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Surprising and engaged
As a BL watcher, I went into this thinking it might be a BL. It is not. But I was never disappointed about that. Singto and Fluke prove that they are capable of more than romantic drama and this thriller is so good, it kept me on the edge of my seat.Thrillers have the tendency to give away the climax way to soon usually, and I'm hardly ever surprised by turn of events or endings. Here I was. The story is solid, no obvious plotholes, no annoying repetitions, great dialogue. What's more, this thriller contains social engagement. It tackles multiple issues that are current in Thai society, like domestic violence, LGBTQ issues, school bullying and - and that is really a big deal- the Red October massacre. All this combined with some awesomely worked out supernatural stuff is a recipe for greatness.
The only thing that could be improved is budget. With more money, this could have been the hitseries of the year. Now it stays underrated bc we want more fx probably. A shame, because this is nothing short of a masterpiece.
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Incredible Thriller to Binge
I think some of the low ratings here are from people that expected this to be a BL because Fluke is a main character. It's not. But it is an amazing thriller series that will have you constantly wanting to watch the next episode.Dan is a new transfer student to St. Lawrence all-boys school. He quickly learns of a kid named Trin who went missing the year prior, and the other students found it strange that Dan sat in the exact desk that Trin did. Dan begins looking into Trin's disappearance a bit more, with the help of his friends, and it seems as though things are more complicated than he thought.
However, Dan has more pressing matters than Trin's disappearance. A shadow figure keeps appearing in his dreams and attempting to kill him. This worsens, and begins to happen even while he's awake. With the help of his friend Nai, who can see ghosts, Dan tries to keep his reality separate from his dreams - though the ghosts and shadow man make this difficult. As these encounters worsen, Dan realizes these visions may be tied to Trin after all...
This show had me on the edge of my seat every episode. Watching the main character start to lose his mind in his attempts to distinguish what's real and what isn't was truly a highlight for me, and Singto's performance as Dan was outstanding. The effects were good, and the twists and turns the storyline took were absolutely excellent. The only reason this wasn't a 10/10 was because the ending could have been wrapped up a bit better, but overall it was excellently done. However, if you're looking for a new BL with Fluke, this isn't it. Still, give it a shot if you like thrillers/supernatural horror/etc.
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A Disappointing Watch Despite a Good Casting
This show is a horror series through and through. Dealing with evil entities and spiritual witchcraft that made no sense and would have been enjoyable had they made it fun. But the whole story was dark, brooding, almost pointless, and incomprehensible to figure out. It mixed religious beliefs like you were mixing ingredients for a cake batter and expecting us to believe the cake was going to come out looking like something edible. Instead, it was half-baked, and it fell flat. Frankly, I do know what this series was supposed to be. However, I can tell you what it is not. It is not a BL. And it is not scary. It is not mysterious or even a thriller. But it is confusing as hell (no pun intended) wasted the talents of fine actors, and offensive on two fronts. I am rarely offended by anything, but this series was offensive to gay people and to how it portrayed Catholics, and I am no great admirer of the Catholic Church.Read the complete article here-
https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/02/08/shadow-series-review-ep-1-to-14/
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Mindboggling
Mindboggling plot - some parts of the story are too high level for me to understand. Left me and a lot of others guessing. The show ended on a cliffhanger too which I was kindda annoyed about. The actors were excellent though, no complaints there. Each and every one of them. This show touches on many serious and dark topics. It's good that they brought them to light but it makes it difficult to rewatch, although the acting, especially from Singto and Fluke, was perfection.Was this review helpful to you?
One Suspenseful Ride
Warning: If you are looking for an average and fluffy BL storyline, this series is not for you.Overall, this was an awesome series. Then again, I am a sucker for suspense filled paranormal storylines. I also loved this series because it was a paranormal/mystery drama first with underlining gay storylines incorporated into it. The script was excellent and had me immediately hooked by the first episode. This had so many twists and turns that will keep you guessing what’s going to happen next. However, I’m not a fan of how the series ended. All of the actors did an amazing job with portraying their characters. The cinematography and special effects were outstanding. They also did a great job using different screen formats to establish the changing time lines to reduce possible confusion.
Random Notes:
My only criticism is the ending was too ambiguous which left too many questions unanswered.
Don’t stop watching after the ending credits in episode 14 because there are additional scenes after it.
Although there are no standardized directions on giving it, the way Brother Anurak used the Rorschach inkblot test was very random.
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The first seven episodes was great, had the viewer totallyengaged in what was going on but when it came to the
second half parts of it they just completely lost me with
final seven episodes. The final episode only served to leave
the viewer "well me" scratching "my" their head with even more questions
then when it left at the seventh episode. That cliffhanger in the final ep
wasn't necessary at all. I doubt that they'll have more episodes
or even one follow up episode to explain what the hell I just watched
with that ending. This is definitely not a show I'd rewatch.
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Crazy show
To firstly start I would like to say if you came to watch this show for the bl content... Don't expect so much like me because when watching this show I was expecting it to be in the show! Buttt no it was only 3 gay characters in this show lmao besides that, this show barely has any romance it is mostly just a thriller if I'm being honest and I'm mentioning all this so you won't get click-baited like me, and in the end up watching it all while expecting bl content and romance (When I went looking for bls this pop up so I watched it expecting just that)Secondly, the storyline of this show is super good! I really enjoy watching this show it is very different and extraordinary I honestly thought I wasn't gonna get through this show, for I don't watch thriller/horror shows like that. So when watching this I was like wait why is this actually so good and continued even if it wasn't what I watched the show for which of course I'm now here rating it here meaning I've finished it and let me tell you expect to be so curious after you finish this show! I'm pretty sure there'll be no season 2 sadly since Singto is now with GMMTV and is now in the making of a show... Which I'm so excited for! But I really did want a season 2 of this lmao.
Acting + Muisic + Overall
Honestly, I could care less about acting it just has to be bearable tbh, but what I will say is the acting wasn't bad at all it was good and I have nothing bad to say about it + the same with the music. Overall I think you should watch the shows if you like thrillers, weird mysterious shit, and investigation not for romance, or bl lol.
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Atmospheric and ambitious modern dark fairytale
Singto and Fiat are the acting standouts with Singto carrying the whole show wonderfully as Dan and Fiat as Trin who is Dan's opposite and parallel. It's so fascinating that they set the Catholic side as the scientific sceptic against the Buddhist side with the practical solutions to Dan's supernatural issues. There is also the shaman that takes no one's side. The Catholic boarding school lends to the gothic imagery and the color grading is nicely done with care, with skin tone and clothes popping over the gray instead of just a bland gray wash over everything. The music is also very good, the mdl credits list the actor who plays the murderous bully Anan doing double duty as the composer as well. The opening credits is stylish and fun to watch before every episode. The slow burn nature of the story works best when the editing is strong, with the ghosts shown in restraint, their ability to commune directly with Dan limited. I also like how Dan and Nai's ability to see the supernatural is different. It slips during the over long fun house segment that spans the end of one episode and the beginning of another. Other weak moments of the story is Nai never reporting the pedo teacher Yada who has been having sexual relations with Anan, merely using the photo evidence luring him into the funhouse that lead to nothing but him attacking Dan for the billionth time and the whole plot with brother Anurak being the one armed man. Brother Anurak's was innocent regarding the university student's deaths in the past but acting really shady and keeping the student's remains inside the statue pedestal. What was well done was hiding in plain sight that Brother Anurak had a hand cast the whole time.The story is not a bl, but does have gay characters. The romance is limited to the messy crushes among the four friends. Both Nai and Chaaim likes Dan, but Dan rebuffs both. Nai is lucky to get a dance date from Dan though while Chaaim settles for shady Josh who will smack talk Dan at a drop of a hat. Dan meanwhile does like her, but as much as he likes the creepy shadow creature. Though fearing it for much of his life, the increasing power of the shadow to manipulate what he sees in dreams made Dan see it as more of a comforting presence. The scene where he decide to hug the shadow was a fascinating moment. Then soon after the shadow makes it really weird, taking advantage of Dan physically for the first time when he's high, then again in the middle of the school day when Dan is just not feeling well. It's mirrored by how teacher Yada takes advantage of Anan. At the very end it's revealed that his terrible father made a deal with the forest spirit who is the shadow to have Dan in order to keep his abused wife with him. The shadow seems want Dan to itself like Hades wants Persephone. The solid form of the shadow didn't really work, probably would have been better just as a shadow the whole time. As soon as Dan started speaking in a deeper voice, I knew that it was Trin in Dan's body, then doubly so at his joy to see teacher Joe drop by. Teacher Joe was the only authority figure he didn't have an issue with, but unfortunately was an adult he had a huge crush on. It's a low bar that it's commendable that Teacher Joe turned him down.
The open ending with Trin's body reappearing and having drowned for a few days makes it possible that either Dan is still trapped separately in the other realm or Dan had also returned in the wrong body in the middle of the lake and drowned to death, with Trin living on in Dan's visage. I felt sorry for Trin who didn't have people looking for him in the way that Dan has even though he's surrounded by the same people. Trin doesn't accept that status quo for what it is and looks beyond it and he tries befriend and defend people that are picked on. He managed to encourage fellow students to be curious in history and question the teachers on why they aren't teaching them something that is common in books and at other schools. I really like the scenes where Trin and Brother Anurak actually has productive conversations about what Trin is advocating for and why it doesn't work like the bathroom improvement issue. It shows Trin is still naive to things from his youth. He gets understandably overwhelmed by seeing the shadow in the second part of the ritual. Fiat played Trin's strength and vulnerable moments really well. The final scene of Trin smiling in the mirror reminds me of the Twin Peaks "How's Annie?" moment. He looks sad though in the final seconds. I hope Singto signed an excellent contract with his return to his former management company and a season 2 of Shadow can happen. There's is so much potential of Dan and Trin actually interacting in regards to their ideals and other things.
Overall a good watch and I hope there will be more to continue it. Otherwise the ending it still works as a dark fairytale, where the terror of the supernatural is but a symptom of the horror of what humans do to each other in life.
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THIS BL IS NOT BL'ING
if you're going to watch it because it's a bl series, i'd say wait first. yes, there are queer characters in the series, but calling it a bl series is a bit of an exaggeration. it would have been enough if they'd called it a queer series.the story was the best among the horror series i've watched. there was a constant puzzle, and we always saw scenes that needed to be in the right places. the series may not be what you expect, but as a series, it was very good. as a bl series, it was terrible. seeing male-female relationships instead of queer people wasn't what i expected.
the production was excellent. the filming and acting were superb. when I saw singto and fluke, i focused and watched, but it was nothing like i expected. eventually this bl is not bl-ing.
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Fresh Plot and Good for Horror, Mystery, Psychological, and Suspense
I love to see new pairings and new plots because they're adventurous and mysterious. As for myself, I was frustrated because of the same or lame story plots. But this is quite a fresh plot and good for horror, mystery, psychological, and thriller genre lovers, but not that terrifying. We all know that Singto and Fluke are well-known actors in the Thai entertainment industry. Of course, their acting in Shadow is superior. Their chemistry was okay, but there were no sparks. I think this is because both of them are acting calmly. The drama itself is a Pandora box. Because when you start to watch the drama, it feels like every character is somehow hiding something from the world. Specifically, you cannot identify who is the white or black character in the drama, though they include villains. Somehow, the main or minor characters tangled with the unsolved mystery. And the setting of the drama is quite unique because everything happened at a missionary school. Because within Christianity, there are a variety of views on sexual orientation and homosexuality, which raises a high level of doubt about a happy ending.Was this review helpful to you?
Incomprehensible AND Offensive
Bluntly, this story is an incomprehensible mess and a waste of talented actors. This is a nonsensical horror series that spun its wheels around and presented an awful message. I thought the acting in this series was rather flat and repetitive. I honestly saw none of them being challenged to do anything beyond some basic acting skills, which was a waste of enormous talent especially for Singto and Fluke. This was cookie-cutter material and seemed unchallenging for them and nothing but a lot of repetitive scenes. I found the acting rather boring. While I have no great love for the Catholic Church, I must take exception in how Brother Anurak decided to ‘guide’ Dan back to life. Although I dare not speak for the Church, what was presented as a solution is a complete antithesis of what is a solution to guiding Dan back to his reality. If you present a religious solution to something, at least have a modicum of understanding of its concepts before you present one of its precepts. I KNOW this is just a story but to suggest what he did is a complete antithesis of what ANY religion would have one do, or should do. I found that offensive and a cheap shot and an easy way to get out of a story line. I am not even a practicing Catholic and I found it offensive!Was this review helpful to you?
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WHAT. WAS. THIS. SERIES. I'm in awe!!!
I went in expecting one thing… and got COMPLETELY blown away.First of all: this is NOT a BL (and I’m glad I didn’t go in expecting that, but it was really comfort to watch some of my favs BL actors doing a great job here). Yes, Nai is clearly in love with Dan, but romance is barely even 1% of the story. This is something else entirely, and honestly? so much better than I imagined. Because what Shadow delivers is a MASTERPIECE of psychological horror and suspense.
I’m not even exaggerating when I say I’ve never watched something that blends supernatural elements, urban legends, religion, and a criminal case THIS well. Everything is so layered, so detailed, and so intentionally built that you’re constantly trying to piece things together.
And the plot twists??? FUCKING INSANE!!!!
Every time you think you understand what’s happening, the story shifts and reveals something new. It’s one of those shows that actually makes you think, and when things start connecting, it’s just mind-blowing.
The atmosphere is another level. The cinematography has this warm, almost haunting tone that fits perfectly with the late 90s setting, and it just pulls you deeper into the story. It feels immersive, heavy, and so well-crafted.
AND THE ENDING??? I’M STILL NOT OVER IT.
When you realize that it’s not actually Dan back… OH MY FUCKING FUCKS!!!
I was literally sitting there in shock. No reaction AT ALL, just like jaw on the floor, brain not processing, needing a full minute to recover. That twist??? Was too insane to cope at once.
This one is so complex, atmospheric, and incredibly well-written. A psychological horror that actually delivers on every level. This was a whole EXPERIENCE, not just a series!!
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