1
GOTHIC AF BUT REPITITIVE AND FORMULAIC
The drama leans heavy on the gothic side and thats actually what dragged me in. I love the aesthetics and costume but there are very obvious and jarring cliches in this that kept pissing me off but I must admit the drama is captivating enough for you to not drop it midway.
My main complain is from the ghost stories that occupy most of the time frame of this drama. I did like two of them which was very surprising to me because I was not expecting to like even a single one of them but really 2 of them were quite impressive especially with the imagery and direction they did leave an impact on me but the rest of them were frustratingly boring. I dont think this kind of unimpressive horror in mainstream chinese media has evolved for past 15 years. I dont understand how they keep writing the same tropes and keep employing same devices of storytelling. Even the direction and cinematography related to these so called corrupt spirits posessing people murder mystery thriller movies and dramas is just so uneasy on eyes that I feel like throwing up due to boredom.
Coming to the love story I would stay it is good but it has been destroyed by China's cosmetic industry. The female lead's face is so frozen by botox that she is actually incapable of displaying any emotions but I would still say she is a damn good actress because she still manages to convey most of the emotions by her mannerisms alone and actually botox kind of helps her to have this icy cold inhumane look which is appropriate for her character but when it comes to being emotional in love nah man she is not convincing enough. The guy also falls flat in extremely emotional scenes. i really wanted to be invested because the writer has done a good job but the immersion keeps breaking because the intensity is not well conveyed due to their frozen faces. It is such a shame because this definitely had potential. Anyways, it is a good one time watch I would say maybe just for the aesthetics.
My main complain is from the ghost stories that occupy most of the time frame of this drama. I did like two of them which was very surprising to me because I was not expecting to like even a single one of them but really 2 of them were quite impressive especially with the imagery and direction they did leave an impact on me but the rest of them were frustratingly boring. I dont think this kind of unimpressive horror in mainstream chinese media has evolved for past 15 years. I dont understand how they keep writing the same tropes and keep employing same devices of storytelling. Even the direction and cinematography related to these so called corrupt spirits posessing people murder mystery thriller movies and dramas is just so uneasy on eyes that I feel like throwing up due to boredom.
Coming to the love story I would stay it is good but it has been destroyed by China's cosmetic industry. The female lead's face is so frozen by botox that she is actually incapable of displaying any emotions but I would still say she is a damn good actress because she still manages to convey most of the emotions by her mannerisms alone and actually botox kind of helps her to have this icy cold inhumane look which is appropriate for her character but when it comes to being emotional in love nah man she is not convincing enough. The guy also falls flat in extremely emotional scenes. i really wanted to be invested because the writer has done a good job but the immersion keeps breaking because the intensity is not well conveyed due to their frozen faces. It is such a shame because this definitely had potential. Anyways, it is a good one time watch I would say maybe just for the aesthetics.
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