the walls. This whole set up is so masterfully directed and it kept me guessing between reality and imagination even after the end.
Trigger warning: this drama might potentially distress you, as there are very explicit torture and gruesome killing scenes. I was ready to peace out by ep 4, but one character kept me super damn curious; He’s our creepy cool-headed Moon Jo (Lee Dong Wook), who is a friendly professional dentist and seems to be obsessive towards Jong Wo. Moon Jo is goose-bumping but also hilarious when he’s being a stalker. Anytime right now, he appears nowhere, catching people red-handed, like “Boo! I see you!” and I got jump-scared and giggly. Jong Wo has no idea that Moon Jo loves watching him all the time through a pin-sized hole in his claustrophobic room. As the story reveals more and more facts, I enjoyed how Jong Wo's point of view gets me psychologically engaged. Both leads’ performances were incredibly impactful, especially when the stakes are heightened, they played each other in a really powerful way but yet so refined.
On a personal note: I met Lee, another fan of SFH and since we relate with their bromance a lot, we immediately got so giddy talking about them. Any edit or meme of SFH are now a laughing drug for us. The free eggs, sashimi and the teeth that we can't yet get over with. Oh, we’re so messed up! XD
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The first K-Drama that I watched
Absolutely gripping. I watched this is about a day, that's how hooked I was. The story was fascinating from start to finish. Thw premise itself is worthwhile - someone who moves next to potential serial killers but has no choice to stay due to financial problems. Strangers from Hell goes deeper and further with its story however, exploring PTSD, bullying in the Army, estrangement from family,etc.The characters are all well developed and highly memorable. The "Family" all are creepy and scary in their own ways. The wide eyed young police officer was the source of innocence and she playes to role perfectly. Im Shi Wan was outstanding as our lead. Able to capture the nuance of what was being presented perfectly. On tbe surface he's fine but there is clearly something deeper that's not right. And well,we dont have to even talk about Lee Dong Wook who steals the show with his impeccable protrayal of the evil dentist.
Just an excellent series.
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This review may contain spoilers
Not unexpected at all; the ending was totally spelled out
1. Storya. Characters
I hate everyone. They all had such awful personalities or were completely stupid. The mc himself was completely stupid. If you're that creeped out of the residents, move out. idc how inexpensive that place is. Safety>>. Plus, the place was going to be redeveloped in 6 mos anyway so he was bound to move out and his pay just isn't enough.
On the otherhand, I hated his girlfriend too. Not once did she listen to him or even entertained his worries. I get it she's stressed too, but she said he should learn to defend himself so people wouldn't step on him, but she's the exact same—she always just let her boss bully her. Aside from that she can just rant about her life to him too? What is the effing point of being in a relationship when you cannot even rely on each other. L girlfriend. I hated her more than her boss and the MC's nerdy co-worker and boss.
Speaking of which, I was just waiting for them to die. Too bad it was just the ceo. Well at least the nerd got what was coming to him. I'm not an advocate for violence but don't bully people if you cannot handle the consequences.
b. Plot
As I said it made no sense for him to stay. If you feel that unsafe that it was making you crazy, leave. It wasn't like he absolutely did not have money. I'd so go back home if I can't stay at Seoul. There's no point in trying to make a living if I'm dead. It's just so stupid.
And I'm just not convinced by the scarriness of the antagonists nor their capacity to drive him to insanity. They weren't scary nor really good at their jobs really. They're sloppy. We're just told through the narrative or through camera work how scary they are. Like he killed them all so easily at the end even when they were so cocky.
2. Acting
It was solid. They were believeable except for their scarriness and all.
3. Overall
Expected ending and tbh boring. They could have expanded it more, could have shown us how deadly, capable, brutal and without empathy the antagonists really are but no.
I don't get whose minds were being blown at the ending. Unless you're a five year-old who has never seen a movie then it was pretty much spelled out that he would go insane and murder someone at least. He wasn't going to go out sane in any situation. Idc how that's rare in kdrama. There were literally no other options with how they set it up so no it was not u expected, not mindblowing and certainly not a masterpiece. They could have done more with the promise and could have actually made it terrifying and actually made the viewers question morality and sanity of humans.
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My expectation- gore, bloody, scary, disturbing and chilling (if this is the right term). IT. WAS. NOT. I watched this around 1am-3am or 4 but I did not feel scared at all. The only time I felt disturbed is when they ate raw meat.
The drama was very slow. I was expecting something right off at ep 1 since everybody's reaction about it was great, but nah. (Also since the drama is short, around 10 eps only).
Kudos to the man acting as twins, he was too annoying to be honest that I want to punch the screen every time I see his character. The perv one too but the twins were more annoying.
Siwan's GF looked like Ryujin lol.
My reaction watching this was saying "boring, boring, boring" over and over. The only time I was hyped was the ending. Extracurricular was better.
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Terrifying and creepy enough
Story:As a psychological thriller lover, this was totally my type. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the whole journey and often forgot to eat while binging. Not to mention it was enough to make me lose my sleep those 2 days.
Acting:
10/10 Can you expect anything less from LEE DONGWOOK & IM SIWAN?? They're both legendary and so versatile. Apart from the the other actors were incredible too. Their perfect acting made me lose my mind abs question my existence for the time being.
Rewatch value:
I usually don't rewatch anything. My watchlist is too long. So probably not.
Overall:
It may not be your liking if you're not familiar with this genre. It may seem a little boring to you if you're used to too much melodramatic stuffs. But trust me psychological horror lovers this will blow your mind. I'm very much satisfied with the open ending. You can interpret it however you want. This is my ultimate favorite thriller drama.
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This review may contain spoilers
okay, I'm still recovering from the drama. I only have one question. why has this drama not got the attention it deserved? I could not find one flaw with this drama. I'm not exaggerating when I say this drama is a masterpiece. Story: I could write pages just praising every line and every word of this drama. It unravels in an almost graceful way, revelation after revelation leaving me breathless. I couldn't stop watching but was too afraid to go to the next episode. There were scenes that gave me literal goosebumps. I had to pause at some scenes to just take in what was happening. I loved the pacing of the story, how each episode just gave us the right amount of fear and curiosity. I could slowly feel myself being sucked into the madness and it made me question myself. I didn't know who or what I was rooting for in the end. The subtle contrasts that I only noticed after rewatching it were really genius. I learnt a lot from the drama.
Acting: I couldn't ask for more from the cast. Everyone gave stellar performances. I can only imagine how hard it must have been for the cast to portray such complex characters but they truly did justice to it. their acting has left a lasting impression on me. one I will not forget for a long time. I have to especially appreciate Lee Dong Wook and Im Siwan. I could see the despair, madness and fear in Jung woo's eye. Moon Jo was like a super hot psycho that I wanted to hate but I mean how can I? just look at him, even his creepy smile made my heart skip a beat. I was scared and in love at the same time. Not to mention the chemistry between them which was like feeling the aftershocks of an explosion. I would love to see them act together in future projects. Everyone did outstandingly.
Music: the few osts that were there were really good however there were not many windows for it in the drama itself so I understand how they might not get the exposure it deserved but god damn was the background music creepy. it was not overdone. just the right amount of creepy music made the scenes thousand times more terrifying.
Overall: 100% recommend (unless you are easily triggered) I mean it is a psycho-thriller. The adrenaline rush I got from watching it is not something I will soon forget.
kudos to the cast and staff of the drama for this rollercoaster of a drama.
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This review may contain spoilers
HEAD TILTING
It's a lot darker when you feel inside the misery.It the entire series, all we hear and see was Jong Woo's point of view. We weren't able to know what the weird ones really think or feel. And it'll remain a mystery.
The introduction was not really intriguing to me. I thought it's just the characters, Eden Studio residents, are creepy while Jong Woo was an innocent person who'll make those people pay from whatever they'll commit or blah whatever. It's only I wasn't that fond first. But it gets more interesting even the direction of the storyline wasn't what I expected but awed me eventually.
Overall feeling was creepy, thrilling, and mysterious especially the ending with no explanation. As I said, we don't know any backgrounds and the real reason of the residents. It's practically a cliffhanger for me aside I want more.
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This review may contain spoilers
If this were the only drama available to watch in the whole wide world, I still wouldn't watch it
I made an account just to say how garbage this show is and I have no idea what other reviewers have in their brains, I read them and decided to watch this but it was painful to do so, I felt I had someone over my shoulder pointing a gun at my head to watch it. It's hard to watch especially with those stupid twins, I should've stopped watching it after 2 episodes but decided to carry on with hope of it being a good series. The only hope it gave me was to become a police officer because that female cop is completely useless. The only thing that has going for it is probably the intro music and thats it, felt like a cheap low budget adaptation to what seemed to be a great webtoon as heard from my Korean peers, and even they told me everyone else thought the drama was a complete letdown, so if you're a 14 year old kid with no sense of good cinema go ahead and watch it lol totally not recommending this to anyone. waste of time and can't believe I spent 10 hours on it.Was this review helpful to you?
