Hellbound (2021)

It just doesn't let up from the start.

I'm still relatively new to Korean horror. I started a few years ago with "Kingdom" on Netflix and I really enjoyed that. Inspired by that experience I jumped on that infamous "Train to Busan" and, more recently, "All of Us Are Dead". Somewhere along the way I also managed to catch "The Host" and "The Uncanny Counter" (although not strictly horror, there are definitely supernatural elements at play in "Uncanny Counter"). So, what would happen if you were to take those supernatural elements, throw it in with the visceral horror of "Busan/"All of Us"/"Kingdom" add a huge dash of End of Days/Revelations prophecies, bring all of that into the here and now - mix it all up and here you have it: - "Hellbound"!

The story starts out simple enough - an Angel comes to visit and tells you exactly when you're going to die. At the appointed time three demons come and drag you to hell. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Easy enough, right? Not so fast. They start in the middle of the story without warning and, in the first five minutes, you are dragged into the streets of Seoul were you become a part of the action. I can so clearly remember looking around trying to find a way out of the horror, but - nothing.

Now, when I watched it, that was about all I knew of the plot, so I will spare you the pot synopsis because, like "The Uncanny Counter", I sometimes find it better to be not too certain what you've gotten yourself into. So, just get on and enjoy the ride. Well rounded, multidimensional characters abound, tight plotting and decent CGI. I'm very glad I gave this one a chance. The closest I will give to a spoiler is to say that Episode 4 throws in one of the greatest WTF moments in the history of ever, and it isn't the only ginormous reveal in the series. Seriously, if the horror genre is your thing - psychological horror especially - give this one a try. I think you'll have a good (?) time.

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Humans being typically, mindlessly violent

There were not many surprises for me, in this violent and unsettling horror drama.
It is the usual portrayal of people manipulating events, putting a divine angle on them and then basically running their part of the world, as they see fit, under the guise of it being in the name of their God.
It happens for real, of course, minus the supernatural element we have here.
Hypocrisy overflows like Niagra, with the scum and thugs of society using the punishment of sinners as an excuse to gleefully maim and murder. "Where is their punishment?" I ranted!
Yoo Ah-in's character is suitably dark and creepy. He rarely over-plays his characters and this was no exception.
There is a time jump part way through, with new characters. I wondered what happened to some and there is one in particular whose identity I'm not sure I understood correctly.
Some people are truly disgusting in this and there are the usual onlookers, making no effort to protect or assist the most vulnerable and outnumbered, against mere mortals.
As with several relatively recent Netflix series (Sweet Home and The Uncanny Counter particularly spring to mind), I just hope they make a S2 with a cast that flows, otherwise the ending is less than satisfactory, with more questions than answers.
A good cast and plenty to shout at your TV about.

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Quite disappointing

This show was just kind of underwhelming, I expected it to be more exciting than it ended up being. I still enjoyed it I guess, but I feel like it could just have been so much better. The acting was good but not the best, and while the essential idea for the plot is pretty good I feel like it could have been developed in a more interesting way. Even though I did finish it, it just kind of failed to really catch and keep my full attention. I finished it just to finish it, not because I was intrigued or excited to see what would happen next.

The ending of the season looked quite promising but since they don't even know if season 2 will actually be happening at all I don’t really know what to think…

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Good Enough

Korean Drama "Hellbound" is an atmospheric drama with a dark story and masterful direction.

The drama has an interesting story to offer. exploring the nature of men when an unexpected new element appears, changing the way we lived so far and spreading fear. Fear that is the common factor that everyone uses in order to achieve their goals. And the ending was masterfully handled as well, with a huge cliffhanger to prepare the audience for what is to come next.

However, and apart from those, the drama felt hectic and partial. The pace was all over the place, with events following one another in a way that wasn't either smooth nor served the drama well. In addition, the drama was disjointed, as its parts didn't blend in together nor followed each other nicely.

Finally, the CGI were not great, but the performances were masterful by everyone in the cast.

So, overall, 5 out of 10.

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A good offering in this genre if you are okay with cliffhanger endings

7.5/10 os my rating. This is a 2021 South Korean dark fantasy, horror series with 6, 42 to 60 minute episodes. It is based on a webtoon of the same title.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review

Synopsis

The main part of the story is set in the years 2022–27 in South Korea. During this timeframe, people start to see am ethereal face, purported to be an angel that prophesies the exact date and time of the person’s untimely death. The individual is targeted for a very violent end where these large demonic looking minsters carry out what is tantamount to a public execution. They end their demonstration by incinerating the targeted individual, who is then sent to be further tormented in hell. A cult leader, Jeong Jin soo (Yoo Ah in), warns his followers and the public at large that these demonstrations are intended to show people the err of their spiritual ways. Dubious of the credibility of these incidents and convinced something far more human based and sinister is going on. A detective, Jin Kyeong hoon (Yang Ik june) and an attorney who is a warrior for victims Min Hye jin Kim Hyun joo) team up to determine what is really going on. Turns out a religious cult, the New Truth and another organization called The Arrowhead group fan the flames to instill the fear of God and mete out their own form of moral justice.

Review

Overall it is a very good horror series with strong mystery and fantasy elements. If you realize, they are already planning another season then the ending, which ends with a lot of questions, will not be as disappointing. It is a gorefest. And characters you may like may not survive. So if you are prepared for those things you will likely enjoy the short series. I wanted some more insight so looked for the webtoon.  The live action version follows the webtoon precisely so there is little additional information to derive from reading the webtoon. If you like supernatural and horror content this is a good one in those genre. It is a good one to watch with those who are looking for something that has little to no romantic component and prefer more action based dramas. I would rewatch it if someone had it on simply because there are a lot of complex plot elements that you may pick up on after having watched it once.

 

Spoilers

 

They allude to the fact that the “angel’ and creatures were identified as such by “The New Truth” and there was never a deep dive into what they might be by anyone else. As it becomes apparent that the targets are not always sinners, or at least not sinners we as viewers can identify, the entire God’s punishment angel begins to fall apart. And it leaves you wondering why and how the targets are selected. If “The New Truth” believes it is God’s will why do they call on Arrowhead to go after those they identify as sinners.  Who is Arrowhead and how did “The New Truth” find a band of psychopaths that are so ready to mete out punishment in the form of brutal beatings up to death.

 

How did the baby live? The target of the incineration is always the subject and the white light glowed from between the parents so it would have originated at the baby. How did the beings “miss” burning the baby? Then, when the baby survived, they left without accomplishing their intent. How does that work? Do they just leave the target alone if they are able to survive a period of time after the date?

 

If those that have been incinerated are brought back, why were they incinerated in the first place? Do they come back fully as their former selves?

I read that it was approved for another season but it seems if that is the plan there are huge delays. As time passes it becomes less likely they will carry through with a second season but I will remain alert for another season, If you are not okay with a cliff hanger that may never be resolved with additional content, you might bypass this one or wait for when and if there is a second season.

#Hellbound

#UhmHingSik

#YooAhIn

#KimHyunJoo

#ParkJeongMin

#WonJinAh

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Too many unanswered questions

Hellbound (2021)

Likes
1. Great acting from the cast. It makes me think what will I do if i receive a decree? Do i spend my last remaining hours hiding in fear or do i spend it saying goodbye to people? I know everyone eventually dies, it's just that here, the way you die is too scary and merciless. The decree also doesn't say the reason why you're going to hell. And how come Jinsu got the decree 20 years ago but others only had a few days to live?
2. The kind of religious fanaticism is happening right now and everywhere in the world. Not just religion, even in politics and social media we have this scary cancel culture. Some people are so righteous thinking their way is the right way and bullies everyone else who does not conform to their truth. And if their truth is wrong, instead of correcting them, they hide the truth and call the others as fake news. I wish everyone would ve more compassionate towards each other and less self serving.

Dislikes
Since there are only 6 episodes, there are too many unanswered questions thus it's hard to feel satisfied with the ending. Hoping for a season 2 to explain not only the last scene but also the overall phenomenon.

Rating: 8/10

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Fell for Yoo Ah In . Even he's the "bad guy here(?)

First of all, I don't know why I hadn't watched any of YAI's drama but I just fell for his acting. His eyes speak so much. I haven't watched any of his dramas before and I regret it. The way he was immersed in the character, you'd feel he really was the bad guy and all these things were real. Whenever he spoke in this drama, except for his last 10 mins of life, there was something dark in them. Like he knew all your secrets and using them to manipulate you but you couldn't understand it and just following cuz the was supposedly the "good guy". Whenever he was speaking, his eyes spoke a lot more and they gave me chills. I'm a fan of him now. Gonna watch his other dramas.

Now coming to the story I think there's gonna be a second season? I hope they do it. Cuz the last scene was a cliffhanger sort of. But if that woman came back, does that mean everyone did too? So what will happen now? But what I didn't understand was the basis of punishment. Like why did the baby was punished. And as YAI's character said, he never committed any sin. And if he was telling the truth then why was he punished? And why after 20 years? Why the prophecy thing happened 20 years before and why only for him and not others? Yes, there were so many plot holes. But still, I liked the mini drama. But yes, I'd like the answers to my questions in the next season.

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Eh....

In the beginning I thought it was good, but then after the third episode all the original cast just disappears and its a weird plot hole, it would've been amazing if the first three episodes were stretched longer so it could have more of a plot and make the last three episodes a second season. The entire thing just seemed very empty. I didnt enjoy it during the middle but towards the end it was good to me again. Kim Hyunjoo, Ryu Kyungsoo, Kim Siha and Choi Hyungjoo definitely saved this drama for acting and their characters were the easiest for me to watch. I thought I'd be upset that this was so short (only about 5 hours for all 6 episodes) but I'm happy it isn't longer. The plot twist towards the end just has me confused and nothing will ever come out of it but it felt like the director was too lazy to do anything else. I do like cult type dramas and mystery but save your time and just watch something else.

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what just happened?

I've been watching kdramas for so long...

IDK what to feel about the whole show, I definitely expected too much that when I finished it, it didn't live up to my expectations which made me so disappointed. The whole story was all over the place tbh.

The sudden cut after episode 3, the time jump Idk how I feel abt that but it's not a good feeling. The story is actually really good but how they execute it and put it all together was kind of not it. I've never had so many questions on a show and finished it without even getting a single answer.

The cast was actually really impressive, bcs I've watched these actors and they are really good but there is no character development in this show and I feel like there is really no main character. Overall, I can't say that it is one of the best kdramas this 2021 bcs it's not. But I'm looking forward to season 2 bcs that was IDK what happened, the ending, and everything but I'm still gonna look forward to the next season. Hopefully, it will be so much better!

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Interesting concept. Less interesting plot.

Hellbound is a short Supernatural Horror series that takes a very interesting concept and turns it into a less interesting plot. The premise of this drama is very scary, even if it's not so original. We learn in the very first scene that there are people who have been given a death decree by an ominous being and once that day and time comes they will be sent, very violently, to hell. The idea definitely gave me "The Ring" vibes, but instead of a ghost story, this drama focuses on a cult that emerges from this phenomenon called "The New Truth" led by Jung Jin Soo played by Yoo Ah In. I am a fan of Yoo Ah In and a huge fan of stories about cults, so I expected to really love this drama, but it dragged too much and was too open for interpretation for my taste. Instead of being intrigued, I got bored quickly.

At first, there were too many characters for me to follow and care about. All the performances were good, but I felt like I didn't get a chance to really get to know characters like the detective and his daughter, and the lawyer and her mom, besides their connections to the cases and the cults. I felt like there were a few scenes that were meant to be touching but I didn't know the characters well enough to be truly moved. Chairman Jung was the most interesting character initially but I don't think his character was explored and humanized enough either. As emotional as some of the acting was I never cried once. As the sin and morality of characters were questioned it was never deep enough for me to relate to or empathize with besides it just being a horrible way to die. I also wanted the cult members and their desire to join to be more realistic. This brings me to my least favorite character... the leader of Arrowhead. Those scenes were the most annoying part of this drama. The cheesy neon and random yelling was silly instead of scary, and not funny enough to be considered dark comedy.

Would I watch this again? Probably. I know that's surprising, but I'm sure I missed a lot of details binging this the first time. I find cult stories interesting enough to give this another shot, especially if there is a season 2. The open-ended storytelling makes me curious about how others may interpret what happened. I'm not sure if I would binge-watch it in one day again. The episodes felt too long. And I would definitely be tempted to skip every single arrowhead web show scene.

Overall, Hellbound wasn't bad but didn't live up to my expectations. It felt like a really longwinded prequel and less like a fully finished season. Dystopian K-dramas are obviously in (Thanks to Squid Game), but this one seems more over the top and cartoony than disturbing and realistic. By the end, I had more questions than answers but there weren't enough characters that I cared about to make me care much about the answers anyway. Although the visual effects were "fun" I can see the webtoon maybe being better at telling this story than this drama, possibly filling in some huge character holes left in this drama, although I never read it so maybe not. I do like the moral questions some of the characters faced, those were the most interesting parts of the story to me, but I wish there were fewer scenes with arrowhead and its annoying delinquent vigilante goons. This is another one of those dramas that I probably would have liked better as a much shorter movie. I expect that there will be some pushback from religious folks who don't like the idea of god's wrath being interpreted. I can also see some die-hard Harry Potter fans not being impressed by certain parts of the plot near the end. There's also a lot of violence without consequences, so if you don't like violence this is definitely not the drama for you. I would still say true fans of supernatural horror could lower their expectations and still enjoy a lot of what this drama has to offer. I just wonder what a better screenwriter could have done with this plot (and yes, I really liked Train to Busan, but it wasn't a series). A better writer could have written in some more Yoo Ah In scenes, who I felt was underutilized, and could have made 6 episodes not feel like too many. I also don't usually expect a season 2 but this one feels like it really needs one to feel complete. Until then, at least it can make a great "What the Hell (pun intended) did I watch" topic of conversation.

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