lovecoutureflyy
United States
Search markets itself as a Military Suspense Horror Thriller Mystery, and despite it having many elements, it fails to be phenomenal in any of those categories. Search has the potential to be great, and for those who aren't familiar with many of these genres, you might find this to be great. But for those who are fans of mystery, horror, and suspense, you might find this to be average and dull like I did.
The plot follows Dong Jin, a military dog handler a few weeks away from his discharge, who doesn't seem quite fit for the military because he's far too opinionated and doesn't know how to listen to authority. He wants to quietly leave before his discharge, but unfortunately, he is called on a mission after someone goes missing. Cue the cool lurking monster and a suspenseful thriller mystery? Unfortunately, no.
Even in the first episode, I found myself underwhelmed and was waiting for something interesting to happen with this concept, but it's never more than an average horror thriller. The not-zombies of this world (I call them that because the drama is constantly reminding us that they aren't zombies, but they don't do anything unique with them to distinguish them from zombies either) are not interesting, or well utilized in this, and that's because they feel more like an afterthought to make another storyline that was set years prior before the events with Dong Jin thrilling.
I never really brought into these two storylines that the writers were trying to tie together, not individually or together. The writers don't get the chance to properly flesh them out because they are focusing on both, and these two storylines are connected by the thinnest thread. I was probably 7-8 episodes in, wondering if one of the storylines was necessary before its connection became clear, and even still, it felt forced. There's a huge part of me that thinks if the not-zombies were taken out, and they had focused on the initial events prior as the mystery, along with the corruption within the military which would work perfectly with Dong Jin's character, who didn't fit in the army because he wasn't good with following authority, then this would be twenty times better. I guess that just goes to show how lackluster I thought the not-zombies were.
But ultimately, what Search lacks mostly comes down to execution. This plot is something best made for a film, not a 10-hour plus drama. It's stretched incredibly thin at times, to the point that there are really dull boring moments throughout the show with the characters meandering about in an equally boring small town. The romance is another thing that is boring, but it's mostly because it feels unnecessary, and without it, the story wouldn't have changed. Nothing is particularly thrilling or mysterious because of how the story is told. We practically know everything from the first few episodes, so the mystery is gone there. And everything else is pretty predictable. The not-so zombies lost their thrills pretty quickly.
I thought the cast was good, and everyone did a good job. It's just that their characters are dull. Despite having 10 episodes, and ample enough time to flesh them out, considering the many moments of practically nothing happening, they don't give these characters much more than basic one-note characteristics, and it shows. It's hard to connect to them, and even their interactions with one another seem slightly stunted. Dong Jin is the only character who has more than the basic one-note characteristics. But unfortunately, I never truly connected to him, nor did I ever truly fear for his life or the other people there. Plot armor was working great for them in the beginning of the drama, and despite them being in close quarters with some of the not-zombies, it seemed that all they liked to do was throw and toss people around, making the not-zombies effectively lose their thrills and lowering the stakes.
Search's greatest offense is that it adds nothing to the horror-thriller genre. It's does everything that other horror thrillers have done before, but not better. Technically, it's not terrible, but because it's so incredibly average despite having a cool concept, it made it terrible for me.
Overall, Search is just best described as average. This should have never been more than a 2-hour long movie or a 3-episode mini-series because the story doesn't have enough meat to push past that. The not-zombies are not interesting enough, nor are they horrifying or mysterious. Watching them go through the forest searching for them, over and over again, was boring. Search has an interesting premise but is poorly executed.
I recommend this for people who aren't too familiar with the horror-thriller genre. It will feel like a new fresh concept to you, and you'll probably enjoy it. But for those who follow OCN dramas, or are fans of thrillers and horror in general, this will probably just be okay to you.
The plot follows Dong Jin, a military dog handler a few weeks away from his discharge, who doesn't seem quite fit for the military because he's far too opinionated and doesn't know how to listen to authority. He wants to quietly leave before his discharge, but unfortunately, he is called on a mission after someone goes missing. Cue the cool lurking monster and a suspenseful thriller mystery? Unfortunately, no.
Even in the first episode, I found myself underwhelmed and was waiting for something interesting to happen with this concept, but it's never more than an average horror thriller. The not-zombies of this world (I call them that because the drama is constantly reminding us that they aren't zombies, but they don't do anything unique with them to distinguish them from zombies either) are not interesting, or well utilized in this, and that's because they feel more like an afterthought to make another storyline that was set years prior before the events with Dong Jin thrilling.
I never really brought into these two storylines that the writers were trying to tie together, not individually or together. The writers don't get the chance to properly flesh them out because they are focusing on both, and these two storylines are connected by the thinnest thread. I was probably 7-8 episodes in, wondering if one of the storylines was necessary before its connection became clear, and even still, it felt forced. There's a huge part of me that thinks if the not-zombies were taken out, and they had focused on the initial events prior as the mystery, along with the corruption within the military which would work perfectly with Dong Jin's character, who didn't fit in the army because he wasn't good with following authority, then this would be twenty times better. I guess that just goes to show how lackluster I thought the not-zombies were.
But ultimately, what Search lacks mostly comes down to execution. This plot is something best made for a film, not a 10-hour plus drama. It's stretched incredibly thin at times, to the point that there are really dull boring moments throughout the show with the characters meandering about in an equally boring small town. The romance is another thing that is boring, but it's mostly because it feels unnecessary, and without it, the story wouldn't have changed. Nothing is particularly thrilling or mysterious because of how the story is told. We practically know everything from the first few episodes, so the mystery is gone there. And everything else is pretty predictable. The not-so zombies lost their thrills pretty quickly.
I thought the cast was good, and everyone did a good job. It's just that their characters are dull. Despite having 10 episodes, and ample enough time to flesh them out, considering the many moments of practically nothing happening, they don't give these characters much more than basic one-note characteristics, and it shows. It's hard to connect to them, and even their interactions with one another seem slightly stunted. Dong Jin is the only character who has more than the basic one-note characteristics. But unfortunately, I never truly connected to him, nor did I ever truly fear for his life or the other people there. Plot armor was working great for them in the beginning of the drama, and despite them being in close quarters with some of the not-zombies, it seemed that all they liked to do was throw and toss people around, making the not-zombies effectively lose their thrills and lowering the stakes.
Search's greatest offense is that it adds nothing to the horror-thriller genre. It's does everything that other horror thrillers have done before, but not better. Technically, it's not terrible, but because it's so incredibly average despite having a cool concept, it made it terrible for me.
Overall, Search is just best described as average. This should have never been more than a 2-hour long movie or a 3-episode mini-series because the story doesn't have enough meat to push past that. The not-zombies are not interesting enough, nor are they horrifying or mysterious. Watching them go through the forest searching for them, over and over again, was boring. Search has an interesting premise but is poorly executed.
I recommend this for people who aren't too familiar with the horror-thriller genre. It will feel like a new fresh concept to you, and you'll probably enjoy it. But for those who follow OCN dramas, or are fans of thrillers and horror in general, this will probably just be okay to you.
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