Enter Sandman
I’ve always loved mysteries and detective dramas, especially with a refreshingly unique concept and innovative approach to investigations of cases. Even better if it has elements of friendship and bromance or sismance, while romance is optional because there are already so many romance-fuelled dramas out there and we need more of the other stuff for a change. I’m positively thrilled to attest that this drama has all of the above qualities (minus sismance but plus romance).Psych-Hunter is a supernatural mystery and psychological thriller adapted from the novel Haunted Houses Handbook (凶宅笔记) by Er Shi San (贰十三) which was published in 2013. As I understand from readers of the novel, the adaptation is modified slightly pertaining to the main characters’ backstory and the inclusion of a romance arc, hence the FL is added in the screenplay. It is directed by Li Ze Lu (李泽露), who had directed the similarly-themed Tomb of the Sea (of the Lost Tomb franchise), and his experience in this genre really shines through.
What makes this show truly fascinating is not only the fusion of investigation procedural with traditional Chinese beliefs, mythology and the art of geomancy (Feng Shui), but also the practice of “exploring the psyche” aka Zhuyoushu (where one completely immerses within the psyche of the subject in a subconscious state, as opposed to mind reading). Having this concept set in the Republican period in China is appropriate as this particular era is steeped in moral ambiguity and intense fear of superstitions, folklore and mysticism, all of which enhances the paranormal vibes of the mysteries being investigated.
The drama showcases high production values through outstanding art direction, lavish Republican era settings and beautiful costumes – in particular the smart police uniforms, extravagant evening gowns and the bespoke 3-piece suits - along with generally fantastic cinematography and steady camerawork during action scenes. The framing of the intriguing abstract setting of the psyche world is visually stunning, and the steampunk outfit worn by the 2 leads during the hypnosis sequences is a nice touch.
The story centres on the friendship between the 3 leads and their investigations in Changshanzhou. Jiang Shou is adept at exploring the human psyche. Qin Yi Heng is the scion of the prominent Qin family and a skilled medical doctor. Yuan Mu Qing is a (self proclaimed) policewoman and daughter of the local warlord. The overarching plot is about Jiang Shuo’s unexplained memory loss, the disappearance of family, friends and others linked to the main villain known as Liu Zhi aka Six Fingers. In connection with the main mystery, our band of protagonists encounter no less than 15 mysterious cases in their pursuit of the villain, namely:
1.Feng Shui murders
2.The abduction
3.The horologist
4.The bizarre black cat
5.Mu Qing’s past
6.Game of death
7.Jiang Shuo’s psyche
8.The playboy
9.Movie studio murders
10. The mysterious village
11. Dead spirits’ post office
12. The riddle of the cheongsam
13. The haunted mansion
14. The tattoo conspiracy
15. The Rubik’s cube
Each case is infused with elements of horror, some more so than others, which puts a bit of scare in viewers. The story starts off briskly then settles at a steady pace, before reaching a frantic and thrilling climax. There are certain unexplained plot holes and loose threads that are left hanging along the way, but we still get the answers to the major question marks by the end. Somewhere past the halfway mark around episodes 22 to 27, the romance gets in the way somewhat unnecessarily with draggy fillers and certain characters - Jiang Shuo and Yuan Mu Qing being the chief culprits – momentarily losing their composure (and common sense). Fortunately, by episode 28, normal service resumes and the 3 friends re-focus on solving mysteries. The haunted mansion, the tattoo conspiracy and finally the Rubik’s cube mystery which brings closure to the overarching plot, are the most convoluted and action packed among all the cases and require much thinking to unravel the puzzle. The big reveal takes place right in the penultimate episode where at long last we learn the truth of who Liu Zhi really is. NOT TOTALLY UNEXPECTED YET SHOCKINGLY UNEXPECTED AT THE SAME TIME. Absolutely and utterly FREAKING MINDBLOWING. I will stop right here and not spoil it.
The main cast generally performed well, in particular Liu Dong Qin’s understated and naturally portrayed Qin Yi Heng. The actor subtly invokes the right dose of intelligence, stoicism, and vulnerability that elevated the portrayal of this very well written character to greater heights. The nuanced micro-expressions and overall exemplary acting really sets Liu Dong Qin apart from the rest of the cast and points to an extremely talented actor indeed. I’m tempted to follow his portfolio of work after this, notably his main role in Medical Examiner Dr Qin 2, and other future projects.
Hou Ming Hao is a popular actor who’s well known for many major roles, including the iconic character of Wu Xie in The Lost Tomb 2 so he is no stranger to this genre. His acting here is on point and fits well the role of Jiang Shuo – lively, witty, street-smart with a hint of mischief in his eyes, plus he cross-dresses very nicely indeed. Perhaps the only issue I have is the lack of consistency with the way the character is written, which is attributed primarily to the romance element written in involving him and Yuan Mu Qing. He somehow loses his edge and suffers from serious lapses of judgment for about 6 to 7 episodes. For the most part, including the amusing bromance between him and Qin Yi Heng, I’ve enjoyed Jiang Shou’s scenes which provides much entertainment value to the show.
Yuan Mu Qing is played by Zhu Xu Dan (Bambi), whom I last saw in Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Sabre (incidentally, the final episode here reminded me of her transformation in HSADSS). She’s an experienced actress who has been cast in a long list of dramas and I thought she did okay here as part of the investigative trio and is convincing as the pampered daughter of a warlord. However, her character suffers from the same inconsistent writing at various points in the show. At times she can be lethal with her martial arts, strong and smart, as befits a policewoman (even an auxiliary one) only to turn into a damsel in distress, and her extreme neediness to cling onto Jiang Shou did grate on the nerves a little. I’m generally indifferent to the romance arc, as long as it doesn’t disrupt the storytelling but unfortunately it did for a few episodes. Mercifully, her character grows out of it towards the end.
The OST features 4 tracks, including the energetic intro rock piece Hunter Heart, and the subdued and emotional Let Her Go as the closing theme, which is very beautifully sung. Track listing as follows:
1. Shin - Hunter Heart
2. Sean He, King - Let Her Go
3. Meng Zi Kun - Game of Happiness and Sadness
4. King - Empty Fortress
On the whole, Psych-Hunter is one of the better produced and extremely entertaining detective investigation dramas of the year that successfully integrates supernatural themes, traditional Chinese beliefs and cleverly conceived mysteries into a smartly condensed package, along with poignant moments of pure bromance. I have thoroughly enjoyed myself and now that we have come to the end, I will truly miss this show. I’m not sure if there will be a season 2 but if not, hopefully another similar one comes along in the not too distant future.
Was this review helpful to you?
This had no business being this long.
Taking into consideration the unexpected, but extremely anticlimactic ending that made me regret ever starting this show, I’d say this should have never had more than 20 episodes.Sometimes I’m fine with just the journey being the trip of a lifetime while watching dramas, even if the destination turns out to be a dumpster. Sadly, at some point the cases started to be boring. Visually speaking - beautiful. The innovative (yet extremely ridiculous) concept of psych gave the writer and director a free from jail pass to show the most wacky set designs and over the top representations of reality. But the plot itself? Ain’t special.
They set up this mysterious mastermind behind all the deaths in the city, told me he has some elaborate plan, and when we finally find out who he is and why he did what he did… I truly never saw a dumber plan ever. It made no sense. Did he want to fail? I just don’t understand why a good 80% of the plot happened - it was completely useless.
On the topic of useless - female lead. Why did she exist, except from getting in danger so Jiang Shuo can worry a little bit. The plot would not change even a little bit without her. And it’s not like she was awful - quite fun, loveable, energetic, enthusiastic. Does not change the fact she was there just for the sake of the romance, that was not needed anyway. What made me even more angry? She was shown to have some mad fighting scenes that she stopped using after a few episodes and literally any random person could overpower her.
The actual main duo Jiang Shuo and Qin Yi Heng were fun to watch, though I feel like most of the on screen chemistry happened on Liu Dong Qin's side. One could easily fool me, it's a censored romance type of a deal.
As I already said, visually speaking the show was amazing. I took almost 500 screen shots, I think that says it all. Especially liked a few horror elements in the earlier episodes. If only they improved the wire work and green screen - these, as basically a standard in Chinese dramas, were laughable.
The performances were solid. I don’t think any of the characters had enough depth for the actors to struggle with the delivery. Nothing seemed off.
Overall, I just get angry when I think about the ending. It hits too many things I dislike. Sadly, if one does not like this type of ending, it makes the whole drama seem pointless. that’s me - I feel like 90% of things that happened were pointless.
Was this review helpful to you?
Insanely good
I personally love this series a lot. Maybe my opinion is a bit biased because I am a fan of Neo Hou, but it's not just the acting. The writers did an insane job at the plot (seriously what did they smoke), and I am obsessed with the aesthetic of the world it's set in.The dynamic between the three leads makes a good comic relief among all the confusing mystery. It's not a show you can just casually watch as background noise or something.
I understand that it may not be for everyone, but I do really recommend it if you need something good to be invested in.
Was this review helpful to you?
Amazing and most unexpected plot
when i first started the show I didn't really had any expectations but I gotta tell you it is an amazing drama !! i absolutely loved the the friendship between Jiang Shuo and Qin Yi Heng and plot was totally unexpected..there were times when it felt that the story was going a bit off due to the romance between jiang shou and miss yuan and after a bit it was right back on track.. it is s worth watching drama for those who love mystery and for those who are looking for something new!!
11
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Awesome plot even if there is too much romance for me
So, I make my account now (I planed to do it later cuz I was lazy) cuz I really wanted to say what I thought of this amazing story. (And I guess that I will do the same with the others dramas that I fell in love with ahah).By the way, I'm not english but I really try to make no mistakes, or at least to stay comprehensible (I hope).
Also, I tried to make the less spoilers that I could cuz I really don't want to spoil anything. But don't read the review if you don't know what relationship have the main leads between them, I guess it's the only thing I really spoil here.
I was waiting for the last episode to be aired to watch it in one go. At first, I really wanted to watch every seconds... But the main girl... She wasted the plot for many episodes... I mean, she was "okay" as a character but because of the story going between her and Jiang Shuo, the "bromance" (like friendship here) was wasted. Like, we really see intense moments in the last episode only. And the end was really good tho cuz it means there is a possibility for season 2, even if it will not be in the "same atmosphere" (you know what I mean if you saw the last episode... I don't want to spoil this part cuz it really is the main thing ahah) tho. But I also like it if it ends like that cuz if they do a second season and they make romance plot like in this season, it will be a waste...
Cuz, every character is really good, I really don't say the opposite. I'm just saying that in like 15 episodes (at least), the plot was concentrated in the Mu Qing and Jiang Shuo relationship and it was really boring cuz it was like cuting a good story just to put romance in it... Also, a thing I hated : the girl first liked Qin Yi Heng cuz she thought he saved her but when Jiang Shuo saves her, she begins to like him... I really didn't like that, to be honest.
But hey, if you erase the romance plot, the story is AMAZING. One of the best thing I ever watched. I'm trying to find the novel, but can't find it... So saaaaad...
And the chemistry between the two main leads was really good. And when you know everything that is behind this, you're like "they are destined to be bestfriends forever, even brothers, sworn brothers, whatever you want if they are in the best terms" cuz you can see all the devotion they have for each other. And that's also why I think the romance parts wastes the story : when you learn why Jiang Shuo was doing what he was doing, you're like "SO YOU WASTED YOUR TIME WITH MU QING but your true goal was saving Qin Yi Heng", so it's frustrating as hell.
By the way, the music... OST are AWESOME, AMAZING, whatever you want that can say that they were really good as hell. I want to listen to them forever huhu
And, like I said before, the acting was really great, freaking awesome ; even if sometimes I was like "Huh, you can't run like that man, what are you doing with your arms ?" x'D But it was really nothing, so it's not a problem.
I put 10 on rewatch value even if I will always skip the romance parts. I'm okay with a few of them since they help the story being developped but most of them are useless and they only "waste" the story that we wanted to have between the two male lead (platonic relationship huh, not saying that they have to kiss or anything but just I really wanted to see their friendship being more and more developped than it is in the actual episodes, cuz, like I said before, when you reach the last episode, you know that the story between the two of them really deserves to be more exploited... I mean, their relation is even what makes everything start so...
And please, all the thing with chinese beliefs and feng shui and so on... Really interresing even if you are not into these things. It's really captivating ! I really loved that. To be honest, I'm really fond of mysteries, crimes plots and so on, so this story is freaking amazing for me in these points. Tooooooooo goooooooood that I really wanted moooooooooore (but less romance parts huhu) !
What's more... I just want to say again thay I really enjoyed this drama - even if it was not every minutes like I thought I will ; but huh, everyone wants romance now so they make screenwriter to put too much romance in their show... I mean, everyone likes whatever they want, but I stay with my point that the romance between Jiang Shuo and Mu Qing should stay a back-side story and that the friendship with Dr. Qin should be the main relationship that have to be developped.
I really wonder how it is going in the novel to be honest. Did the author make the friendship the main relationship or it's the same as the drama and the romance is a big (too big) part of the story ?
Sooooooo, I will never end this review if I continue to monologue with myself. So, just to put an end to my words : don't ever hesitate to watch Psych-Hunter (if you're like me and that you're sick of too much romance, just skip the parts with it, it will not make the story hard to understand !).
And I hope that if there will be a second season, the friendship between our two male leads will be the main relationship. Cuz please, that's note because the assistant of Dr. Qin looks like Mu Qing that they will fall for each other ? Please, I really hope that it will not be like that it there is a second season !
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
OMG, Psych-Hunter destroyed me in several ways.
I am a fan of the Chinese republican era so I found this BEAUTIFUL drama because I wanted to see something like "Detective L". If you like dramas with mystery, fantasy, Chinese republican era, comedy and an AMAZING BROMANCE, you cannot skip this one.I cannot lie, maybe in the first episodes I was really confused about what was going on, the topic of people using hypnosis to get into the brain was, in fact, weird. However, a weird topic can lead us to some good new stories, and Psych-Hunter is one of them. As I said, the first 3 episodes were confusing, but when you realize what is going on you are extremely curious about how are they going to solve this puzzle.
One of the best things about this drama is that all the cases are related to one big case that involved our dear ML, Jiang Shuo. So, everything is about him, He has the key that can solve every single case that are happening in the city, but he has amnesia, so we have to collect each of the pieces to get the final answer, but let me tell ypu, ypu have to be prepared, because when the tell us the truth about what happened it will blown you mind.
Okay, another "well done" in this drama are the perfect Male leads. God, Jiang Shuo, who is played by Neo Hou, and Qin Yi Heng, played by Liu Dong Qin, are the real jewel of Psych-hunter. The bromance between these two is amazing. I fell in love with their friendship and I think that is the principal point of the drama. You have to fall in love with these two in order to feel genuinely the final episodes.
Nevertheless, no drama can be perfect, and sadly Psych-hunter have a ENORMOUS PROBLEM. They tried to include a "strong female lead". Omg, the most annoying character, the most usless "detective". I mean, she was only the daughter of the General and that was the only reason why she can be with the police, but she is SO USLESS. Mu Qing is the typical Female lead that thinkS that she is smart but always gets into problems and have to be rescued by the male lead. THAT WAS SO ANNOYING.
To finish, I have to say that Psych-Hunter have done something right were the scenarios. OMG, there were fantastic, when they get us into the brain of the victims or the bad guys everything was sureal and was related to the case they were solving. Maybe some of them seemed weird, but they were really few.
I really recommend Psych-hunter, it is worth watching and the combination of mystery, historical, horror and Bromance was spectacular. If you want to watch something interesting, funny but with some pinches of tension and horror, you have to watch this drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Interesting, Convoluted, Incomplete
The feeling I get after watching the whole series is the feeling of waking up suddenly in the middle of the dream. I may well wish to continue with the dream but can't. This is another series that is tough to review. There is plenty I like about it, but it's too obviously incomplete to unreservedly give it a good rating.This series reminds me of Dream Detective, a series with an uncannily similar premise about entering people's subconscious, which isn't as interesting to me overall but has a much more nicely done ambiguous ending.
The revelations in the last episode complicate things a little, so I will just review Episodes 1-35 first.
Set in the Chinese Repulican era, the story starts with Jiang Shuo being found in a ditch. He has lost his memory but hasn't forgotten his special skill of entering people's subconscious. Some incidents result in his forging a friendship with a psychiatrist, Qin Yi Heng, and a romantic relationship with a warlord's daughter, Yuan Mu Qing.
Like a detective series, this series can be divided into a series of cases (which are ultimately tied to a mysterious masked person, Liu Zhi (meaning Six Fingers). The story occupies an interesting position between a conventional detective series and a series about supernatural occurrences: it is actually neither but has elements of both.
Some events in the stories are a tad too illogical. For example, one of Mu Qing's schoolmates is supposed to have lost her mind after a traumatic incident, but she still turns up in school properly uniformed and no one really seems bothered though everyone knows she has kind of gone nuts. There are also occasions when Jiang Shuo could look exactly like another person by simply wearing a mask of the person's face over his head (and the masks get made in an instant, it seems). This is the stuff of some wuxia dramas that are meant to be far-fetched anyway, but isn't what you would expect in a series like this one. Still, if we are not too exacting, the cases can be fairly nice. One involving a trip to an isolated island goes a little too far with its extended dream sequences with layer upon layer of dreams, but still, the story remains quite fascinating.
The main characters help in making the series more watchable. Mu Qing likes Yi Heng at first but shifts her affections towards Jiang Shuo. The romance part isn't excessive in my opinion, but shows the increasing attachment between the characters.
The bromance between Qin Yi Heng and Jiang Shuo is also nicely done, though I suspect it is more like one-sided and repressed romantic affection on Yi Heng's part--it can't be shown anyway, thanks to China's censorship rules. From Yi Heng's expressions as he observes JS while tailing him (to investigate an early case) to how he stops wearing glasses after Jiang Shuo comments that he looks better without glasses, his affection for Jiang Shuo seems to go beyond bromance. There are many more examples though I would urge you to skip the next paragraph if this isn't your cup of tea:
When Jiang Shuo almost drowns trying to save Mu Qing, Yi Heng frantically calls out Jiang Shuo's name though Mu Qing is also his friend. After near-drowning incident, Jiang Shuo is hospitalised and the only person next to him after he wakes up is Yi Heng and not Mu Qing who is starting to fall in love with Jiang Shuo. After Yi Heng is sacked from the hospital (affiliated to his family), he wants to rent a place where Jiang Shuo stays. Jiang Shuo asks him what he's doing there, and Yi Heng just says emotionlessly that it's because he misses Jiang Shuo. (This later leads to some joke about Jiang Shuo being Yi Heng's sugar daddy.) Sometimes Yi Heng is shown brooding in a corner when Jiang Shuo and Mu Qing are being loving, though he could simply be thinking about the mysteries (yeah, right). Yi Heng is always protective of Jiang Shuo: in one scene, he assures Jiang Shup that he doesn't have to fear because he (Yi Heng) is around. Though Jiang Shuo is clearly in love with Mu Qing, the way addresses Yi Heng is also suggestive; he insists on calling him Qin Er4 (short for the second son of the Qin family), but it sounds suspiciously similar to Qin Er0 (which would actually be affectionate). The good thing is the series doesn't bait BL fans in an irritating way; it just doesn't say exactly how Yi Heng feels towards Jiang Shuo.
The revelations in the last episode, however, complicate things too much and the series doesn't end properly as a result. Spoilers are inevitable here:
In Episode 36, it is revealed that everything that happens in the story (so far set in the Chinese Republican era, remember?) is merely occurring in Jiang Shuo's subconscious as he is seeking treatment from a psychiatrist (Dr. Qin, whose alter-ego is Yi Heng). Jiang Shuo is actually someone existing hundreds of years after the Chinese Republican era. Liu Zhi is his evil split personality trying to take over the body fully. To take over the body completely, Liu Zhi has to lock the good Jiang Shuo in the subconscious (as deeply in it as possible) and make him accept being locked. So, because of Jiang's attachment to all this people like Mu Qing in his imagination (these people are very real to him even though he now knows that they are imagined), he will have to destroy the anchor that allows him to get back to the real world. In other words, he has to save these imagined people he loves (hmm...). Well, he also wants to save Dr. Qin. So Jiang Shuo destroys the anchor and lets himself be locked in his subconscious in exchange for the safety of both the imagined people and Dr. Qin, which allows Liu Zhi to take over the body entirely.
But wait a minute. As if the above isn't complicated and convoluted enough, it is very possible that this thing about Jiang Shuo being Dr Qin's patient in the real world could simply be yet another illusion created by Liu Zhi. Perhaps the dilemma between saving Dr. Qin of the real world and saving the imagined people who feel entirely real to Jiang Shuo is itself an illusion. In Episode 35, the environment of the ship the characters are on suddenly takes on a reddish hue. There is some attention-grabbing visual effect in case you don't notice the sudden change in the environment, which makes it seem as though the ship has entered a different realm. So everything that happens after this point, including the "revelations" in Episode 36 could be illusions created by Liu Zhi in Jiang Shuo's subconscious. The purpose could be similar: to trap Jiang Shuo in the world of the subconscious. The ultimate reason for doing so could be different. (After all, the real world hundreds of years later doesn't make much sense. Jiang Shuo tells Dr. Qin that someone called Liu Zhi has been harassing him, and he shows Dr. Qin the mobile phone texts sent by Liu Zhi. All Dr. Qin sees is a blank screen. If Liu Zhi is another personality in the same body, he could well send actual messages using another phone. How does he make Jiang Shuo see something non-existent?)
Nevertheless, if the "real" world of centuries after the Republican era isn't truly the real world, why would Liu Zhi be able to create an illusion of a future in which the Republican era is over and which has things like computers? What sort of power would he need to have to predict things like computers and mobile phones? On the other hand, if everything in the Republican era is is not real but meant to fool Jiang Shuo, why would the stories involve the other characters' personal affairs and interior worlds that Jiang Shuo does not have access to? We end up with a situation where there are many possibilities but none really makes complete sense. Even if there is a sequel, we would likely have to settle for story with significant plot holes. It would actually be less problematic if the writers had not opted for such an unnecessarily far-fetched twist in the last episode.
At its worst, the series is like a bad story that ends with "I woke up and it's all a dream." However, there are also interesting things before the equivalent of the "I woke up" bit that are the story's redeeming qualities.
Was this review helpful to you?
Detective drama in dreamland
I had high expectations for this one because when it was on air all the reviews were really good about it and I was interested to watch it when I have the right timeUnfortunately I was underwhelmed ,,, The story or the concept is from the American movie inception nothing original about it
It was mostly criminal cases and the leads try to solve it using dreams of the criminals
the fantasy about it is new but not that interesting because they didn't use actual Psychological merits to it
it seemed not based on psychiatry data but just the imagination of average writer
Also the main reason I wanted to watch it was the friendship aspect and that was really weak not that strong
they were more like partners at work not actual friends
zero Bromance
the female lead wasn't annoying but she was useless , nosy , forced romantic partner nothing more
the final episode was the best episode because it tricked us all but also it was well written and well acted
The actors did good but the male lead sometimes over acted also the female lead she was so immature sometimes
overall this drama disappointed me a lot and I know that my review is different from the majority here
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Somehow unique
ProsThe plot story is unique, but can be confusing sometimes. From the story, acting, music, etc, this drama is pretty good at the beginning, but can be boring in the middle especially if there are nothing that could grab your attention. For me, I keep watching it because I like bromance and this show have a pretty good bromance.
Cons
The only downside for me is the ending. If you don't like cliffhanger ending, then get ready for it. I'm hoping they have plan for season 2 because the ending is too vague.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
So underrated
What a ride! This drama was so good! I felt I was chasing this mastermind along with the leads! Both ml were so good with their role and the bromance was perfect! They really know how to work together!I’m not too fond of the fl, it took a while for her to settle for me, but she wasn’t too annoying. I’m just not a big fan of her.
This drama can get pretty suspenseful, it also scared me with some jump scare. There are lots of disturbing scenes, if you’re not into murders and child abuse, this might not be for you.
Ml cracked me up plenty of time! I love his playful mischievous role!
Hi highly recommend this drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
Good show occasionally ruined by silly romance
I'm all for romance but this is just annoying, mainly because Idk what to make of the two leads. Jiang Shuo is supposed to be smart and talented but he always ask "What are supposed to do?". Yuan Mu Qing is sometimes awesome badass sometimes she can't move her finger to save herself, with a mood swing and random tanthrum. The bromance was much more enjoyable. I can see the show quality declined toward the last couple episodes, then at the end, it seems like the writer didn't know how to end this show so the last episode is very out of place.Was this review helpful to you?
