Warning: spoilers ahead for both movie and drama

This drama is based on the kmovie Spellbound, now being shown on Tubi.

First, the screenwriters of the drama do a superb job of capturing the spirit and essence of the movie.

Second, I get very confused when it comes to the spelling of Korean names as between MDL and subtitles they are always spelled differently. For the sake of clarification, Yu Ri will be for the movie and Yeo Ri for the drama.

Movie synopsis: Part-timer Yu Ri is a depressed, isolated, and literally a haunted girl. To take her mind of her troubles, she watches the performance of a street magician. Her appearance and reaction (or lack there of) to his show, captures his attention. After his show, he decides to talk with her. From this talk, magician Ma revamps his magic show into a successful horror magic show with Yu Ri's help and participation. Little does he know that Yu Ri literally sees and talk to ghosts. As the two work together, he gradually wins her trust and love. As their love blossoms, the ghost of her best friend, Ju Hee begins to torment him to the point of endangering his life. Because of this, Yeo Ri realizes she must deal with her past, so that she can have a happy future with magician Ma. The movie focuses on the romance between magician Ma and Kang Yu Ri and the healing of Yu Ri through the horror magic show.

Drama synopsis so far: After a failed marriage attempt, Yeo Ri, the director of the luxurious Reina Hotel, fights to keep her position and inheritance from her aunt and cousin. Yeo Ri's fatal flaw, after nearly drowning in a yachting accident, she can see ghosts and even make others see them. Even though the aunt and cousin know this, Yeo Ri has been through an exorcism where the shaman has declared her ghost free. After the exorcism, Yeo Ri hides the fact that she can still see ghosts. Because of her condition, Yeo Ri decides to live alone in her family's isolated home outside the city. And after working hours she takes up the hobby of tipping off the police on where they can find dead bodies. One night while confirming a ghost's story, she runs into Prosecutor Ma and her isolated life and world are turned upside down while the two determine who will run her life and love.

Taken from the movie:

-first name of female lead/last name of the male lead

-Isolated girl falling in love with persistent man

-a necklace/pendant

-ability to see ghosts comes after an accident involving a friend's death from water

-the ghost boy case

-Yu Ri's drunk girl scene

-the near death experience of the male lead

-torn shirt gags

-others can see the ghosts as well

-the basic plotline: After a near fatal accident dealing with water causes Yu Ri to see ghosts, she finds happiness with someone she works with, but in order to remain that way, she must first deal with the death of her friend who literally haunts her.

-Concept: healing through finding justice for ghosts

-the tepee style tent in the living room

-support comes through females and then male lead

-the haunted elevator

-the pork rinds

-concept of hearts both literally and figuratively

-the teddy bear

These are just a few that I found. Feel free to add more.

noona:

It makes me sad that they didn't just stick to the original concept. A magic show could've been a unique setting and allowed for some fun characters. The leads being "normal" with part-time jobs or in entertainment would've been a fresh air with all of the corporate romance kdramas. Instead they went for rich characters, chaebols, and evil families...

While I agree that a 12 episode horror magic show would have been a great idea, it would have turned into just another detective style drama. The movie is not a detective style drama movie. Like the movie, this drama is symbolic drama. Meaning the ghosts and ghost stories have a special role in the story. The ghosts are not just cases to be solved. Also, the drama does stick to the original concept of magic. Magic is all about illusion. In a magic trick, we see the set up and the illusion, but not what happens behind the scenes to make that illusion happen. In other words, we need to look beneath the surface as what you are seeing is fake, not real, an illusion.

Spooky in Love illustrates this to T. Yeo Ri is a living breathing ghost. She isolates herself because if she touches someone, they also see ghosts. Because she does not interact with people and feels more comfortable around ghosts, the employees of her company say nasty things about her which we as the audience know is not true. By the end of the drama, the employees feel differently. So the drama writer kept the original concept of don't judge a book by its cover.

The drama is a parody on all kdramas, especially romcoms, and the movie as one of the characters in the movie is a romcom writer.