HopeGlory
Near the galaxy
Solid drama that is neither lacking or giving. Jang Nara is best!
When I first saw Jang Nara and Jung Yong Hwa in the trailers of this drama, I saw the semblance of Hotel Del Luna and Mystic Pop Up Bar as it reminded me greatly of a mythical place where a cold, strong vibe (tsundere) female lead had to stay in order to serve a purpose whilst the male lead in this case are much more prone to being scared by the "ghost" that surrounds this storyline as evident by the title inclusion with "Haunted". Since I was watching the drama around the time after it aired which was around 9:30 pm in KST time, the combination of the night and ghost will always bring out the best in us as we get scared along the way (even when it isn't just meant to be "only horror"). Props to the makeup team and the effect editing team as they did a tremendous job. FYI, it shouldn't be too scary to watch and if you are looking for an immediate romance-comedy story in this, then you are out of luck.
So why did I start this drama?
Because I had just finished watching Jang Nara's previous drama called Go Back Couple recently and the acting she showed there evoked many emotions out of me. I felt that with the theme similar to HDL and Jang Nara as the main female lead, I had to give it a shot and for the most part, I am glad I did because it went swimmingly well. I don't think Sell Your haunted House will be my favorite/top tier drama but it will be a great pick from 2021. There is plenty to love about what went down with the drama ranging from decent cinematography, solid storyline, memorable cast and the OST sounds alright for me (if you enjoy Jung Yong Hwa and Jang Nara's song, that is a bonus for you). It's a high quality drama that feels like it is operating under a smaller budget and less flair.
Plot/Storyline:
Having seen multiple Kdrama with ghost theme in the past, this drama does have a solid writing that revolves around a major mystery which is solved through the smaller cases that pops out which the exorcist has to deal with, "To exorcise ghost that remains and haunting the place, where the exorcist would be a real estate agent and sell the place afterward, completing both their duty to the dead and the one that remains alive". I can safely say that the vibe is similar to Hotel Del Luna but the approach is executed differently in ways where it is less about the romance and more about the intertwining unfortunate fate that links both our leads which need to be cured and released. HDL focuses on the romance aspect more whilst SYHH went the opposite direction. The romance is underwhelming but the story feels more realistic albeit it is a fantasy story. They won't sugarcoat your mistake and instead, reveal it in their entirety. As the audience, you will be the judge if they are correct or wrong. There is enough twists and turns to keep you on the edge though there is still some cliché such as trusting the wrong guy and the villain having too much authority over the police. Out of the genres listed, I would have ranked it like this "Mystery, Fantasy, Thriller, Horror, Comedy and Romance being the last". There is short breaks in the form of humour which balance out those heavier emotional scenes but could be the reason why I didn't feel the emotional impact at times. The drama has thought-provoking themes/ideas of 'letting go', 'resentment', 'unselfish love' and 'forgiveness' which are present in storyline like these and they tackle it meaningfully. The key takeaway here is that "you should do it without any regret before it is too late" and "truth can be unimaginably painful but you have the right to know it." The screenwriter and director has somewhat already provided the answer to the smaller cases for the audience so you wouldn't have to think too much other than watch our cast work out and make mistakes in their journey to solve those. My experience with the drama is that it is a smooth ride.
Cinematography:
Honestly having seen amazing cinematography in many fantasy drama such as Goblin, my short summary are that it is dark, negative with the colour scheme being dull. It's a lot of moonlight shed on the pale skin of Jang Nara as she wore yet another Black Jacket adorned with her cryptic accessories. That isn't bad per say but it is not memorable enough to remember any specific location other than the house where Jang Nara lives in. That sharp contrast in colour make me focus only on her facial expression rather than what she wore or where she has gone to. Jung Yong Hwa would wear opposite colour mainly being white or beige but that doesn't really counteract with Jang Nara colour. What I focused and is intriguing to me are the action choreograph that is much more exciting to watch. I praise that more as Jang Nara shows us what's up and her giving a punch or kick with force is satisfying to watch. Just like how I have mention about the makeup and special effect in my opening statement, they did an amazing job making the alive more dead than ever. I get shivers when I do see those ghost the first time and I became less scared only after they started appearing more. The ritual they create with the item prop and symbol are made to my liking and I would buy if I have the chance to.
Acting:
I am sure I gushed about how much I like Jang Nara's acting seeing the enthusiasm I have for her. She is irreplaceable to the story and is a veteran in acting. Jang Nara's agony, headstrong yet muted personality is done convincingly so I will focus on the other character. The Mom Character (Baek Eun Hye) is just so outstanding first off because you get to see her throughout the story whether she is just standing there quietly or is expressing her sorrow, you can feel the weight and presence behind it. Her face is so positively looking that I can't help but to want to look at her despite the circumstance she got into. I started looking for her as the camera shot at different angle and movement. Her chemistry with Jang Nara is the standout.
Moving forward, you may be wondering how I thought Jung Yong Hwa acting went since I had little to talk about in the previous statement I made. In fact, I actually liked Jung Yong Hwa acting because he has to embody many different character of all ages, gender and method of talking. I have not seen his previous work so I can't judge if he improved or not but he did a convincing work. I did remember his Running Man appearances way back in the days and his other variety show so I have an expectation for the personality he has to which this character is essentially him. Out of the many idol actors/actress, he is the better ones but I can still feel some slight stiffness during the emotional scenes. That's why I feel like he did not let himself go when he cries, thus, making me less incline to cry. I feel his sadness but not to the degree where Jang Nara display her emotion. He put in commendable effort in embodying his character but I didn't feel connected to him when he is depressed. I have this lingering feeling where his sad scene are actually fulfilling the comedic genre. There is a small dedicated side characters that appears frequently enough for you to remember by and they do well in their role.
OST:
I am not sure if this set of OST connect with me too much. Actually, the OST is very much under-utilised in this drama. I remember hearing Jung Yong Hwa - I got Ya many times during the drama but all the other OST was totally not present in my brain until I go search for it on Youtube to which I am not sure if it is significant enough to invoke the memory of me watching a certain scene. OST served the purpose whereby I would remember the scene for years to come just by listening to a song. This set of OST was alright but not to the level I would listen to the song after the drama finish. Take my word for this part with a grain of salt as I notice the song doesn't fit with my personal preference (which is different from all others). Although the song doesn't really fit with my drama experience, Jang Nara Daydream is a nice interesting song that I would not mind a standalone release. The instrumentals does create an eerie vibe throughout the story.
In conclusion, the drama is worth a watch and I recommend giving it a try. With all of what I critique about, they have done just about everything right with substance. Neither it is lacking or giving. I don't feel a strong emotional connection but it also gives me enough feeling to contemplate further on my life choices, to look back in the past and my decisions made. If you are a Jang Nara fan, I believe she plays a vastly more different role than her past and she did well.
So why did I start this drama?
Because I had just finished watching Jang Nara's previous drama called Go Back Couple recently and the acting she showed there evoked many emotions out of me. I felt that with the theme similar to HDL and Jang Nara as the main female lead, I had to give it a shot and for the most part, I am glad I did because it went swimmingly well. I don't think Sell Your haunted House will be my favorite/top tier drama but it will be a great pick from 2021. There is plenty to love about what went down with the drama ranging from decent cinematography, solid storyline, memorable cast and the OST sounds alright for me (if you enjoy Jung Yong Hwa and Jang Nara's song, that is a bonus for you). It's a high quality drama that feels like it is operating under a smaller budget and less flair.
Plot/Storyline:
Having seen multiple Kdrama with ghost theme in the past, this drama does have a solid writing that revolves around a major mystery which is solved through the smaller cases that pops out which the exorcist has to deal with, "To exorcise ghost that remains and haunting the place, where the exorcist would be a real estate agent and sell the place afterward, completing both their duty to the dead and the one that remains alive". I can safely say that the vibe is similar to Hotel Del Luna but the approach is executed differently in ways where it is less about the romance and more about the intertwining unfortunate fate that links both our leads which need to be cured and released. HDL focuses on the romance aspect more whilst SYHH went the opposite direction. The romance is underwhelming but the story feels more realistic albeit it is a fantasy story. They won't sugarcoat your mistake and instead, reveal it in their entirety. As the audience, you will be the judge if they are correct or wrong. There is enough twists and turns to keep you on the edge though there is still some cliché such as trusting the wrong guy and the villain having too much authority over the police. Out of the genres listed, I would have ranked it like this "Mystery, Fantasy, Thriller, Horror, Comedy and Romance being the last". There is short breaks in the form of humour which balance out those heavier emotional scenes but could be the reason why I didn't feel the emotional impact at times. The drama has thought-provoking themes/ideas of 'letting go', 'resentment', 'unselfish love' and 'forgiveness' which are present in storyline like these and they tackle it meaningfully. The key takeaway here is that "you should do it without any regret before it is too late" and "truth can be unimaginably painful but you have the right to know it." The screenwriter and director has somewhat already provided the answer to the smaller cases for the audience so you wouldn't have to think too much other than watch our cast work out and make mistakes in their journey to solve those. My experience with the drama is that it is a smooth ride.
Cinematography:
Honestly having seen amazing cinematography in many fantasy drama such as Goblin, my short summary are that it is dark, negative with the colour scheme being dull. It's a lot of moonlight shed on the pale skin of Jang Nara as she wore yet another Black Jacket adorned with her cryptic accessories. That isn't bad per say but it is not memorable enough to remember any specific location other than the house where Jang Nara lives in. That sharp contrast in colour make me focus only on her facial expression rather than what she wore or where she has gone to. Jung Yong Hwa would wear opposite colour mainly being white or beige but that doesn't really counteract with Jang Nara colour. What I focused and is intriguing to me are the action choreograph that is much more exciting to watch. I praise that more as Jang Nara shows us what's up and her giving a punch or kick with force is satisfying to watch. Just like how I have mention about the makeup and special effect in my opening statement, they did an amazing job making the alive more dead than ever. I get shivers when I do see those ghost the first time and I became less scared only after they started appearing more. The ritual they create with the item prop and symbol are made to my liking and I would buy if I have the chance to.
Acting:
I am sure I gushed about how much I like Jang Nara's acting seeing the enthusiasm I have for her. She is irreplaceable to the story and is a veteran in acting. Jang Nara's agony, headstrong yet muted personality is done convincingly so I will focus on the other character. The Mom Character (Baek Eun Hye) is just so outstanding first off because you get to see her throughout the story whether she is just standing there quietly or is expressing her sorrow, you can feel the weight and presence behind it. Her face is so positively looking that I can't help but to want to look at her despite the circumstance she got into. I started looking for her as the camera shot at different angle and movement. Her chemistry with Jang Nara is the standout.
Moving forward, you may be wondering how I thought Jung Yong Hwa acting went since I had little to talk about in the previous statement I made. In fact, I actually liked Jung Yong Hwa acting because he has to embody many different character of all ages, gender and method of talking. I have not seen his previous work so I can't judge if he improved or not but he did a convincing work. I did remember his Running Man appearances way back in the days and his other variety show so I have an expectation for the personality he has to which this character is essentially him. Out of the many idol actors/actress, he is the better ones but I can still feel some slight stiffness during the emotional scenes. That's why I feel like he did not let himself go when he cries, thus, making me less incline to cry. I feel his sadness but not to the degree where Jang Nara display her emotion. He put in commendable effort in embodying his character but I didn't feel connected to him when he is depressed. I have this lingering feeling where his sad scene are actually fulfilling the comedic genre. There is a small dedicated side characters that appears frequently enough for you to remember by and they do well in their role.
OST:
I am not sure if this set of OST connect with me too much. Actually, the OST is very much under-utilised in this drama. I remember hearing Jung Yong Hwa - I got Ya many times during the drama but all the other OST was totally not present in my brain until I go search for it on Youtube to which I am not sure if it is significant enough to invoke the memory of me watching a certain scene. OST served the purpose whereby I would remember the scene for years to come just by listening to a song. This set of OST was alright but not to the level I would listen to the song after the drama finish. Take my word for this part with a grain of salt as I notice the song doesn't fit with my personal preference (which is different from all others). Although the song doesn't really fit with my drama experience, Jang Nara Daydream is a nice interesting song that I would not mind a standalone release. The instrumentals does create an eerie vibe throughout the story.
In conclusion, the drama is worth a watch and I recommend giving it a try. With all of what I critique about, they have done just about everything right with substance. Neither it is lacking or giving. I don't feel a strong emotional connection but it also gives me enough feeling to contemplate further on my life choices, to look back in the past and my decisions made. If you are a Jang Nara fan, I believe she plays a vastly more different role than her past and she did well.
Was this review helpful to you?
