This review may contain spoilers
Great Premise, Weak Execution, Yet Somehow Impossible to Quit
Hell University had everything I should have loved: a dark-academia setting, survival-game horror, gang warfare, mystery, and a premise that feels like The Purge trapped inside a university campus. Unfortunately, the execution rarely lives up to the concept.The writing is messy, the pacing drags, and the story spends far too much time hiding behind mystery without providing enough substance to keep those mysteries compelling. Plot holes pile up, relationships feel underdeveloped, and many characters remain frustratingly vague even after several episodes.
The acting is equally inconsistent. Zeke Polina does the heavy lifting as Ace Craige, delivering the strongest and most convincing performance among the leads. Andre Yllana is dependable, while Heart Ryan struggles to fully settle into her character. Among the supporting cast, Keagan de Jesus and especially Jemima Rivera stand out, while Lance Carr and Aubrey Caraan make the most of their limited screen time.
The production feels rushed from top to bottom. The costumes, props, dialogue, and overall presentation often lack polish. Direction is another weak point, with many scenes feeling awkward or poorly coordinated. Even veteran actress Andrea Del Rosario disappoints, particularly in scenes requiring strong English dialogue delivery.
What makes the experience even more frustrating is the unnecessarily long episode count. The first half spends so much time introducing mysteries that very little actually happens. At times it feels like the story is deliberately withholding information rather than naturally building suspense.
That said, Hell University does deserve credit for delivering a strong message in its final episode. Beneath all the violence, conspiracies, and mysteries, the series reminds viewers to be wary of people who present themselves as friends, because they are not always who they claim to be. It is one of the more effective themes the show explores and adds an extra layer to the story's conclusion.
Yet despite all that, I couldn't stop watching.
There is something oddly addictive about Hell University. The questions surrounding Ace Craige, Raze Silvenia, the Serum, and the laboratory kept me invested. I wanted answers. I wanted to see where everything was heading. Even when I was rolling my eyes at certain scenes, I was still tuning in for the next episode.
That's what makes this series so difficult to rate. Objectively, it has plenty of flaws. Subjectively, it still managed to hook me. It's a messy, frustrating, occasionally cringe-worthy watch, but it's also strangely compelling.
I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but fans of the original novel should definitely give it a look. And if a sequel series like Chasing Hell eventually arrives, I'll be there to watch it.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
It Was HELL Trying To Finish This
When I first heard of the drama name, I thought it would be a fun thriller maybe horror drama but while watching episode 1, I realised that I am dealing with some amateur creation. But the problem is that the drama is COMPLETELY SENSELESS. I just didn't know it at the time but I put up with it because it had some 7 episodes when I started. I was struggling to even finish those, then it grew to 9 episodes and finally extended to 18. I would have dropped it in episode 2 or 3 if I knew I would have to put up with so much torture.Let me walk you through some of the problems. While writing these I dropped the score from 3 to 2.
1. A group of friends are wandering through woods trying to find some haunted place. Sounds interesting right? nope! That segment itself was boring and filled with dead air. Had to put it in 2x right away.
2. They find this university that seems abandoned but someone comes and they make excuses to get water and stay over. But the guard locks the gate behind them. See, a normal person would have been like, we've changed our mind, we'll be going. Not these smart kids.
3. Then they see students beating each other violently and they obediently follow the guard to the dean's office who takes all of their things and tells them they can't ever leave but on the bright side education at this uni is free if you live. And they again obediently head to the dorms which only has rooms for their group. We never see where the others sleep. Low budget. But not once do they even attempt to leave after seeing the killings or knowing they've been held captive.
4. The students clearly out number the staff yet they never try to just kill the dean and guard and leave. But they have no problem killing each other. Because then the drama would end in episode 1.
5. There is no real story. Or rather it is extremely weak. Suddenly we are in fantasy world but I wish this drama was fantasy. One student in ep 5 or 6 says that if I tell you this university's secret you can never leave but it's not like the FL could leave anyway.
6. The university serves amazing food. They hold multiple events so the students wear lots of gowns and suits, there's plenty of decoration and booze. Who the heck is supplying all this? They never snuck out on one of these invisible supply trucks?
7. The parents of these students haven't looked for them in several years. Think we need to arrest the parents for negligence. They don't show up even at the end.
8. The FL knows students are out killing each other and she keeps casually strolling through the night until they are right behind her and then she runs.
9. Second lead syndrome because I can't stand cocky male characters especially when the actor can't act.
10. Extremely cheesy lines. I was gagging. Not in a good way.
Small positives:
Intro theme is amazing.
The acting got slightly better and the plot moved slightly faster but I watched all episodes on 2x and it still felt slow more times than I can count.
Final thoughts:
Just don't bother. Complete waste of time that could have been wrapped up in 6 episodes. I have read some comments online where people were gushing over this show but unless you are a teenager, this will be a very hard watch. Ask me for spoilers and I'll tell you everything.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Stayed only for plot
When i started the series, maybe it was fine a few episodes since i was trying to adjust to the story and environment. But then it just felt like the story is going in circles.Some actors did a good job, and it was hard to tolerate some actors.
But the direction, the execution needed solid improvement. Someone said that this series doesn't make you feel scared and i could totally relate. The bloody night didn't feel scary as a viewer. The fight scenes were very poorly executed, it felt like watching my school classmates fighting with each other.
I gained some interest after Supremo and Zein started getting more screen time and their story developed. I was keeping up only for the plot.
I gotta say, i wasn't very disappointed. I liked the plot twist. So it wasn't a complete waste series for me.
Was this review helpful to you?
Good but not so good
I must admit it is quite boring at start but as the episode goes on it becomes more and more interesting. The story will unfold gradually and all the plots will become more clearer. It took me 3 to 4 days to complete the whole drama but the last episode was very good and it was worth waiting. Overall it's a drama which I may not watch it again but as a normal it is a good oneWas this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Utter disappointment and senseless plot
I had good expectations when I started the drama. Till ep 5 also it was going decent. But honestly, there is no strong plot or connections. I couldn't relate or understand any single character. It is all scattered and storyline is a complete mess. I was finally happy that it was gonna end this week at ep 9, but first they postponed it and then extended it to 18 eps. Like utter disappointment.This drama doesn't need so many eps. Useless plot, no clear relationships, no good dialogues or bgm, it will be a time waste honestly. There is no base to this drama. Nothing is clearly showed in first 9 eps, everything vague and under the cover of mystery. It makes the drama boring and really tests the patience of audience.
There are better school-mystery dramas than this! I will rank it the lowest.
Anything is happening at HU, no clear hierarchy, so many gangs and leaders, many characters but none portrayed clearly. Some scenes really annoyed me. I started watching it because of the ML, and to see the chemistry between ML and FL, but I have seen none in 9 episodes. Nor do I want to see it now. I just wanted a clear ending and to know what useless plot was actually unfolding, but now I don't have that time or patience to stick to 9 eps more.
Can watch it for fun and time pass, but NOT RECOMMENDED AT ALL.
Was this review helpful to you?
The stupidest series i have ever watched
The story feels stupid, the acting is stupid, most of the dialogues are stupid. The characters are somehow dumb. And wtf is even wrong with the female lead. Plus how are they so calm even after experiencing a almost deadly night? The humor they try to put between is also cringe and lame.Wtf am i even watching? The female lead is the dumbest one i must say, she trying to get secret information from other student by yelling in front of bunch of other students. Also it says bloody night or whatever but somehow they are fighting like an 8 year kids. This series is a joke and the fact that it has 18 episode is so freaking stupid.
Who ever produced this must be filthy rich and didnt know where to spend all their money. Its actually cringe and embarassing.
Was this review helpful to you?
