Feardorcha

I spent a good portion of this movie wondering how it didn't start with all of these characters doing 10-to-20. This is the sloppiest heist work I have ever seen, even for one of these films. Leaving fingerprints and DNA everywhere, getting caught on every CCTV under the damn sun, often mid-crime, constantly shouting one another's names in rooms full of witnesses, spending tons of time with their marks while unmasked and in memorable personas, absolutely unprofessional shenanigans all over the place.

Pepsee and Macao Park seemed the most competent of the lot but that's not saying much. Frankly, those two and their story felt like it was in a whole other movie, one I think I would've enjoyed a lot more than this one. Everything else seemed like so much background noise.

While the flick had an excellent cast, there were too many characters and not enough screen time to go around. And because it never feels like these people are a team, rather than a collection of loosely affiliated reprobates, the stakes were irrelevant. Ultimately, I didn't care what happened to any of them by the end, and I certainly did not care who won or lost.

But speaking of—did I hear correctly? One of these doofuses only got four years after all that? They forged documents to commit a crime with extremely illegal weapons on foreign soil. They took hostages. There was a shoot out. People died. The hell...?

*squints*

*squints harder*

I'm leaning toward the "cringe" actually being an artistic choice by the Director. Still considering it, though.

Sweet fluffy bunnies, the Thai BL epidemic of awful wigs and haircuts is scourging Japan. Dear God, it's awful.

Yes, the story is a bit thin, and most of the NC scenes are laughable (if he's got to keep the briefs on, fine, but then reblock and/or reframe the shot; seriously, what are we doing?), and the dead fish kisses are just so bizarre, but I genuinely liked these characters. I was charmed by how they interacted, I blushed at their sweet inner thoughts, I didn't roll my eyes at the fluff, I saw real tenderness in their physical and psychological gestures toward one another, and I appreciated the humour and that these two grown men behaved, all things considered, like experienced Adults. I enjoyed the brief glimpse into their private world.

I truly wasn't expecting to like this series as much as I ultimately did but, frankly, I'm going to miss these two. I'd watch another season.

I mean, I still think it's worth a watch, even as disappointed as I was.

You definitely won't.

It's all just so infuriating, isn't it?

Even for a Sammo Hung or Donnie Yen completist, I can't recommend this one. It had some potential but it felt rushed and unfocused, and the few fight scenes aren't worth sitting through the whole movie. The big set piece brawl between Yen's and Hung's characters was suitably big and loud but I thought the technique work in the fight with the assassin was more engaging.

I don't want to put you off it. There were elements I truly enjoyed about the series; they just didn't quite gel for me.

If it had been a series entirely about everyday Korean resistance to brutal Japanese rule, that would have been a fantastic series. If it had been a period horror tale about a ravenous, terrifying monster targeting everyone, Japanese and Korean alike, that would have been a fantastic series. But those two narratives, together, just didn't quite work here. You could almost hear someone standing outside the writer's room to occasionally bang on the door and yell, "Hey, don't forget the monster!"

Try maybe three episodes. If you're not even a little intrigued at that point, it's probably not going to grab you later.

As for other suggestions:

I know you're seeking K-Drama recs but, if you enjoyed "If Wishes Could Kill", definitely check out the Japanese series "Re/Member" and the Thai series "The Girl From Nowhere". Horror and high tension in spades. "Re/Member" is a movie and has a sequel but it's...not as good.

For K-Dramas: well, again, it depends on your threshold for "scary." I think Korea does great horror in cinema, but their TV shows seem more focused on the psychological terror of the mundane made eerie.

In that vein, I really enjoyed "Dear X". It's not horror, but the oppressive, almost unrelenting psychological terror of it was often spine-shivering.

There's also "Strangers From Hell", though I found it more deliciously disturbing than scary.

"The Guest" is also far better than it has any reason to be. As I mentioned, I don't find the supernatural scary, but I do know several folks who found many parts of the series terrifying. I liked it because it's so well-acted, beautifully scripted, and the characters really make you hope and wish and beg and plead that they please not die. I was invested the whole way through.

"Parasite: The Grey" is absolutely worth a look, if only for the abject weirdness of it all. The horror and tension don't last through the entire series but the first third to half of the series is arresting.

And my last recommendation is "The Silent Sea". I actually dropped it because it wasn't holding my attention, but I've heard positive things about it and have considered picking it up again. I've heard it's plenty scary and tense, and that the mystery is engaging, but I can't vouch for it myself.

If you want K-horror or J-horror film recommendations, that's where I'm a real expert, but I hope these suggestions help!

That depends on your threshold for "scary". I don't believe in the supernatural, so I don't tend to find supernatural creatures or the stories about them frightening, even in a horror genre. But "Gyeongseong Creature" is less a supernatural horror story than a science-gone-homicidally-wrong story, set amidst the Japanese occupation of Seoul.

The story is essentially a missing-persons mystery with political trappings. If you're sensitive to certain histories, the colonialism elements can be stressful. Honestly, the psychological aspects of the narrative are more present and consistent than any monster shenanigans. It's been a while since I saw it, but I do recall being bored more often than I expected.

In terms of jump scares and gore, I think you'll be fine if you had no issues with, say, "Kingdom", "Hellbound", or "Sweet Home". A friend of mine who saw it said he kept forgetting there was even a monster in the show because there's so much else going on in the plot.

Kind of like Grendel in "Beowulf". Barely there, but without it, there really isn't a story.

Ah, yes, I can see how it might come off that way.

I'm not hating on anyone for sharing an opinion about the series. I am, however, rightfully calling out people for asserting that I'm "miserable" because I didn't like a TV show, or that I'm not permitted to voice an opinion just because it's one they don't like.

That I didn't really enjoy the show is as valid an opinion as that of those who loved it, even if it seems "negative" to you.

Because I can. It's a comment section, and I made a comment.

I found it all frustratingly nonsensical. The premise had to keep fighting itself in order for the plot to happen the way the writer(s) wanted, rather than in a way that actually followed the internal logic of the story. Watching smart characters be constantly forced to behave stupidly in order to keep the concept going just thoroughly undermined what could have been a great series. It was so unfortunate.

And I didn't ask for yours, yet you gave it anyway.

Are all MDL users like you? Immature children who throw tantrums when they encounter someone who doesn't unequivocably like something they do? Why does it hurt your feelings so much that I didn't particularly enjoy the first season of this series?

This...this is just stupid.

I didn't even read the article. Whatever this is, I am pre-seated.

By the end, I honestly did not care what happened to them. He's an idiot, she's a useless idiot, and no amount of trauma-milking made them less wearying to watch. When the psychopath says to one of them, "Die. You're tiring me.", I very much agreed.

Which is a shame because there are elements here that are truly intriguing, and meditations on how guilt and desperation can eat away at logic and pervert concepts of love are almost always compelling, but the movie seems to give up on all that in the final third so it can get on with the bloodshed. The bloodshed wasn't particularly interesting, as I was constantly distracted wondering how this secluded, signalless, internetless, filthy, island "restaurant" run by two overt weirdos was getting so much positive word-of-mouth. That chicken soup must be out-of-this-world, slap-yo-mama delicious.

Those ladies didn't even pause to check Fukami might move toward the elevator. Doors were barely open and they swooped in like seagulls spotting a hot dog. I know the moment was meant to be somber but I chuckled. Like, damn, give the boy a second, he was there first.