The Resurrected (2025)

"It's not hopelessness that makes me suffer, but the endless hope"

When two grieving and angry mothers feel that justice has not been served, they bring a killer back to life in order to exact their revenge in The Resurrected. Vengeance turns out to not be so slick and clean, nor easily attained.

Wang Hui Chun is vigilant in the care of her daughter Jin Jin who lies in a coma in the distant country of Benkha. Her abusive, unfaithful husband continually berates her for not pulling the plug on their daughter but Hui Chun clings to the hope her daughter will one day awaken. Widow Chao Ching’s daughter Hsin Yi was brutally murdered by the same people responsible for Jin Jin’s coma. The mothers use their own resources to bring the killer to justice with the aid of another victim’s mother. When the killer dies “with dignity” it is too much for them and they put into motion an unnatural plan to resurrect him. Chang Shih Kai is not so easily manipulated and begins to create doubt in the mothers. Hui Chun and Chao Ching also grapple with the powerful people behind Chang, who could prove to be far more dangerous than the dead man.

The strength of this drama lay with the lead actresses. Shu Qi as Hui Chun was the follower of the two, usually siding with whatever Chao Ching decided on. Her world was swallowed up in debt and caring for the comatose Jin Jin, and drowning in endless hope. Angelica Lee’s Chao Ching came across as hard, obsessive and ruthless in her desire for vengeance. Broken by the cruel death of her daughter and her own guilty feelings, her only reason for living was to punish anyone involved with Hsin Yi’s suffering. She doggedly followed every lead offering zero compassion. Fu Meng Po as the killer Chang Shih Kai spent most of his scenes bloodied and tied up. He had to dig deep to bring nuance to the mothers’ despicable foe. While the writers tried to soften him with a tragic backstory, it had no effect on my view of him. He and his organization emotionally and physically tortured young people, killing them when they were no longer useful.

I had no problem with the mothers’ desire for vengeance on the man who tortured and killed their children. Hsin Yi died a horrific death. A mother’s need to protect resides deep in her DNA. Knowing her child was in danger, crying out for her and she’d been unable to save her, would be a parent’s worst nightmare. The first few episodes were enthralling. Even the social commentary on the wicked ways of the rich fit into the story. Then it seemed the writers didn’t trust their characters and added mysterious layers that were unnecessary and garbled things up. KISS is always best (Keep It Simple Stupid). The last few eps ran off the rails, though they managed to salvage the two mothers after tearing their characters up. The writers also reverted to a trope at the end that was tired and overused by the 1980s. I don’t think they were setting up a sequel, I think it was just a cheap trick at a jump scare.

I loved watching Shu Qi and Angelica Lee delve deeply into their characters’ pain and anger. They were quite compelling to watch. For these two alone, it was a drama worth giving a try. Despite the erratic and convoluted nature of the writing in the last three episodes, I still enjoyed this drama overall. The Resurrected was a dark, twisted vengeance drama that will not be for everyone. Please take note of the triggers. Others may find it far too tame. The supernatural element didn’t play into the story too much. The real draw for me was watching two, actually three women process their grief and rage in different manners, all by skilled actresses.

17 October 2025
Trigger warnings: Torture-both of the guilty and the innocent. Sexual assault. Sexual content. Brief nudity. Drug use. Smoking. The occult.

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Revenge for the dead

There are many revenge dramas and movies out there. Some bad, some good and some exceptional. The Resurrected belongs to the last category.

It has twists and turns, it has shocking and emotional moments, it is gripping from start to finish. It is a suspenseful cat and mouse game and it is just so different than anything else I've seen in the genre.

But one of the most important things in any revenged-themed story is to feel for the characters and here you don't only understand them, you root for them.

I won't start talking about acting, directing and all that jazz. The series is phenomenal in all aspects and everyone that likes "darker" dramas should definitely give it a watch.

For me, it's better to start watching this completely blind, unless you have any TW (which is the reason why I advise checking the tags if you do).

And lastly, I can't help but say this. It is such a pity that some productions don't get enough attention or promotion simply because people tend to avoid series made in (insert country name).
If this was a Spanish or American series, or even a Kdrama it would become very popular, but now barely anyone knows this even exists.

Anyways enough with the rant. I'll leave you with a quote from the drama.

"It isn't the despair that hurts the most. It's the endless hope"

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