This review may contain spoilers
Scary but too restrained
I'll be honest, knowing that this show would be directed and written by the same professionals from Pit Babe, I wasn't at all confident about the result.
But thankfully I was surprised because the result here is nothing short of spectacular.
The series is incredible and really manages to create that atmosphere of terror and tension, and the entire police investigation only makes the plot even more interesting and dynamic.
The makeup and special effects deserve a highlight here. As does the art direction and sound design, which are fantastic and manage to create a truly frightening atmosphere.
The acting is good, nothing spectacular, but it works very well within the premise. The characters, however, are somewhat shallow.
Thup is very contradictory. At times he knows everything about rituals, at other times he knows nothing. The series removing him as a suspect in the murders too quickly causes the character to lose a lot of development. He's there, but honestly, his story doesn't say anything.
Singha is competent as a police officer but all the trauma from his sister's death is something that comes and goes as the script deems convenient. And this only has a real impact at the end.
Sey and Darin are there but at no point do they convince as forensic scientists.
But what really bothers me, and where the series starts to lose me, is the lack of courage to kill its characters. Only extras die, and this makes the weight of the ghost's attacks lose impact.
There's no real tension at the end because you know they'll all survive. Detective Khem should have died in the attack in the file room. Darin should have died in the final sacrifice. King's father would also have been a great option.
And the series desperately needed these deaths to make the threat even more real. The final revelation of the killer, I must say, is quite anticlimactic.
Especially when, at the end, Thup casts a spell that frees the souls and everything ends. Couldn't he have done that sooner? It's such a weak resolution that it ruins everything the series had been building up to that point.
It's rushed, it's predictable, it's incoherent.
But that doesn't make the series bad, honestly. Coming from the director and writers it came from, the series was almost too successful. And it is, without a doubt, one of the best BL horror series.
Now, the romance... I felt more chemistry between Singha and King than between the main couple. Thup as a suspect and a shadowy character would have added the right spice to make the romance between them work within the series' premise.
But thankfully I was surprised because the result here is nothing short of spectacular.
The series is incredible and really manages to create that atmosphere of terror and tension, and the entire police investigation only makes the plot even more interesting and dynamic.
The makeup and special effects deserve a highlight here. As does the art direction and sound design, which are fantastic and manage to create a truly frightening atmosphere.
The acting is good, nothing spectacular, but it works very well within the premise. The characters, however, are somewhat shallow.
Thup is very contradictory. At times he knows everything about rituals, at other times he knows nothing. The series removing him as a suspect in the murders too quickly causes the character to lose a lot of development. He's there, but honestly, his story doesn't say anything.
Singha is competent as a police officer but all the trauma from his sister's death is something that comes and goes as the script deems convenient. And this only has a real impact at the end.
Sey and Darin are there but at no point do they convince as forensic scientists.
But what really bothers me, and where the series starts to lose me, is the lack of courage to kill its characters. Only extras die, and this makes the weight of the ghost's attacks lose impact.
There's no real tension at the end because you know they'll all survive. Detective Khem should have died in the attack in the file room. Darin should have died in the final sacrifice. King's father would also have been a great option.
And the series desperately needed these deaths to make the threat even more real. The final revelation of the killer, I must say, is quite anticlimactic.
Especially when, at the end, Thup casts a spell that frees the souls and everything ends. Couldn't he have done that sooner? It's such a weak resolution that it ruins everything the series had been building up to that point.
It's rushed, it's predictable, it's incoherent.
But that doesn't make the series bad, honestly. Coming from the director and writers it came from, the series was almost too successful. And it is, without a doubt, one of the best BL horror series.
Now, the romance... I felt more chemistry between Singha and King than between the main couple. Thup as a suspect and a shadowy character would have added the right spice to make the romance between them work within the series' premise.
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