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PN 3, THE MOST HILARIOUS IN THIS FRANCHISE !! :)

This is the MOST HILARIOUS n CHAOTIC movie in this franchise 😂
(Not a Scary horror).

As said in my previous Pee Nak Reviews:
Thai Comedies (Horror or Rom-Com), as usual, are always CHAOTIC ! :)
(If U are aware of Thai comedies, only then, U can enjoy this.
Bcz Every Country has its OWN TONE OF COMEDY, especially Japan or Thai comedies are not for everyone)

***
A Good Mix of Horror + Comedy + serious stories of the ghost's past and the main story.

***
Entertaining n Funny, except 1-2 scenes like making fun of the little monk (Novice kid) n Old Monk by characters First n Balloon.

Those looked insulting n very disrespectful towards Monks, though meant for comedy purposes only.

***
The Main Story is about a Cursed Golden Anklet n is INTERESTING to watch.

The intertwining of
the Main story (Cursed golden anklet n the dangerous effects of the curse like growth of snake scales over character Aod's body n finding a solution to it),
the Ghost's past (why n how it became a Vengeful Spirit n why it keeps haunting) and
the Story of Rebirth / Past lives of some of the characters (Aod, Noht, First, Balloon n the ghost, as shown in PN 2),
is Well Written.

The Ghost's past, the anklets' issue, the Naga (Giant Snake) story and the "Past lives" are beautifully blended into the Main story.

***
Like in previous Pee Nak movies,
Even here, The ghost story n the main story depict religious process n ritual like "Ordaining to be a Monk" in Buddhism and is Very Interesting to watch.

The Story of the Naga,
Boon of the Naga - "Nak" in the ordain process,
The Golden Anklets of the Naga,
the Ghost's past life and its anklets,
the Past lives of everyone etc,
how all these are related to the present Main Story (The adventures of the team in search of the temple where golden anklets are given to Naks during the ordain process thereby to revoke the curse), is Well Written.

The Haunting scenes are VERY FUNNY n CHAOTIC 😂
Even the scenes of the team trying to find a solution to the cursed golden anklets, the Buddhist Monks helping the team to ward off the ghost n to revoke the curse, are very funny :)

***
Director Mike is known for Comedy genre!
Production, Screenplay are good enough.
Locations are cool.

***
The Curse of the Golden Anklets:
Whoever steals the anklets, will be haunted by the ghost, have nightmares, develop snake scales all over their body and dies, finally.

The ghost claims the anklets to be its own precious possession (though owned by the original Naga), keeps haunting the person who steals those from it n doesn't allow the person to wear or remove the anklets, thereby disturbing the ordain process.

Intially, there is a lot of Chaos within the team, when the ghost claims that 4 of them stole its anklets - this confusion n fear among the characters about which 4 of them, is hilarious 😂

The way how PN 2 n PN 3 are related with recurring characters, is well written.
The Past lives of the characters and the golden anklet is just referred in PN 2, while it is the main story here.

***
Every Actor performed well.
Every Character is lovable.

The recurring characters n the cast, Mean, Aim, James, Pond n Tar are cool.

Aim n James as queer characters are hilarious n chaotic, as usual 😂

Plan's cameo in two characters as Naga and human :)

New cast n characters introduced here, especially Korean YouTuber n little Novice kid are funny.
First n Balloon with that young Novice are more chaotic😂

Mean is cool n plays a K-pop idol character.
Mean looks like KDrama actor Park Seo Joon ;)

Director's cameo as the one who helped them with truck.

Placement of that Insurance advertisement as a part of the story is funny.

***
In the end, the curse is revoked n the ordain process of Aod happens as planned n peacefully.

The climax scenes are Funny.
At the end of every movie, a Buddha Amulet is given to one among them n whoever takes it, faces trouble in the next movie , haha.
And here, Aod gave that to Mean's character n so he would face Haunting in PN 4, like how Aod was given that amulet in previous movie n faced trouble here :)
(In the beginning of PN 1, August was given that Amulet by a monk, he faced trouble there n in the end, August gave it to First.
And so in PN 2, First faced trouble n gave it to Aod in the end.)

In the end, where everyone screamed out of fear, when the Naga (Plan) tells everyone that they will meet again in the future, is funny n gives a hint, forms a base to next part /Sequel.

***
My RATING is 8.5 / 10

*** COMPARISON OF THE MOVIES IN THIS FRANCHISE:

Can't really Rank any movie as the most or the least favourite, in this franchise.
My Rating for all 4 is the same n liked all 4 equally bcz one with more comedy, another with subtle comedy but all have serious stories.
And so ALL 4 MOVIES ARE ENTERTAINING n FUN TO WATCH!

In terms of Comedy,
PN 4 < PN 1 < PN 2 < PN 3

In terms of Story,
All have Serious Interesting Stories.
Story of PN 1 is a simple one while the other three have twists n little complicated stories.

Also, Watched this franchise long ago n remembered these as STANDALONE n UNRELATED MOVIES n need to watch all, just to know the background and the relations of the Recurring Characters.

But now when I re-watched all 4, realised that all 4 movies are RELATED, may not be a Proper n Direct SEQUEL to each other.
But One movie's storyline is taken from a scene or concept from the previous movie. That's how they are related.

For eg;
1) PN 2's main storyline "One old Monk n Buddha with Naga hood Amulet" is discussed in 1-2 scenes in PN 1 n are elaborated in PN 2 as the main story.

2) PN 3's "Past lives, stealing Golden Anklets etc" is depicted in PN 2 n are elaborated in PN 3 as the main story.

3) PN 4's Naga n Plan's character is shown in two scenes in PN 3 n are elaborated in PN 4 as the main story.

And so Need to watch all 4 movies in the same order to understand n enjoy the franchise.

Also, it's fun to watch the recurring cast n characters in the franchise :)
Actor Tar, literally grew up along with this franchise, haha .

***
Give a try! Especially Horror genre lovers who love to watch every type n a variety of Horror concepts.

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LIKED THE STORY, NOT THE DRAMA, haha. EVERYTHING HAS GONE WRONG!

Summary is interesting n made me to give a try.
Also Watched this for actors Pak n Mild (liked his comedy in Drama TharnType).
And Good to see some other known actors.

***
FIRST Impression:
Oh My God! What is this? What am I even watching? 🤯

LATER:
Story is VERY GOOD but the Execution has gone WRONG COMPLETELY, Oh God! :(
It's like a Low Budget Production .
Direction, Story Progression, Everything has gone wrong n TERRIBLE.
Spoilt a good potential story.
Acting is Ok.
Only the OST (opening song) is Good .

FINAL IMPRESSION:
One Time Watch, just for the Story .
Watch it at your will n at your own risk but watch it at 1.5x (I did so, haha)

*** TITLE? :
The drama is named as "The Best Twins" but looked like it's about Only One Twin.. All about the gay twin Pond, haha.
To be precise, story is narrated from (actor Mild) Tee's point of view, most of the time (Pond is Tee's crush).
The straight twin, Per's story or his point of view or his importance in this story is not explored at all :O

The only importance of Per that I found is:
When Tee's sister also has a crush on Pond for his handsome figure, not knowing about Pond n Tee, only then Per who has the exact handsome features as Pond came into picture, haha
So Twin Per's character is useful ONLY when a gal is looking for a person like Pond n couldn't date him bcz of his orientation n chooses Per only for his beauty n not for his heart (personality)🤯
What do these writers want to project Per's character as? :O
What sort of bad interpretation is this for a titular character. Main role is not a Main Role at all n just a supporting role :O.. OMG! ;)

*** STORY:
All imaginations n fantasies of Tee about Pond are sweet, romantic n Very Funny - just Wild! 🤭

Tee's love rival - Pond's ex bf n Tee hurting about this, that entire track is sad.
Troubles of Unrequited Love! :/

Story got interesting only when the Korean character, Tiger is introduced.
He is sweet n funny.
A love rival to Pond.
Pond's jealousy is sweet.
Tiger is the Catalyst in Pond - Tee's relationship :)

Only the Last 3 eps (out of 8) are interesting to watch .

*** CHARACTERS n ACTORS:
Pak as Pond is super handsome n Pak as Per is handsome.
That was the time (2019) when Handsome Pak Papungkorn looked like Earth Pirapat :)
Since the straight twin's point of view is not at all shown here, it's good enough to show Per just as a sibling n not as a twin.
(And can even cast actor Earth as Per. Pak n Earth would look like siblings :) )

Usually, Mild in comedy roles is very good. Here his role, Tee suffers bcz of unrequited love, waiting etc etc n gets hurt, an emotional role.
Here, his acting is Ok .

Tee's sister is cute .

The Twins' elder sister, what a bad personality she is :/. She really abused her power n responsibility as a teacher n as an elder sister.
Shocked to see her (homophobic) abusing her gay bro Pond and two other students who are an imaginary BL couple in school.
Irritated with her screaming n nagging.
Good that she has realised her mistakes later, Good character arc!
(But still the philosophy used here for her change, is about cockroaches, OmG :o, what sort of character development is that)

Kris, Best n their queer friend, this Trio is Very Funny.

Pond's gym frds are ok.

Finally, Pond - Tee couple is good.
Per - Tee's sister couple is Very Cute .

Liked the chemistry of Tee n Tiger too.
I could see chemistry between Pond n Tiger too 🤭
And could see chemistry between Pak n Hiter (teacher Chai) too, though they never crossed their paths in the drama 🤭

The Ending is cool.
Pond's ex bf n teacher Chai as probable couple, is sweet.

Ep 8 post credits - Behind The Scenes are funny n sweet .

***
My RATING is 7 / 10
(Would be 6 or even Less, since everything is terrible here
but just for the story, it's 7)

If the same story is directed as a Serious Romance drama or as a Rom-Com with Better Direction n Story Progression, this story would receive 8+ /10 rating
(Liked the story, not the drama😂)

Wanted to watch Pak Papungkorn, more in future in more serious BL dramas as Main Lead :)

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PACING GONE WRONG FOR A GOOD POTENTIAL STORY & TALENTED ENSEMBLE CAST !

Wanted to write a POSITIVE REVIEW instead left with BAD IMPRESSIONS n I need to share my LENGTHYyyy RANTING (pls, bear with me) :)

First of all, the HYPE (either the fan edits or the recommendations) created very high expectations but those really deceived me n left me DISAPPOINTED! :/
I blame the Director, Writers and the Editing team, not the Actors !

Expected a 9+/10 drama, seeing the summary with a good potential story n the STAR STUDDED CAST
But left with an impression of 7.5/10
(Would be less than 7.5 but just for the actors, gave 7.5)
Don't want to rate my Hyungsik's work below 8 but helpless bcz of the Poor Pacing of the drama :/

Seeing the hype, made this as a top priority in my "To Watch" list n expected a drama which would be my next favourite but disappointed.
A drama should make the viewer interested in it, instead of this agitated n irritated n write a lengthy review this aggressively.

**** Will Mention WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE First:

1) HIGHLY DISAPPOINTED with the first 11 episodes.

It took 5 eps, 5 hours to establish the background to the story and to introduce the characters.
Too many unnecessary CONTENT FILLER scenes, just dragging n boring.

Literally, I was on a HIATUS twice to pass through those 11 eps (n Once in later episodes), Oops!😂
But for the GOOD STORY, bcz of the LOVE for ENSEMBLE CAST n mainly for my tradition of not to drop a drama, continued it!
To be honest, I found the special episode of Cast Interviews, more entertaining than the actual drama, Oops again!

Initially, the story is entertaining n VERY FUNNY
but the PACING is Sloth Paced, dead slow. They could have made those 11 eps in 5-6 eps, instead of wasting 11 hours of viewers' time.

Poor Story Telling / Bad Execution of a good plot / Weak Direction / Poor Screenplay / Poor Editing.
Overall, Pacing and the story progression could be better in 12-16 eps in total, instead of wasting 20 hours!

First 11 eps: U find interesting moments or the very few funny moments or those plot elements important to the story development, just here and there. Most of these eps are just CONTENT FILLERS.

That truly dragged down the interest level of the drama.
I was expecting a very interesting story later on, too.
Uff, They not only wasted the potential of all star studded cast but also of a good interesting story.

The poor progression of the story n no proper characterization is the culprit for this disappointment!

2) From ep 12, it's interesting n Pacing got better n right .
But again, pacing dropped towards the end :|
Even the last eps contain Lot of unnecessary content fillers which do not add anything important to the story or just REPETITIONS / Flashbacks showing a character reminiscing some previous scenes. They are like UNNECESSARY REVISIONS to the viewers 😂

Flashbacks / reminiscing is required to show the thought process of a character or in a scene when a character is brooding over something important but here, it is too much.

Instead of these repetitions, they should have used that time to explain some other story lines.
For eg, I expected to see atleast one scene of FL's mom's death, how her bro is separated from them in childhood, how ML n her bro met n were raised in that village, how the queen's bro gave up his son or the past love story of the Queen n FL's dad etc
(Like how they have given a glimpse of the Queen killing a wonhwa, which is a crucial twist to the story)

3) OmG, the RELATIONSHIPS !?😱
Queen n FL's dad are past lovers but their kids liked each other again (Sik likes FL n Princess like Seo, though these are one sided)
Whether the characters n the writers feel this or no, but I'm super uncomfortable with such relationships :(

4) Also, Didn't like the "probable siblings" romance (Seo n FL).
Though they realised that they are not related, much later but after developing feelings for each other.
But throughout the drama (except in the last 2-3 eps), everyone treats them as siblings itself.
Very uncomfortable to watch those scenes n that entire romance track🤢

If it is just for one scene, I would have ignored but they keep reminding these relationships in every scene n that keeps bothering me throughout the drama.

I didn't like any romance, any couple in this (except Ban ryu's).
No two actors in these couples, have chemistry, everything looked forced.

5) Also, Own Siblings of the Royal Family Marry Each Other !? :O
OmG!
Own or half or step siblings, whatever they are, Siblings are Siblings!
Intimate Physical relationship between them is a big NO for me, couldn't tolerate .

6) OST is GOOD BUT..
Came for V & Jin's song but didn't get to listen to it in the drama anywhere, except for a moment or so, as bgm in just 1-2 eps :(

7) WEAKLY WRITTEN CHARACTERS
Liked the Dynamics of Seo n Sik, rooted for their friendship n expected more scenes of them n their friendship, in depth but have only few in the entire 20 hours
Also it looked like only Sik (the King) treated Seo as a friend (One side friendship 😂 :( )

Also, Issues with Fiction based on True History are, here the King (Sik) with high principles and philosophy, thinking of the development of the Kingdom n his people only, is shown as COWARD n WEAK for most of the time.
But (as per my research in the Internet) that Real Life King is the Greatest in their History! :o

They should have written this drama, as just a FICTION, without taking references or the name of true / real life Kings etc.

Bcz International Viewers who know nothing about their country's history n traditions, might learn bad or incorrect info from such fiction dramas n might get a bad impression on the true events n actual people.

As an International viewer, while watching another country's drama, I tend to observe their traditions, history, dressing style, social interactions etc and curious to know them more :)
Sometimes based on dramas, may come to certain conclusions n impressions that lead to love or ignore those :) , especially if it is historic drama based on a true King n his era (always may not find time to research about their history, right?)
But here, half of the time, am confused, which of these are fiction n which part is true or the entire work is fiction with just the names taken as reference from real life, if so how can a Great King been shown as coward n weak :/

8) V n Seo's scenes or their friendship looked sudden and forced, without prior proper interactions.
But later it is evident that this forced track is added out of blue just bcz the last scene of them is given an important role in the main story progression.

**** Some thoughts on STORY:

Actually, Hyungsik n Seo Joon, both should be the Main Leads with equal importance (not as 1st n 2nd ML, as shown here)
Bcz, both their characters are of equal importance in the story.
IT'S A TALE OF ONE FINDING THE KING n THE KING FINDING HIMSELF! 😂 :(
(Fake King & Real King )

Also, Instead of the Queen n the Princess, Villain is better in a sense (am being Sarcastic!🤭)
Bcz atleast, his character is direct n clear that he is Evil.
Whereas these ladies, I can't really make a sense out of their characters for 3/4th of the drama, whether they meant good or bad to the King, the Kingdom n the people, in a bigger picture.
I found them more Evil, Rude, Selfish n Manipulative than the Villain 😂

**** WHAT I LIKE:
(Enough of my ranting, now the GOOD PARTS ;) ):

As a BTS admirer, planned to watch this for V,
for that OST song by V & Jin :)
n also for cutie Hyungsik :)
But Fell for smiley MinHo n JiHan by the end of the drama !! :)

ALL THE ACTORS DID THEIR BEST IN ACTING with whatever they are given.

***
Liked Park Hyungsik's role.
Sik is the True King, his ideas are always about the Growth of Kingdom n the People.
His Thoughts on Philosophy are Very Good.

Need to struggle throughout his life, not just for the throne but for life (death threats from assassins), can't have a normal life or a normal King's life even, grown up in hiding with no friends.
Oh my Poor baby Sik! :/

He acted so well as a King in Hiding!
U can see the mild Tears, Pain n Helplessness in his Eyes, always worrying about the development of his Kingdom n worrying about his people being killed, whoever sees his face .

BTW, Sik is handsome as usual :)

***
Liked the Dynamics of Park Seo Joon n Sik, their Rapport is good.

FL role is good at times but the remaining times, looked more like a support role, without much importance .
Even that lil importance is forced and given since, she is a FL? ;)

Ignored Main couple's Love Triangle (Seo, FL n Sik).
That siblings/not siblings track killed the mood.
I don't root for FL with any of the main leads ;)

***
The Hwarang Boys Team, all the scenes of the entire team are LOVELY.

Especially, The 5 roomies and their bickering is funny
Their bonding is good.
Silly boys but cute! :)
LOVED ALL THEIR SCENES THE MOST !

Them and V - All these 6 boys need to do a full length comedy movie/series.
(Aww, I love that "thought" already :) )

***
Sik n his assistant / personal guard are funny n sweet :)

Hwarang's head instructor n Hyung sik conversations are philosophical and are Very Good .

Head instructor is funny n smart .
His friend from the cafe is funny

Queen's guard is handsome ;)

***
Liked the roles of Minho (char Soo ho) n JiHan (char Ban ryu)
Both of them are handsome :)

Sooho n Ban ryu's bickering is very sweet 😂

Sooho being a playboy, mesmerized by the Queen's beauty n aiming/drooling for her, is funny .

Ban ryu is another helpless character, abused by power ;(
He has his own set of life struggles.
Poor Ban ryu!

Ban ryu n his gal are very cute! :)
LOVED THEIR SCENES A LOT .

She n her bro, Soo ho are funny.
So Ban ryu n Soo ho - Rivals turned Future bros-iLaw😂
Sweet! :)

***
V is cute, he is such a baby! :)
(Though a minor role here, hope to see him moreee in future dramas :) )

His scenes with his bro, their bonding is sweet n emotional.

While his scenes with FL are VERY FUNNY.

**** OST:
OST is the BEST!
n Healed the Disappointment that the Poor Pacing of first 11 eps n overall slow paced episodes had created! 😂

All the tracks are Amazing!
I love V & Jin's.
Difficult to choose a track, all are lovely.

Hyungsik's Singing Voice is just mesmerizing (drooling). Super talented singer.
His OST song is Awesome.

****
Overall, it's a Great Plot.
The Director's team have Great Artists (entire cast) in their reach, could have executed this better but missed it.

Struggled to watch but forced myself to finish this just bcz of Hyungsik with a hope for a better story.

Anyways, will try to remember only the scenes of happy Hwarang boys team or the 2nd couple's lovely scenes or the Superb OST but not the negatives, further!

Just Watch, if U have Great Patience to watch sloth paced or Repetitive content or just watch like me for your fav actors n whining all the way!😂

(Oops, my lengthy review, blame the director for this.
Thank U for reading this lengthy one :) )

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SO WHO IS MORE CRAZY, MORE DISTURBED, OUT OF THE THREE? haha

Good Psychological Crime Thriller.
Not bad n yet not so gripping too .
Just mediocre.

When Netflix listed this in "coming soon", I waited to watch this.
Expected a very Gripping Mystery thriller, seeing the MYSTERIOUS VIBE of "COVER PHOTO"
IT DECEIVED ME !! :( 🤭

****
Direction, Pacing n Cinematography are GOOD.

I accept every tradition n can tolerate religious rituals etc, shown in movies, especially in horror thrillers.
But One Minor Complaint here, in direction is, too much of in depth religious prayers are shown.
Maybe those are necessary for the scene or the story demanded but I personally lose interest when rituals or prayers are shown in excess tones.

****
Acting is OK, not so impressive.

In few scenes, Jun Yeol's (pastor Min Chan) expressions are more crazy n scarier than those of the killer 😂
Liked those scenes .

**** STORY:
The Story is Good.
A very simple one - a killer, a kidnapped gal, a pastor trying to punish the killer n a police detective trying to save the gal.

Narrated in a very straight forward manner without much suspense .
It is known who the killer is, from the beginning.
So cannot expect any suspense or mystery about the killer's identity, like in usual crime thrillers.
And so, Crime Thriller Lovers might find this as a not so gripping mystery but just a plain n mediocre thriller without much mystery n suspense :/

The only suspense here is, whether the kidnapped girl is alive or no n that is maintained till the end.

This could be made into an even more interesting thriller with more gripping mystery n suspense elements .
(Or maybe, for this plain story, shouldn't we expect much !? :O)

**** CHARACTERS:
SO WHO IS MORE CRAZY, MORE DISTURBED, OUT OF THE THREE? 😂

The Psychopathic Serial Killer with childhood trauma, triggered n created deadly events
or
(Pastor) Religious Faith turned into Obsession that blinded the logics of reality n blurred the truth (he assumed the gal is not alive, without confirming :| )
or
The Person working for law (lady police detective) seeing illusions of dead sister out of guilt, tempted to take the law into her hands, suppressing that urge to avenge her loved one's death n yet struggling to do the right thing!

This mix of three characters each with some psychological issues, the intertwining of their stories, is WELL WRITTEN .

But could be better, if more suspense or mystery elements are added.

****
Overall, GOOD One Time Watch.
My Rating is 8 / 10

**** Fun Fact:
Like Min Chan, I can see a "FACE" in the COVER PHOTO, between the trees ! :O
Optical illusion!?

Before watching the Movie:
I just saw "a way" between the trees.
But after watching the movie:
I see a face! :o
Am I dreaming 🤭

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Since this is S2, EVERYTHING is DOUBLED - Hero & his Mini Version Vs 2 Villains, Haha

(NOTE 1: Check out my Reviews for both the seasons, for similarities n differences between S1 n S2

NOTE 2: Since the Storylines are SAME in both the Seasons, U might find "some" parts of my Reviews SAME for both seasons :)

Since S2, everything is doubled, I too have two Notes above, haha )

*****
S2 is NOT a Continuation / SEQUEL of S1, it's a STANDALONE.
But need to watch S1 to know the background of characters
Few New characters are introduced here n few from S1 are not in S2

This Season shows the adventures of our priest with his team in a different city, meeting new people, adding them to his team, fighting against the bad guys, fighting for justice on a Case different from that in S1.

***** THE STORY:
Same as S1,
I watched this Only for Namgil since I yearned to watch more of our fiery priest :)
n found our priest's mini version (Seo Bum June's role) in this :)

Here, The "Fiery Priest" with his Mini Version, is on Fire while in Action!! 😂

Since this is S2, EVERYTHING is DOUBLED:
Two bold / badass roles in Hero's team (Nam Gil's n his mini version 🤭)
Vs
Two Evil / badass roles in Villain's team

So there are two Attractions for me in this drama - Priest n his Mini Version :)

Also Same as S1,
This is a LIGHT DRAMA with
mindless silly comedy / Slapstick comedy,
Zero gripping /thought provoking plot, Zero mystery.
It's just a mediocre comedy, little exaggerated reactions and overacting for comedic purposes.

A mix of action + comedy + crime

All Fight sequences are VERY GOOD

***** THE DIFFERENCES :
At the first look, one might feel that
S1 is better than S2 since it's the same story formula but
S1 n S2 have their own charms, even though it's the same story formula

The difference I found between two seasons is:
S1 deals with the church father's case who is close to our priest n so it gives an emotional connection for the revenge / justice seeking journey of our priest
Whereas
S2 deals with a general injustice case related to old people whom our priest met in his journey. So that emotional connection to the victims is less but instead his urge to seek justice for everyone using violence is good (n funny too) .

This difference, either emotional connection in S1 or the urge to seek justice for strangers in S2, is reflected throughout all the episodes in both seasons.
And even viewers feel that "connection" in S1 n that "seeking justice for everyone" in S2 n so some might find S1 better than S2 based on emotional vibe differences

***** ACTORS / CHARACTERS:
Same as is S1,
Love Nam Gil's character a lot - The Fiery, the Bold, the Sarcastic but Kind Hearted
But very short tempered and that generates the comedy
Nam Gil is so handsome with his Sarcastic Smirks in this too ;)

Whenever there is any injustice around him, the Savage Angry Beast inside this NIS agent turned Priest, awakens n the comedy follows while he is punishing the bad or fighting for the justice.

Nam Gil Admirers will Love to watch him in Action! :)
Though the drama is mediocre, ABSOLUTELY LOVED Nam Gil's Sarcastic n Bold Character .

Would love to watch the same character of Nam gil with the same personality n not being a Priest, with romance or bromance, in a Crime Action Comedy or a Crime Thriller
(The thought itself is so interesting! :o)

In S2,
The SPOOF of JOKER n the entire fight scenes there, are VERY FUNNY.
Nam Gil in JOKER'S attire is bratty (Joker is meant to be so)
Also The Priest's sarcastic bold nature is added to that Joker vibe n so he looks so GOOD n stylish !!

**
Seo Bum June's role is a MINI VERSION of OUR FIERY PRIEST ;)
I liked his character a lot, though a support role

Both are stubborn, angry birds, when it comes to fight against injustice!

I loved his rapport with our priest
That little Bromance as teacher - student is cute

Those police station scenes, where our priest goes as an guardian to our little angry bird, are PURE COMEDY!

(Nam Gil reacts like a KDrama Mom (crying n hitting her son, seeing him in police station). Very funny!)

**
Same as is S1,
Kim Sung Kyun's role is the funniest, his comedic facial expressions are pure fun to watch!
His Bickering with the Priest, still continues in S2 n is the funniest.

**
Same as is S1,
Lee Ha Nee's character is still the same Bold badass FL with a bit exaggerated reactions and expressions, little hyper active
Like in S1, bromance / friendship between priest n her is good.
Their funny bickering still continues in S2

Her role is more fun to watch in S1
Here, that track of her n the Ghost is funny

**
Sung Joon is so handsome n did the bad guy role well.
He is more ruthless n scary.
(As I said above, Everything is doubled in S2, so the evil nature of the villain is also doubled than the one in S1 )

He, trying to flirt with FL is funny
(His wild imaginations about her )

**
Seo Hyun Woo's role is also Good as the manipulative guy.
His rapport with Sung Joon's is good
(Team bad guys! 🤭)

**
Bibi's role is a bold police officer.
Her scenes along with the team are funny.

Her rapport with Sung Kyun, as a member from the same family tree, is funny

**
Same as in S1,
The other characters, the helping team of the priest are good n funny.
The actors did their roles well

**
I LOVED the roles of
Nam Gil, Seo Bum June (priest's mini version :) ),
Sung Kyun (the funny piece with priest all the time)
Sung Joon, Hyun Woo (the bad guys)
n Bibi, the Most.

ONLY THESE CHARACTERS ARE MORE INTERESTING out of all other characters.

*****
OST - That music suits well to the mood of the drama.

The instrumental bgm musics used for the Priest in Action or for any other character, are cool .

*****
Just for Nam Gil's role,
a true Fiery & Justice seeking one n
to watch more of Nam gil as a punisher,
Yearned for a S2
(n not for the usual routine story)

Now with the same story formula, THERE IS NO SURPRISE, IF THERE IS A SEASON 3

***** RATING:
8.5 / 10 for this MINDLESS FUN RIDE

(7 for the story and the mediocre comedy.

8.5 only bcz of
Nam Gil's Lovely Fiery character n impressive acting
+ mini version of our priest, Seo Bum June's role :)
Enjoyed this show only bcz of Them )

**** My Admiration for Nam Gil :):
I fell in love with his acting from Crime Thriller "Through the Darkness"
n then watched Action Comedy "The Fiery Priest "

The variations in his roles in these two dramas are Amazing, SURPRISED ME alot.

There, as a Cold Introvert person, who never talks (dark vibes surrounding him n so brooding)
Here, as a fiery n yet funny n lively person, who never stops talking n smiling, punishing the bad guys and giving evil smirks to them, haha

There, I always wanted him to smile or speak out
Here, am surprised to see him talking non-stop 😂

He just slayed both the roles though they are extremes in nature n in personality.

Anyways,
Introvert analysing criminals (Through the Darkness) to
A Fiery smiley (comedic in The Fiery Priest) to
An Emotional One side lover / stalker (in another drama),
U can clearly see the differences in each of his roles n in his acting.

He is a PROLIFIC actor!

And so the Saga of me, watching every drama of his, Started
If he is in a project, I'm in! :)

Oh my Nam Gil Oppa!
What have U done to my poor heart !! 🤭

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What a sadist Xia Yan is !! haha Poor baby Shu Nian.

****
This uncut version has some 5-6 minutes of intimate scenes (of movie's part 2), nothing else related to the plot with any added importance
****

GOOD EMOTIONAL SADISTIC story (including both prequel and sequel, two movies with two endings to the story)

Well written, well directed and well acted.

CONTAINS UNACCEPTABLE THEMES of VIOLENCE EMOTIONALLY and PHYSICALLY.

Initially it is very creepy, sadistic, abusive , irritating and disturbing.

The amount of time, I wanted to thrash Xie Yan for his arrogant attitude n narcissistic behaviour n for torturing our Shu Nian, is countless!

Poor baby Shu Nian! :|
I can't bear his SUFFERING (orphan with a slave life and on top of it, unrequited love) :(
ONE SIDE LOVE is HELL n Life is hell! :(

Contains Master - Slave / boss - servant theme.
And has a plot of servant secretly in love with his arrogant master.
Has an emotional Unrequited Love theme n later forbidden love theme (forbidden by parents)

Master - Slave concepts are always uncomfortable, especially if the submissive has unrequited love for the dominant :(

Later Master, when forbidden, persuading his lover trope, is always satisfying in a evil manner.
LET THE MASTER ALSO SUFFER LIKE HELL! 😂

FORBIDDEN LOVE IS ALWAYS SPICY TO WATCH ! Haha

***** SPOILER*****

Read the NOVEL too.
Has two endings

Xie Yan is more pathetic and TOXIC in the novel n so I prefer the SAD Ending there.
He should not be forgiven for the hell torture he made to Shu Nian and has to take the punishment lifelong, crying and feelinh guilty for the loss of Shu Nian.

Movie has depicted both endings.
Liked the HAPPY ENDING here.
Xie Yan character is comparatively lighter n less toxic here.
So am happy for Shu Nian to find his peace finally with his loved one :)
(Though Xie Yan don't deserve such a kind soul like Shu Nian).

Their lovey dovey scenes, though very short, are very sweet :)

The post credits scene of the Happy ending movie version, is very funny and cute :)

OST - Both the songs, each sung by the main actors, are good.

(Watch both the movies and both the endings.
If possible, watch the uncut version with few added scenes too)

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OmG, Violence, Violence, Violence Everywhere!

ALERT: The PHYSICAL VIOLENCE is Very DISTURBING 😱
And the mind blowing, Sickening Twists - the PSYCHOLOGICAL VIOLENCE is Very DISGUSTING 🤢
n so be aware, it's not for Weak Hearts n Angry Hearts too 😂
Be AWARE of the EXPLICIT CONTENT too

Really, ONE OF A KIND in this Raw, EXTREMELY DARK, Gore, Mind - Bending Psychological Genre!
(Contains 1-2 incest relationships)

Hope such stories exist only in movies, not in real life!

The search for the truth by one, the revenge for the past by another, the extreme punishments given n served, everything is well written, well executed, well directed and well performed.

Choi Min Shik, Like Anthony Hopkins or Jack Nicholson scares me sometimes with his Raw Dark performances, haha

Rated low bcz of the extremely twisted crippled story n Violence, else could have rated more for the bold dark performances and the bold step to direct this by the makers.

One of the Best gruesome dark REVENGE Plots on the Main lead! :o 🤯

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This movie is not for everyone!! (Explicit content n psychologically twisted story)

ALERT:
DON'T WATCH THIS, WHEN U R ALREADY DISTURBED OR AGITATED EMOTIONALLY ! 😆

Very Disturbing, Dark, Crippled, Weird n "Strictly A NO" way of saving someone by someone who is equally tormented n lost everything in life! :o :( 😂

In the first watch, U'll be shocked or disgusted with all the torture n sxl content.
But in the second watch (towards the end of the movie), U find a beautiful emotional Love story of two people, unfolding, who reached rock bottom in life, n mentally exhausted, healing together with each other's company, care n warmth.

LOVE AND LIFE DESERVE A SECOND CHANCE ALWAYS!! :(

PS: How on Earth did this Manga Author get "that idea " of saving someone!? (For the first half of the movie) ,
OmG!! Haha

**** About TITLE:
I always wondered why this is named so.

Haha, that title is very apt to the acts in the first half of the movie:

Usually, Saving someone from Trauma or depression is done by using medication/ physical n psychological treatments.

But here, Ryoji saved Makoto n instilled an idea in him to survive by using DANGEROUS DRUGS called "S*xl Abuse", OmG!! 🤯😂

If he can survive that abuse, he would surely value being alive.. this motto n thinking of Ryoji, No, the thoughts of the Author , OmG, Creepy Philosophy! 😂🤯

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The Best Revenge, A Clean Sweep, hehe & Truly No Mercy for No One!

(BE AWARE:
There's lot of Violence like gruesome stabbing etc and Gore)

"This World doesn't End till Everyone Dies!"
(A dialogue from one of the eps about this Gangster World!)

Waited for this Gangster Action packed Revenge Drama n it's totally Worth the Wait! :)

***
I really like the Hype Gi Jun has in the drama - the way, everyone is afraid of him n his name, haha.
Exactly my type of drama, Silly Me! Haha

It's VERY GOOD n INTERESTING fron Ep 1.
And there is no moment of boredom throughout the series.

***
Everything is SUPERB about this drama - Direction, Editing, Cinematography, Production, Story Narration, Action scenes n Fight Sequences.

The Story is Plain, Simple n Direct but the Direction n the Editing have made this simple one, stand out in this genre.
Also, U can see a lot of betrayals, loyalty n twists in the story that u find as compelling to keep u hooked n completely make this a binge-watch worthy!
Though at times, Plot is predictable, especially about who the true villain is!

Pacing n the run time (total num of eps) are precise n apt.

Opening theme music is Very Good 👍🏻

***
Overall, The Best Revenge!! - Gi Jun truly has No Mercy for anyone! 🤭
(Though being an emotional person when it comes to his bro n friends)

BTW, there are a lot of Handsome Men in this drama🤭

My Rating is 9.5 / 10.

*** SPOILER ***
May be, this is the Only Drama in which all the characters are RIP, by the end, haha
It's almost like a "Clean Sweep"! Haha.

Also, It's funny how "Plot Armour" for Gi jun character, helped him even when severely injured or stabbed, many times throughout the drama, haha.
But Aigoo, it didn't help him in the end! :(

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DON'T DROP THIS DRAMA BCZ OF FIRST FEW EPS. IT'S 9+ / 10 LATER !! :)

Zombie / Disaster / Survival themed Sci-Fi movie lovers will definitely love this drama (I enjoy watching such themes).

If you are bored to watch anything serious and is in a mood for light-hearted drama with this Zombie theme to pass your time, u can go ahead n watch this.

**** EPISODES:

First 3 eps are OK, lil slow n didn't capture my interest much.
There's no much of Zombies' Attack & Chasing in these eps, except 1-2 scenes.
Just the Introduction of the characters n building the background for the actual story took almost 3 hours (3 eps, uff :/).

But continued watching for the Zombies (hehe) n it got Interesting only from ep 4.

It is VERY INTERESTING n CAPTIVATING from ep 7 👍🏻

**** PLOT :

This is not exactly the usual Zombie theme (usually, Zombies are like dead ones, walking).
This is about a Virus Outbreak, making the infected people look like Zombies with characteristics like biting healthy persons and drinking their blood.

So here, the Virus Infected are Blood thirsty beings, feeding on humans for some time only n remain as humans for remaining time -- This is something New n Different from the usual Zombie movies 👍🏻

And the Plot is mainly about the adventures of the main characters and a bunch of other characters with different personalities during the lockdown in their apartments due to the Virus Outbreak, waiting to find a cure and with a very subtle romance side track of the main leads.

If you are expecting a lot of Zombies attacking one human, chasing n running across the streets -- No, it's not that.
"Many Virus Infected' vs One Human -- You can find only 2-3 such scenes.
This is in confined space and One Infected vs One Human, all the time.

****

Direction, Production n Pacing are Good enough.

Never expected a confined space like an apartment can give such a Story full of Suspense in this genre -- The Suspense like who will be infected next n whether they will survive or no, is built very well.

Plot is not super strong or emotionally engaging but the suspense kept me looking forward to further episodes and this is FUN TO WATCH!

Story Narration is lil poor or boring at times but overall, I enjoyed and loved this alot :)

Infected people -- their Make up n Acting is Very Good.

OST - Opening theme music is Very Good.

**** CHARACTERS:

Started watching for Hyung sik Oppa but wow, Hyo Joo is the FL! :)
(didn't check the cast before, hehe.. she is my fav in the drama "MOVING").

Love Badass FLs only when they act bold n logical/smart but can't tolerate the arrogant types.
So didn't like FL, Sae Bom in initial episodes -- it didn't look cool or bold, it looked arrogant :/
Anyways, She got better from ep 5 and is actually One of the Best characters in this drama, loved her character in later eps alot :)

Loved ML, Yi Hyun -- He is more logical n smarter than FL.
FL is bold but acts immediately without second thoughts at times of need, whereas ML assess their next moves n the situation before jumping into action 👌🏻

From Ep 4, ML got more screen time.
Till ep 3, he has very less unlike FL.

The Power couple - Smart Yi Hyun n Bold Sae Bom, managing the Chaos n the investigations in apartments during the Virus outbreak n lockdown, play the Good cop and Bad cop very well, hehe.

They are Sweet together.
They are more like Friends, Besties or "Partners in Adventures" than Romantic interests until the end (though his is one side love from schooling).

Hyung sik n Hyo Joo, in Action roles (Police detective roles), are Very Cool together.
Give this pair more Crime Action dramas, please! :)

Lil gal is smart.
Loved these characters -- ML, FL, their police frd, lil gal, Sister brother duo, 15th floor guy, cleaning lady (curly hair one) n supermarket gal.

At times of troubles, how people react n act, can be seen by each character --
Some act bold n try to restore balance in the chaotic scene (ML n FL),
Some try to take advantage (Lady who wants to be the apartment committee president),
Some remain silent,
Some give up,
Some are selfish (old couple's son), Some are greedy, manipulative n pure evil (that doc guy).
Everyone's true colours, whether selfless or selfish, are exposed only during such times.

**

It got Interesting from ep 4, when the Lockdown started.

And more interesting from ep 7 with apartment politics and manipulations among themselves during the lockdown.

Every Lookout/ Search for infected people, is like a Mini Adventure.


Eps 10, 11:
Virus outbreak turned into Murder Mystery and Mass Murders drama, haha.

Humans are the Real Monsters in tough times.
They are more dangerous than Monsters in such times bcz of their greed, selfishness n evil manipulations.


Ep 10 -- Murder mystery of Who killed the Cleaning lady n the Mystery of where the 15th floor guy is, are interesting.
Suddenly, there's a Serial Killer suspicion too, haha.

Ep 11 -- Even "Plot Armour" couldn't help ML, Aigoo! ;) :(

BTW, I find it funny for this drama to be named as "HAPPINESS" -- it's so random, there's Nothing emotional or happiness in this plot.

**** RATING:

My Rating is 9.5 /10
bcz it's not at all boring from ep 4, for this genre.
(0.5 less bcz of the first 3 boring eps).

Give me S2 with our power couple going after another trouble to solve, am happy to watch them :)

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WEIRD & TWISTED BUT A SWEET LOVE ! :)

What I have observed is, MBS Network brings New but Weird concepts for dramas especially BLs, either there will be a character with twisted personality or an odd storyline.
(Are such Mangas, different but with refreshing themes, chosen for drama adaptations deliberately to seek the attention of the audience or just a coincidence? Haha)
Anyways, even such twisted stories or odd characters too, find beautiful True Love finally, such stories are executed very well as a drama n that makes me to love their BL dramas :)
(U can check their list of BL dramas. Almost every drama has one odd point in it but is a hit with 8+ rating :) )

Such stories are Extremes, either U LOVE them even being peculiar or HATE for all the nonsense n toxicity, haha

That said, even this drama depicts a Story of Two problematic characters.

***** STORY:
The Story revolves around only two characters -- Two extreme introverts, who act immature or obsessive, can not communicate their feelings clearly and with dangerous levels of own assumptions n prejudices.
A Story of Love and Emotional bond between two such persons.

This drama proves that even such extreme reserved people can fall in love deeply with each other and have a Happy Ending (though troubled n bumpy throughout the journey).

This couple proved that deep love can exist between twisted personalities too, who usually take a negative meaning of anything and everything, even when love is expressed in a positive way.
This negativity is all bcz that the love expressed in actions, is indirect. Though in deep love, they really can't express it directly in words n that is the greatest drawback in their relationship.

It looks like a Master - Slave relationship but No. It's an Unrequited Love from both their points of view.
(God, these babies! Eye rolls, Haha)
Each of them, thinks the other doesn't reciprocate their love and this confusion happens only bcz of Zero or No Open Communication in their relationship, Wrong Own Assumptions & Lack of Transparency in their thoughts with each other.

This confusion continues throughout the drama to the extent that irritates the viewer, haha.

Also, this Master - Slave relationship looks toxic but in the end, it is shown as it's their weird way of loving each other, (What !? :O Poor me, for tolerating their twisted love tale till the end n yet enjoying it, haha)

As a viewer, U'll have an extreme Love - Hate relationship with this story.
(Some might find this boring, toxic n may drop this drama while others, like me, though it is toxic, find it cute n love it :) )

*** Just a Fun Thought:
Some PROBABLE EXAGGERATED REACTIONS of the viewers (like me, haha) while watching this drama:

1) Seeing their misunderstandings n lack of communication even over silly topics and getting irritated n tired of watching those misunderstandings repeatedly, U get angry n wanted to scream to their faces saying "Silly Bakas, Just Talk!", haha

2) But then in the next frame, when they are Sweet n Caring, U will be in happy tears seeing them all fluffy :)
(Me, Too much Drama! Hehe)

3) Also as though, One introvert character being silent n unreasonable with overthinking n own assumptions, is not sufficient, the director and the writer gave us two such MLs, OMG! :o

(Haha, this story really creates anxiety issues to the viewers 🤭)

***
Overall, though a Weird n lil Toxic Love bcz of all the Unnecessary Misunderstandings, Assumptions n Zero Open Communication, still I love Segasaki n Yoh ! :)
(Maybe, my PMS moods made me to love this toxic tale!? :O, God! Haha)

Re-watched it many times.
Poor Boys! They are such babies in love complicating everything unnecessarily :)
Silly Bakas! ;)

*****
Direction, Story Writing, Story Narration, Story Progression n Pacing, EVERYTHING NEEDS IMPROVEMENT.

THIS IS LOVELY ONLY BECAUSE OF THE CAST & THEIR PERFORMANCES, else this love story of Zero Communication is impossible to watch.

Cinematography n Production are Cool.

***** ACTORS & CHARACTERS:
Anyways, Segasaki is better and mature than Yoh, though gloomy & introvert like Yoh or faking being social with everyone else at job.
Sega, may not be direct but atleast he tries to express his love indirectly through his actions n unfortunately Yoh takes all such actions of Sega as controlling or obsessive and never tries to show his own love towards Sega :(
Both are Weird enough n Sega is better than Yoh in that weirdness too! :)

Usually, it's boring and frustrating to watch such a relationship which is full of misunderstandings but these TWO ACTORS (Higuchi Kouhei and Mashiko Atsuki) really brought out the quirky eccentric nature of both the characters and their weird love for each other, they brought life to the characters and hence made this drama watchable, tolerable and a lovable one! :)
If the casting to these two roles is different or if the characterization is different, I wouldn't think that I could watch it.

And so the Actors' Performances are AMAZING and done right to their roles!👌🏻

I really want more of their love, only these two actors in these roles.
Though it's a love with misunderstandings and painful but at the times when they are sweet and caring, it's too Fluffy n Hot to watch :)
Their Sweet Moments are Full of Passion and Strong Love :)
(I want more than 8 eps, haha)

Sega n Yoh are so SAME being introverts n yet DIFFERENT - Yoh is too silent n immature while Sega is reasonable n mature at times.

Manju (Yoh's female friend) n her husband are Sweet.
While our boys couple is Hot.

Actor Kouhei (Sega) is cool.
Actress Sayuri (Manju) is pretty.

Actor Atsuki (Yoh) :
Our Hagi (my fav char) from JDrama "How I Attended an All-Guy's Mixer".
His role here is a complete contrast to that role, Hagi.
And Atsuki performed very well in showing the variations in both the roles -- comedic (there) vs introvert (here).
There, he is loud, goofy n a confused funny soul🤭 n here, too silent :/

The actors' chemistry is Natural and Realistic!
Now, Sega n Yoh are one of my fav BL couples just bcz of the actors Kouhei n Atsuki! :)
SEGA -YOH, weirdly, THEY ARE MADE FOR EACH OTHER! 💕

***** SOME MORE RANTING:
This series is saved only by these two Actors and their Amazing & Lovely Chemistry.

Even such Imperfect Story Would Be Perfect, if some of these are made clear in the drama:

1) Why Sega proposed a live-in, instead of a direct love proposal first, that too to our dumb Yoh (who takes his own meanings n misunderstands even when a matter is said directly)?
Maybe a back story from their college days, just one more scene of Sega's thought process when he fell in love with Yoh in college n the reason to make an indirect proposal.

2) During College days, how long they were friends and Now from how long they were dating or living together?
All such time periods, if shown exclusively, it will be clear to the smooth flow of the story and easy to understand their story.

Also if the Ending is made little better, this toxic story would be perfect bcz of good character arc.
But now the Ending gave a vibe that there is absolutely no character development for both the characters :(

****** SPOILER *******
ENDING is lil disappointing bcz they are back to square one :(

They got a Happy Ending and Communication between them is improved a bit in finale (ep 8) but again dropped to level zero, fell back to the starting point n making both of them to do the same mistake - "Lack of communication, only inner voices with own imaginations".

Few important matters n misunderstandings are still left unclear between them n so back to almost zero communication like in the beginning, God! :(
For eg, Yoh n Sega should have cleared that misunderstanding about Manju's Husband :o

If everything is cleared, it would have helped to build Trust with better understanding n avoid any sort of assumptions or misunderstandings further in their relationship.

The FINALE ep gave an INCOMPLETE FEELING as though it is RUSHED to give a RANDOM CLOSURE :(
Their misunderstandings are not clarified, still they have trust issues & obsessive childish behaviour even at the end.
There is No Maturity in their Relationship and absolutely, No Character Growth towards the end that U expect after 8 eps.

Sega is not a person who says "I Love You" in Words but expresses his Love only in his Actions.
Yoh is a person who cannot understand Love expressed in Actions.
Right from the time Sega proposed live-in (in the beginning of the series) and the actions done by Sega out of Pure Love, Yoh took everything as a Master - Slave relationship was proposed by Sega :o :|
N so Now in the end, when Sega with great difficulty, pushed himself to express in words, asked Yoh to stay forever with him, he meant "Love/ Lover" but our dumb Yoh may take it as "Slave" forever..
( God, these two! :|
It's my bad to expect character growth, haha)

This Ending is not like a Happily ever after with all misunderstandings cleared but it's more like a Cliff hanger Ending with temporary happiness with only few issues cleared + still, a lot of misunderstandings + still, lack of communication, jst like how they were in ep 1.
I'M DISAPPOINTED WITH THE ENDING! :|

Whether they did get or no but I didn't get a Full Closure to their story, haha
POORLY WRITTEN CLIMAX!

So Need S2 or a Special Episode to conclude this story but with more clear and transparent communication between these two extreme Introverts.

***
Kouhei n Atsuki in Behind The Scenes, all smiling, are so lively n lovely, unlike the gloomy vibe in the drama.
And so, this shows that they acted their roles very well (that variation of lively, offscreen irl vs gloomy, onscreen)

***** OST:
Opening n Ending themes are Very Good and suit well to the theme of the drama.

MV of the Opening theme is very lively & playful as they are all smiling n playing in rain like a cute couple, in contrast to the gloomy vibe in the drama :)

Piano BGMs are Good, Soft and Soulful.

***** RATING:
My RATING for my silly boys is 9.5 / 10.

(Though my Review looks like a lengthy Ranting, I love this drama a lot to the extent that I can't give anything other than a positive 9.5 , hehe)

One of my fav dramas n fav couples !! ✨
I MISS THEM! :|

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DISAPPOINTED!! :(

Since it is a spin off of "THE PRIESTS" movie, which is one of my fav horrors, I expected this movie to be as good as that but DISAPPOINTED!!
Theme is same for both movies -- Two Priests trying to save a Possessed Gal by performing exorcism there and the same here but Two Nuns and One Possessed Boy.

Wanted to see Song Hye Kyo in a different role like this -- A Nun perfoming exorcism but unimpressive :(

*** WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

Interesting in the beginning of the movie but it got completely CLUELESS, No Clarity of what is happening for almost 3/4th of the movie.

Building the background to the Story (perform exorcism to save the possessed) itself took more than half of the movie and made me think of dropping it
(but didn't bcz of my "Watching Tradition" -- Not to drop a movie/drama, once I start watching).

Pacing is Super Slow -- A Test to my patience !! :(

That constant struggle to understand what is happening in the movie and its lack of capturing the interest, actually made me irritated.
Usually, I enjoy any type of Horror works, until unless it is very bad and unfortunately, this is one of them :/

*** WHAT I LIKED :

Loved the blend of religions -- Christianity Exorcism n Shaman Rituals.
Perfoming both rituals together to save the possessed, only those scenes in the last 20-30 mins of the movie are Superb.
(Out of those 30 mins, some exorcism scenes too, are slow n unimpressive at times but not very bad, just tolerable :/ ).

Possessed Boy - his Acting n Makeup are VERY GOOD

There is a reference of the priests from the parent movie and there is a cameo of
Dong Won from the parent movie.

*** RATING:

Since I love horror movies, usually my rating will be 7+, unless the movie is very bad or uninteresting.

This is just 6 / 10.

Whoever watches this movie first n not the parent story ("THE PRIESTS"), might enjoy n find this interesting but not the other way.

Just a One Time Watch!

(Check out my Review for Parent movie "THE PRIESTS" too:
https://kisskh.at/profile/KeeShaMDL/review/433126
)

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So, THE CHILD WHO WOULDN'T COME TO SCHOOL, doesn't leave the teacher or the World too! Haha

Eerie n Spooky but VERY INTERESTING to watch!
(Be aware, contains Gore)

As said in my Review of "8 years" of this anthology, Out of all my Horror genre watching experience, found UNIQUE n REFRESHING concepts in this anthology of 3 miniseries.

This miniseries is a PERFECT BLEND of Two Genres - Crime Suspense Mystery and Horror (not just Horror) and that makes it Unique.

Not only the Horror track, even The Mystery n Suspense track has a Scary vibe n both tracks are very interesting n gripping.

Just a thought!
This plot can be made into two individual stories, one a complete crime mystery thriller (killer / stalker) alone with great suspense n another, a complete horror alone. Either ways, it would be great.

But here, this mix n intertwining of both the elements of Killer/Stalker Mystery n Horror, is even more Good.

*** STORY:
As the title suggests n obvious that this is a High School setting, in this miniseries too.
(Guess, The location - the school building is the same in both miniseries? )

The Story is built very slow. Throughout the series, there is a calm, dark, eerie n spooky vibe for not only the Crime Mystery track but for the Horror track too.
Pacing is slow at times.

(Watched 4 eps version)
That 180 degree turn of the first 3 episodes' Killer/Stalker Mystery Thriller into a complete Horror in 4th ep, is a good surprise (can be guessed to some extent), very smooth, written very intelligently and very well directed.

Apart from the mystery track in first 3 episodes, the horror in ep 4, is a serious psychological n dark theme (U can't really get out of the situation caused by the Entity :( ).

The New concept called "Doppelganger" introduced in this horror track, gives chills to the spine and super scary.

Doppelganger - A Devil/ Entity/ Spirit in human form exists n it never dies.
It goes around from one person to another like a virus, completely taking control of the person's body, soul and identity 😱

***
Also, in the entire first three episodes, there's a constant confusion to the viewer about the genre, haha.
The mystery of the characters and the suspense created that confusion suspecting, whether it is truly a horror or the haunting scenes are just hallucinations of FL or the murders are really by haunting spirits or by any killer like in a mystery crime thriller.

The stalker scenes are very creepy which makes one to freak out.
While, there are lot of Scary Jump Scares for Horror genre lovers :)

The Mystery n Suspense are well maintained.
The Mystery part is More Creepy n Scary than the Horror part😂

***
Cinematography n Production are Good.

Story writing, Screenplay, Direction n Story telling are Very Clear n Right to the Point .

Taking and the Quality of Camera Work are Neat.
Pacing is Slow at times.

Opening instrumental theme is Good.
BGMs for horror n mystery scenes are different n apt to the respective scenes.

*** ACTORS / CHARACTERS:
Almost every character is creepy, especially the male student, Young Seok (Roll Number 11) n the male teacher.

Young Seok is the most mysterious character n a freak but in ep 4, there's a twist and the Scary truth about this character is out.

In ep 1, the mystery around Young Seok and the suspense whether he is a ghost or a human, is well maintained

He is an Obsessive Psycho stalker n killer, saying creepy things like
"You smell nice, the smell of a good person; Give any of your body part as a token of your memory " etc 🤯

Actor Jung Yoon Suk acted very well as this mysterious Young Seok, with that spooky smile n evil smirk 😨

FL is cute n her character is sweet.
Her (Teacher) investigation about the students, especially lonely outcasts n about roll num 11, are good .
Meanwhile, due to her past trauma, she faces scary haunting experiences.
(These haunting scenes are suspicious initially, whether they are truly of a ghost or just her hallucinations and the truth about this, is revealed later)

Her trainee teacher female friends, those three gals are funny n sweet, haha.

That male teacher is Crazy but funny at the same time.
His dialogue delivery is hilarious, haha.

*** ENDING:
There is no loose end left out.
By the end, every point has been given a clarity

The ending is creepy 😨
A Usual Horror movie has a Happy ending when the ghost is warded off but here, the haunting starts at the end again :o

So in the end, the child (devil in human form) who wouldn't come to school, doesn't leave the teacher and the World :o :| 😂

***
My Rating is 9 / 10.
(If not for the SLOW PACING, this would be 9.5 /10 )

Don't miss to give a try! Especially Horror genre lovers who love to watch every type n a variety of Horror concepts.

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PEE NAK COMES BACK WITH ANOTHER CURSE N ANOTHER ROUND OF HILARIOUS RIDE !! :)

Like PN 1, this too, is Not Scary.
And is MORE HILARIOUS n CHAOTIC than PN 1 😂

As said in my PN 1 Review:
Thai Comedies (Horror or Rom-Com), as usual, are always CHAOTIC ! :)
(If U are aware of Thai comedies, only then, U can enjoy this.
Bcz Every Country has its OWN TONE OF COMEDY, especially Japan or Thai comedies are not for everyone)

***
A Good Mix of Horror + Comedy + serious stories of the ghost's past and the main story.

Here, the TWISTS in the Main Story are Interesting to watch.

Apart from the Ghost's past n the main story, here a New Story of Rebirth / Past lives of some of the characters Aod, Noht, First, Balloon n the ghost, is beautifully blended into the main story.
This "Past lives" story is Interesting n Well Written .

***
Like in PN 1,
Even here, The ghost story n the main story depict religious process n rituals like "Ordaining to be a Monk", "Disrobing" etc in Buddhism and are Very Interesting to watch.

The Stories of Naga, boon of the Naga - "Nak" in the ordain process etc n the ghost's past life (how and why it has become a Vengeful Ghost), n how they are related to current main story, are Well Written.

The haunting scenes are funny n chaotic 😂
Even the scenes of the team trying to find solutions to the curses, the Buddhist Monks helping the team to ward off the ghost n to revoke the curses, are funny😂

***
Director Mike is known for Comedy genre!
Production, Screenplay are good enough.
Locations are cool.

***
Initially, there is a confusion whether there are 1 or 2 Curses, not only to the viewers but also to the characters too🤭

First Curse is the same as PN 1:
Whoever gets ordained at a particular Buddhist temple, dies.

Second Curse:
Whoever ordained in that particular temple, can't Disrobe (leave monkhood), else they die.

So the ghost keeps haunting, disturbing the process n not allowing anyone to be ordained /disrobed there.

Later, it is clear that the 2nd curse is the only curse in this movie n the adventure to find a solution to that curse, continues.

The confusion of the first curse is created bcz of Mean's character, who is trying to be ordained in that temple.
While the Disrobing curse n the related chaos is bcz of characters First and Balloon who are trying to leave monkhood, after getting ordained in PN 1.

The way how PN 1 n PN 2 are related with recurring characters, is well written.
The Naga hooded Buddha Amulet is just referred in PN 1, while it is the main story here.

***
Every Actor performed well.
Every Character is lovable.

The recurring characters n the cast, August, Aim, James, Pond n Tar are cool.

Aim n James as queer characters are hilarious n chaotic, as usual 😂

New cast n characters introduced here, are funny.
There are so many young Novice monks here, the boys look silly n funny.
First, Balloon, Noht n Aod with these young Novices are more chaotic😂

Mean is cool n plays a K-pop idol character.
Mean looks like KDrama actor Park Seo Joon ;)

Placement of that Insurance advertisement as a part of the story is funny.

***
In the end, the curse is revoked, the ghost is relieved / warded off peacefully and the ordain process of Mean's character n Disrobing of First, Balloon happens as planned n peacefully.

The movie ending gives a hint to next part /Sequel.

***
My RATING is 8.5 / 10

*** COMPARISON OF THE MOVIES IN THIS FRANCHISE:

Can't really Rank any movie as the most or the least favourite, in this franchise.
My Rating for all 4 is the same n liked all 4 equally bcz one with more comedy, another with subtle comedy but all have serious stories.
And so ALL 4 MOVIES ARE ENTERTAINING n FUN TO WATCH!

In terms of Comedy,
PN 4 < PN 1 < PN 2 < PN 3

In terms of Story,
All have Serious Interesting Stories.
Story of PN 1 is a simple one while the other three have twists n little complicated stories.

Also, Watched this franchise long ago n remembered these as STANDALONE n UNRELATED MOVIES n need to watch all, just to know the background and the relations of the Recurring Characters.

But now when I re-watched all 4, realised that all 4 movies are RELATED, may not be a Proper n Direct SEQUEL to each other.
But One movie's storyline is taken from a scene or concept from the previous movie. That's how they are related.

For eg;
1) PN 2's main storyline "One old Monk n Buddha with Naga hood Amulet" is discussed in 1-2 scenes in PN 1 n are elaborated in PN 2 as the main story.

2) PN 3's "Past lives, stealing Golden Anklets etc" is depicted in PN 2 n are elaborated in PN 3 as the main story.

3) PN 4's Naga n Plan's character is shown in two scenes in PN 3 n are elaborated in PN 4 as the main story.

And so Need to watch all 4 movies in the same order to understand n enjoy the franchise.

Also, it's fun to watch the recurring cast n characters in the franchise :)
Actor Tar, literally grew up along with this franchise, haha .

***
Give a try! Especially Horror genre lovers who love to watch every type n a variety of Horror concepts.

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GOOD HORROR + CRIME DRAMA WITH TWISTS!!

Out of all my Horror genre watching experience, found an UNIQUE n REFRESHING concept - A Mix of Police Investigation n Horror (Haunting Ghost killings) .

For a change from the usual horror stories, here, the Vengeful Ghost killings are mistook (atleast by the police detective) as Serial Killer's killings😂 n an extensive police investigation is carried out accordingly.
Considering 8 years back past murders and present day murders, Police concluded that either a psycho serial killer is at loose or a copycat killer has emerged .
I found this concept, New n Good n at the same time, Funny .

***
The miniseries is of High School setting as the title "Strange School Tales" suggests.

(Watched the 4 episodes, 30 mins each Version)

Story is Good with a lot of TWISTS but the Production, mainly the Quality of the Camera Work looked like decade-old movies n so Surprised to know that this is a 2020 series n not of 2000s or 2010s.

Initially, Very SLOW PACED but later, it got INTERESTING - The Haunting, The Past n the Present murders, The Suspense of the Murders etc.

Screenplay is Good.

The Murders of the present day n those 8 years back, all happened n happening in the same High School, the main stories of the past n present, every murder story, everyone related to them n the Plot Twists, EVERYTHING is WELL WRITTEN n WELL EXECUTED.
But at times, it gives some Unclear vibes (either the Story or Screenplay or the Editing) n so gives a feel of lacking something.

Every Actor performed well.
The Priest, the variations in his character are surprising n that actor acted those very well.

The three guys, classmates from the past, how each one of them became a Detective, a Teacher (in the same High school where they are the alumni) n a Priest, especially why the Priest chose to be a priest, n how they are involved n related to the deaths back then n to the deaths of present day, is Well Written .

Even that suspense is well maintained, some are predictable n the other plotlines are surprising.
The Ghost gal's past story is sad n the killer is a surprise.

The Ending is cool, apt to the Horror setting of the Story - The Ghosts got their revenge n deserved justice.

***
I found the New Approach of a Serial Killer, discussed here, as Very Funny😂

So here they say, a Serial Killing happens when multiple ghosts / vengeful spirits enter into one person's body n take their revenge n so the killings look random n like a serial killing, huh !? :o
So, they suggest to blame the spirits n not the serial killer (human), what? 😂
So, It's all the mistake of the spirits n not the psycho serial killer? Haha.

***
My Rating is 8.5 / 10.
For the Story, it would be 9 but bcz of bad camera work, sad to give less rating.

If the Direction, Production, Cinematography, BGM n the Quality is maintained right to the point, Rating would be 9+ .

Give a try! Especially Horror genre lovers who love to watch every type n a variety of Horror concepts.

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