Hello
안녕하세요
(Annyeonghaseyo)
こんにちは
(Konnichiwa)
你好
(Ni Hao)
Google Images
Hellbound is a 2021 South Korean dark fantasy thriller drama written by Choi Gyu Seok and directed by Yeon Sang Ho, the series is based on Yeon Sang Ho's webtoon of the same name.
The series was released onto Netflix worldwide on the 19th of November 2021, and contains 6 episodes.
Main Cast:
Yoo Ah In as Jeong Jin Soo
Google Images
Kim Hyun Joo as Min Hye Jin
Google Images
Park Jeong Min as Bae Young Jae
Won Jin Ah as Song So Hyun
Google Images
Yang Ik Jun as Jin Kyeong Hoon
Supporting Cast:
Kim Do Yoon as Lee Dong Wook
Kim Shin Rok as Park Jeong Ja
Lee Re as Jin Hee Jeong
Ryu Kyung Soo as Yoo Ji
Kim Mi Soo as Deacon Young In
Google Images
Cha Si Won as Deacon Sacheong
Google Images
Im Hyeong Guk as Gong Hyeong Joon
Google Images
The concept for the series began with an 11-,inute long animated short titled The Hell written and drawn by Yeon Sang Ho in 2002, that was expanded into a 34-minute long short titled The Hell: Two Kinds of Life in 2003. This was followed by a webtoon version of the concept retitled as Hellbound and published between 2009 and 2011.
In April 2020, Netflix approved production of an original series based on the webtoon, Yeon Sang Ho signed on to direct the series.
As of week ending at November 28th, Hellbound ended with 67.52 million viewing hours was was at 2nd place in the Global Top 10 Weekly list of the most-watched TV shows (Non-English).
On release it recorded 43.48 million viewing hours in 3 days of it's released and rose to the top spot in the Netflix Global Top 10 TV (Non-English) category as per the Netflix Top 10 website. It ranked first in the Top 10 in 12 countries, whereas it was listed in the Top 10 list in 59 countries worldwide. This is the fastest rate for a Korean series on Netflix.
It surpassed another Netflix-produced Korean drama, Squid Game, as the most popular show on Netflix on it's initial release.
Hellbound takes place in 2022-2027 in South Korea. An otherworldly face called Angel suddenly starts to materialise to deliver prophecies called decrees that condemn certain individuals to Hell at a specific future time, either seconds or years away. Three hulking supernatural monsters appear at almost the exact to maul and incinerate the persons body in a sort of spectacular show of force called a demonstration. Two organisations in cahoots, the cult-like New Truth Society and the gang-like Arrowhead Group, gain power by playing on people's fears.
Of the 6 episodes of the series, episodes 1-3 focus on a detective investigating the supernatural phenomena, the chairman of the New Truth Society religious order, and a principled attorney.
Except for the attorney, the core characters change in episodes 4-6, which takes place 5 years later and focus on a television producer and his wife who have to struggle with the fact that their newborn baby is bound for Hell.
I was on countdown for Hellbound to be released and I was excited to find out that Yeon Sang Ho was also the director behind Train To Busan, which is one of my favourite Korean films. I will admit that throughout the series I was on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen and why these decree's and demonstrations were happening, but I will also admit that there were times I was insanely confused as to what was going on, especially when we got the time jump halfway through and meeting the new characters. What I did find unnerving about the show was how religion was used to keep power against other people, for example I could see why New Truth Society was created to try and stop things like abuse, wars etc in the belief that you would be punished for committing crimes, but it also created fear that innocent people could not stand up against those that were then committing those crimes in the name of religion like the Arrowhead group/gang. I definitely think the most disturbing scene wasn't even the monsters beating the living crap out of people it was the human beings, beating up the old lady, which I think can show how family can sometimes be punished for others mistakes.
The cast however, did an amazing job in their roles and I don't think I could have picked a better cast for those roles.
I would definitely loved to see Yoo Ah In in more roles like Jeong Jin Soo, you can see he has a good mindset of wanting to use fear of sinning to reduce the crime rate, but you can also see that he becomes greedy of the power he gains of doing so. I also think it's down to this mindset that people feel that attacking and committing crimes in the name of religion is okay.
Kim Hyun Joo did amazing as Min Hye Jin, from start to finish she stuck with her morals and fought for the truth to be revealed, even almost at the extent of her own life, you definitely see her desire to fight becomes stronger though when her mother is beaten to death by those doing "Gods" work. It definitely shows that people with power get way scot-free.
I loved Park Jeong Min as Bae Young Jae, for me I think his role really takes on the views of the viewer, he doesn't see how those committing crimes in the name of religion should be allowed to do what they do, and he knows they're using other people's fears against them, which we see from the start he's not afraid to stand up for what he believes and will do anything to protect his wife and newborn baby, as well as proving how they use fear to control everyone.
I also loved Won Jin Ah as Song So Hyun, I think any new mother, would do what she did in the fears that you're newborn baby has somehow already sinned, it's sad to think she blamed herself and felt she was being punished. What I took from Young Jae and So Hyun's story is the love parents have for their children and the sacrifices some parents make to make sure their children has the best life they can possibly have.
We see Yang Ik Jun as Jin Kyeong Hoon's mindset change through the series, his main goal is to uncover the truth of what is happening, where these beasts are coming from and trying punish those that are hailing them as angels and profiting from it, but it's sad that instead of revealing the truth, he leaves the series, continuing to tell Jin Soo's "truth", I can't help but wonder if he had continued to fight against them with Hye Jin, would those in power have already been dethroned and saved a lot more peoples lives, and allowing those who were issued decrees to tell of their "sins" honestly without fear of loved ones turning their backs on them.
Let's be honest you can't help but say that Kim Do Yoon was fantastic as Lee Dong Wook, while I did spend most of the time thinking, damn he's annoying, you knew you felt that way because his acting was on point. I'm just glad I never felt sorry for his character.
What I loved about Kim Shin Rok as Park Jeong Ja is that it shows how women are still judged for things out of their control, especially in places like South Korea, for example a man can get a longer sentence for breaking the law on drugs than he can for abusing a woman. This poor woman's "sin" was that her children came from 2 different dads, they were ready to punish her and her children themselves, without even wanting to know the reasons behind their fathers being absent. She did amazing in her role and I really felt for her.
Season 1 left us on a cliffhanger, so I can only hope that we'll get a 2nd season to tie up some loose ends and explain what's really happening, what these decrees are, why the demonstrations are happening, and how the people that receive them are chosen.
Have you watched Hellbound?
Were you a fan of the cast?
Did you enjoy the plot and script?
Are you familiar with the webtoon?
Let me know in the comments below.
See you soon!
안녕
(Annyeong)
さようなら
(Sayonara)
再见
(ZaiJian)
Bye
No comments:
Post a Comment