Zombie Detective (2020)

Surprisingly Wholesome

This is the first review I've done, but I felt compelled because of how much I loved and adored this show.

First off, this show is equally a comedy and a drama. There are puns, script-sequences (and dreams), and slapstick humor. But there's also murders, mysteries, and emotional angst. Additionally, there are hints at romance and feelings of that nature between the two leads, whose developing bond/trust carries the show in the latter half, but it is not acknowledged between the two or explored. And understandably so. I mean, he is a zombie. However, it does result in an open ending that's actually nice and hopeful. So if you're looking for romance, you may be satisfied enough; if you're not, there's nothing explicit to repel you.

On to the details. I went into this drama with low and uncertain expectations, and from episode 3 (3/12, or 5&6/24) onward it consistently surprised me. For the most part, the plot was unpredictable. If you watch a lot of shows in general then you can guess the parameters of what will or won't happen, but the situations the characters got in, the cases pursued, and the plot twists - especially those of the Santa Killer and the main zombie origins storylines - were well-paced and subtly foreshadowed. Few things happened completely out of the blue but few things were ridiculously obvious either. The limit of 12 hours for run-time helped keep the story concise and humming along.

The only times it dragged were episodes 1-2 and later 9-10. 1-2 were slow because they were used for set-up. However, the time spent establishing the many characters and more importantly how the zombie science/logic works built the foundation for the rest of the show. The audience isn't dropped in as much as some other shows and I actually appreciated that. I also can't recall any plots, arcs, or character quirks that suddenly disappeared by the finale or were left hanging unaddressed. There was even a call-back to Seon Ji's former PD in episode 11, which was nice. For episodes 9-10, which were heavier on the gimmicks than any of the others, the divergence to the brother-in-law's scripts was used as a comedy reprieve. I usually hate comedy in this slapstick style but I actually enjoyed these scenes! I don't know, they just worked! The show made fun of itself in these moments and you can tell the cast had a lot of fun on set.

All the characters had their own charm, too. There were the bumbling neighboring detectives that like someone said look like they've come out of the '80s, the female lead's quirky family, the small-town style and good-natured police station, and the leads themselves. The male lead starts out as a shell of a person motivated to return to being human, find himself, and fill in his memories. The answers he finds genuinely made me cry. But it's the journey with Seon Ji at his side and everyone else comprising this found-family trope that really helps him find peace with himself, zombie and/or human. Also, some comments disparaged the female lead for her reckless behavior. This proved to be very much part of her character arc and the actress did a great job with that, I think. Seon Ji could actually be quite clever. She was just most motivated by her passion for justice, and that's not bad, because she did get better at pausing to think and she did learn how to channel it better by the end.

In the finale, the male lead thinks about the humans and zombies he's seen and uses the word 'humane', and I think that's what the heart of this story came down to. The question posed from the very beginning was: what's the difference between a zombie and a human? A question with an obvious answer, right? But the male lead hates himself and is constantly fighting to repress his hunger for humans. His hesitancy to kill, even for the safety of others, is actually a detriment several times. He starts off actually scared of humans, then learns it's more nuanced than that. There's many good - and many evil. It's all about how humane a person is - who a person is, not what - that matters. Maybe I'm thinking too deeply about this silly show, but it's because of this and the consistent use of the found-family trope that I called this show surprisingly wholesome. It's a zombie show, but it's not just a zombie show.

As said, the ending offers hope and wraps up almost all the threads nicely. Some are left open intentionally I think for a second season, judging by the post-credits scene, while others were left open only because they weren't explicitly spelled out, though the future for the characters was obvious. I usually have a complaint here or there by the end but honestly I can't think of anything. I enjoyed the whole ride.

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Pure, Crazy Fun

Despite how some of the stills look, this is 100% a comedy from start to end & it’s a good one! I had no idea what to expect going in - all I knew was that the premise was beyond dumb and I had a sudden need to watch something crazy.

Well this show is dumb! And it’s definitely crazy! But in the best way!

Knowing how bizarre the premise of a self-aware handsome zombie is, the drama doesn’t once take itself seriously and delivers comedy gold from the ridiculous situations the leads find themselves in: including the slapstick, the little skits they have and the wacky side characters.

Most important, like any good comedy it has heart. You’ll find yourself caring a lot about these characters, our zombie main lead and his tenacious & clever partner especially (hello awesome female character!) and when the time comes for serious moments, the drama delivers - best of all it doesn’t stay serious for too long & quickly returns to being lighthearted which is why I’m here!

The second main villain of the show is literally the worst actor I have ever had the misfortune to witness - how did this man get a role it’s not like he has an idol career to boost him - but aside from that (and plot threads which I wish were better tightened up or character beats more developed) this is basically a fun time to be had. Genuine laugh out loud moments scattered throughout. What more could you ask from a comedy!

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Family Fun

I really wanted to like this and decided that this was going to be my festive October near Halloween drama. Instead. It took me two weeks to get through the twelve episodes because, honestly, they were a bit hard for me to get through. Which makes me a little uneasy writing this review as the six previous reviews before this one spoke very highly of the drama. This drama was 100% silly "family fun" which isn't my cup of tea.

I loved how this drama was a unique perspective of a zombie wanting to become a human again and basically trying to blend in, not wanting to be caught. He also harbors a small hatred for humans as all movies and dramas that come out, portray zombies as these creatures from hell that need to be brutally murdered, but he soon starts developing a bond with Sunji and her family. I also loved all the random cameos - all the members of A.C.E., one of my favorite kpop groups (Jun & Chan getting the lines in multiple eps), Sam Hammington (who I know and love from Return of Superman), and last, even though she wasn't a cameo, but I love her anyway, Hwang Bo Ra, who plays Sunji's cooky sister. I also LOVED all the music they picked - either the random references to Hollywood movies or when DPR Live's Martini Blue randomly started playing on Sunji's headphones.

The last thing I loved about this drama was the bits and pieces of darkness with all the crimes (a total of 3 main ones). But this also goes hand in hand with why I didn't like it as well. I feel like this drama didn't really know what it wanted to be or the vibe it was going for - one moment President Le is fighting a bad guy off, but literally getting bashed in the head with a trophy over and over again (in any normal drama, he would be unconscious or dead) but a moment later Wang Wey slams into the glass door trying to escape, much as in a scene from a Saturday morning cartoon with sound effects and all. Cut to the next scene, Prez Le is totally fine and minor blood. It was almost like the show was maybe going for a PG Saturday morning cartoon feel and was over the top too cheesy and dramatic for my taste, personally. Some jokes hit, most didn't. Which is fine and cool, maybe this drama was written for a younger audience, but then you have DARK scenes and situations, that are 100%, not PG, but all of them were my favorites.

I also had a hard time because I wasn't a huge fan of most of the characters. This drama was 100% silly "family fun" which isn't my cup of tea especially when the characters don't sit well. They all had so much potential, such as the main characters, and could have been amazing detectives from the very beginning, but decided they wanted to be clumsy in the beginning so they could come through in ep 12 and complete a very simple operation and pat themselves on the back. And this is all my personal opinion. I thought that catching the Christmas/Santa Clause Killer was a harder task than the one in ep 12. I also wasn't a fan of President Le and his agency, but they did embody what this drama symbolized and they also followed the formula of having potential, but only coming through at the end. I think the only characters that I somewhat enjoyed were Sun Young (she is very consistent in embodying one character in all her dramas), her son (he was so cute and randomly always in the right place at the right time), and Sunji's best friend who owned the tripe shop (who always came through with her contacts at the hospital). The two mains were alright - I loved Moo Young's determination to solving cases and finding answers, but it would get discouraged very easily and then want to give up, and I loved how supportive Sunji was with her friends and family and wanted to do the right thing, but she was very clumsy and impulsive and it was very annoying. She was very good at her job and had the potential and the heart to be a detective, but she lacked a bit of common sense. Both characters got better towards the end, but it made it hard for me to personally watch while waiting.

Overall, if you want to watch a PG drama with some dark themes, but covered up with Saturday morning cartoons jokes, and scenes, this would be a good drama. I personally thought that there was a lot of fluff even though this was already super short. I will not watch this drama again, but I am happy that I did watch this. I wish I could give it a better score because of the music and the cameos and all the good promoting, but this was a miss for me.

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Stupid AF

This is a show that relies only on stupidity to make you laugh, which is a hit or a miss for this kind of shows. It was a huge miss for me, the stupidity level of the show was too much for me to handle.

So we have a detective title with zombie protagonist, which doesn't do actual detective work and his only power of "smell" in most cases is not used... so he is pretty much a worthless character that has no purpose in the show other than the fact that he is a zombie.

The plot of the show... you guess it... it's really stupid as well. We have two plots where the first was barrable but the second one was on a stupidity level on it's own.

The main purpose of the show is to make stupid plots and unrelated stories from stupid to more stupid to make you laugh. So to be more precise it relies on "dumb humor" to make you laugh.

The most annoying part was the two unrelated stories that they put, which whole purpose was to be stupid AF to make a few cheap laughs from the viewer... but they were painfully stupid to even make you laugh... they were just annoying to watch through.

So the whole premise of the show is to be as stupid as possible in order to make you laugh... so I find this to be mostly teen oriented, since I don't see how can this be funny for anyone else.

This show is not for you if you are looking for:
* detective drama
* romance
* proper story
* epic zombie fights

So if you are looking for something stupid to make you laugh (instead of watching memes) then you can try this one... but I think that the meme section in 9gag has a better chance to make you laugh than this abomination of a show.

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Always remember: comedy before story

When dipping your toes into the experience that is Zombie Detective, it's important to note that this is, more than anything else, a comedy. It's got plot holes. It's got bad twists. And I loved every minute of it.

Our zombie wakes up with no memories, very dead, and very slow. He's your stereotypical living dead - unable to speak, awkward and clunky, and peckish for a little bite of human flesh. But our protagonist isn't so keen to keep 'living' that way. He trains up his body and voice to return to some sense of normalcy, and when he's passable as a human, he returns to society to find his family and the truth about his death.

This drama has a large cast of colourful characters that are an absolute delight to watch interact. Some of them are a little one-dimensional, but it plays into the comedy of the show. And that's what's so great about it - the experience. Watching it is fun, and I can't say there was a single moment that I felt bored or antsy. This isn't really the type of drama that you look too heavily into the details of. It still has those moments where things feel serious and impactful, and you empathize with our protagonist, but most of the drama is just fun. It pokes fun of itself multiple times, it knows what it is and it doesn't try to be anything else. In most dramas, the flaws in the story or in logic would have me giving it a lower rating. They don't here because that's not what this drama is trying to do.

So go on, give this crazy stupid drama a shot. If you like comedy, even more so. After a long day at work, it might be just what you need to unwind.

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Amazing

Omg 10+10+10+ can't say enough this was amazing. The writers, makeup artist, directors, producers and Cast. The story of a man being killed and accidentally becomes a zombie. It's about his survival and the people he meets. Seon ji is an ex newspaper journalist who's always getting into trouble and being sued. That's how she meets our zombie aka Kim moo young as she assaults him in error taking him as a pervert as tries not to get sued and offers to work it off and as the work an solve a case she finds out he is a zombie and helps him find his identity and how he died. This is thetr adventure

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Just wow

Ha ha we have 2 zombie detectives now ?? itz really interesting for me. Yes there r no romance but everything is perfectly write... I could not stop watch it after i started becoz it has that much intresting story line. And commedy parts r really funny not like some dramas this one really make me laught loudly.. actually this one have really confusing,intresting and well written plot tht is the reson this drama is become better.. it have good start and writer gives answer to all our questions. And ending also good..there r lot of best dramas that hve rush endings and i really hate that but this drama is not like that, not slow or rush that is one of main thing i love.. when i see pet clinic owner i suddenly remembered 'lets fight with ghost' becoz in tht drma villan too vet no ? and of coz i rememberd one more movie tht is 'Alive' in tht movie also hve one man who fed humans to his zombi wife ?

As for acting all characters did their best & all of them did justice for writers characters..

Overall really cool drama and i highly recommended..

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You’re the Zombie.

Underrated, extra, hilarious, suspenseful. Zombie Detective is a show that I stumbled upon and I’m so glad that I did. One would assume it to be a serious drama considering it’s written with a Zombie lead, but let me tell you something, it’s anything but that. There are probably many zombie dramas out there, but this is by far the most unique. Mostly because how relatable the Zombie turns out to be. He’s basically us. Has hilarious thoughts which we probably wonder while watching it too. The supporting cast is great as well. The backstory is engaging and keeps you hooked. You might feel a little annoying with the female lead because of how nosy her character is written out to be, but she begins to grow on you as you proceed further. I wish there were more than 12 episodes of this hilarious adventure.

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I started watching without knowing anything but the title and the picture that goes with it-- and I dd not regret a single minute!

What I liked best:

* The initial premise is different and interesting, the story arcs well paced and in the end, all story threads are neatly tied up. Even if they ended the series with a glimpse of a new plot, it felt more like a "this is not the end" than a cliffhanger.
* The main character was extremely well acted, I loved the facial expressions (or, sometimes, the lack of them) and how the actor moved his body, we never forget that this is actually a dead body, not a living being.
* The comedy was there duiring all the episodes, and varied between spoofing Zombie movies and the detective genre, slapstick-y routines and just plain hilarious situations.
* The mysteries were not too simple, but simple enough for a comedy.
* Some K-Dramas I've watched have a weird slump in pacing or story in the 9th to 11th episdes. This one doesn't, every episode was interesting or funny enough to keep me watching.
* There was no romance between the two main characters, only a hint of interest on the woman's side, which is not even recognized by the zombie detective.

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Comedy in its purest form, since a good 80% of the whole show were comedy bits and funny scenes, at times adding exactly nothing to the overall plot.

And with that, I would definitely recommend it to people who love shows and movies with comedy as their leading genre - it was funny even for someone like me, who is not exactly a comedy fan. The jokes were rather silly, and did not need much brain power to understand, but that’s exactly what we sometimes need.

Plot wise, I was slightly disappointed about the sandwich structure. The show opens with one plot, then the majority of the episodes focus on the crime mystery, to get back to the beginning plotline at the end. I would appreciate a bit more continuity - if they let Moo Young and Sun Ji investigate Moo Young's past more, as they try to solve other cases. Showing me a board with missing posters is not exactly enough. When I finally got the answers about Moo Young's story, it just did not feel connected to the previous episodes.

Big props to Choi Jin Hyuk for taking a risk and picking Zombie Detective as his project. Overexaggerated and slapstick comedy were not exactly themes anyone would associate with him, and it was hard to imagine him portraying a character like Moo Young. And yet, he truly did this role justice.

Sadly, while the acting was on point from the whole cast, some characters just felt redundant - the whole Sun Ji’s family could not exist and it would not change the plot much. Sung Rok and Wang Wey had any significance to the story only in the last act. Most of the characters outside of the mains and police were there just for the “empty” comedy bits.

Overall, I still had quite a good time, laughed a lot and do not regret watching it. The ending might have been a bit anticlimactic, but the journey made up for it.

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