This review may contain spoilers
A merciless play with people's fears. Witch-hunt revisited. Gloomy. Upsetting. Horror with no escape
"The Netflix production "Hellbound" started even more successfully on the global streaming platform in November 2021 than "Squid Game". Dystopias (stories about gloomy visions of the future) these days obviously hit a sore spot in the global mass consciousness - the fear of what still is to come, considering that nothing will be the way it used to be....Accordingly, "Hellbound" generally plays with people's fears. The characters in the story also play with people's fears - here in the face of a hell on earth that is spreading inexorably, flanked by a modern form of witch hunts and establishing a new order in which there is little room for hope and light. Because even as a reward for a righteous life, only death awaits in the end. At best, you don´t have to be ashamed and getting ridiculed of it.
The focus for the 'not righteous' is a heavenly or better hellish special commando, which arrives from the afterlife in the form of huge hell gorillas and stages a small earthly hellfire from human bones. No less shocking is the moment that meticulously announces the day and hour of this death in advance.
Rarely have there been so many crazy, delusional people in KDrama (here namely in the realm of the sect). The number of truly honest people can be counted on one hand. And in between there is the vast majority of the terrified masses, blinded and tamed by the New Truth Society's threats sold as hope...
The prospects are really daunting. Not just unearthly prophecy and execution of the death sentence for the shameful, despicable sinners. Even more actually what this scenario does to the people. There is the group of the "arrowhead" who, already sort of detached from any aspect humanity. Their members receive the carte blanche from the ordained sect priests to use the brute force and terror in order to carry out a multimedia-fuelled new edition of witch hunts. They are allowed to live out their wildest violent fantasies . And then there are the would-be ´gentlemen´ (and ´ladies´), CEOs and high priests of the New Truth Society, who submit their new 'commandments' to the people, and the VIPs who solemnly attend the celestial court processes live and in the first row...
Eventually, it can´t get any worse than that. "Hellbound" effortlessly catapulted humanity back into the deepest Middle Ages - yet in the midst of the modern, high-tech 21st century. Business with sin is very popular there. From now on it is no longer about the hope of eternal life (in the hereafter), but merely about not to unnecessarily embarrass yourself as a sinner in the face of the inevitable earthly death...
For me, "Hellbound" is highly ambivalent. It's done great again. Ecellent actors. Exciting story. Upsetting, because maybe not so absurd in terms of social dynamics... But do you really want to/do you have to look at it? There's practically nothing positive coming out of it. Even the hopeful spark at the end remains under a hood of fear and horror and somehow doesn't really find its way back to the light... (A 2nd season is in discussion... maybe then? Or just more fear and horror from which there is no escape?)
Was this review helpful to you?
1Terrifyingly Real!
If this doesn't terrifies you, you have seen nothing of the world yet!Unpopular opinion, but I think a lot of people are watching it wrong. Because what is depicted here is Real. Way Too Real.
I don't think the director set out to tell an entertaining story in the first place. With a plot like this, that would have been easy. Instead, he took a gamble. As someone who lives in a place that is slowly sinking into religious fascism, this was all too real. To see it being decipted with pinpoint accuracy was bone chilling. The Helplessness, the Fear and how some people are always ready to use it to their advantage. Once you realise that, you understand 2 things. First, why this series exists in the first place. And second, how close this world is to insanity. As someome who has experienced it all first hand, this could happen anywhere, anytime and to anyone.
A few unexplained things, and all that's all it takes for all hell to break loose.
Though not for everyone, Hellbound is a strong thriller with very powerful elements. The way human beings are potrayed is extremely realistic, and for anyone who has lived in a situation of religious fascism, extremely relatable. Among all the shows that has explored these themes, this was the best Korea or anyone in the world has produced yet (I have watched them all, even the ones with low ratings). Don't miss it if you are okay with dark heavy themes and are willing to look at Human Nature for what it is.
Few things definitely could have been better, like a more bare sound design to create regular tension. No doubt about that. Search (2020) is an excellent example of how to do that. At the same time though, I think it does what it set out to do brilliantly! Not all cinema is out there to entertain. Some can simply exists as an warning. And this is a strong one.
Was this review helpful to you?
The fear of death follows from the fear of life.
Reminded me of a quote from Harry Potter, "To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure". Indeed, HELLBOUND is the adventure on the way to death and a survival game against the angle of quietus.TW: Dystopia, Violence, Killing, Cult beliefs, Brainwashing, Superstitions.
Hellbound, written and directed by the acclaimed director Yeon Sang Ho, the PD or some famous apocalypse thriller movies like "Train to Busan" and "Psychokinesis", has been able to deliver another mind-blowing piece with his experience and skills. Can't really say that it's a groundbreaking show but surely a good one that keeps you entertained throughout and evokes all kinda feelings.
Basically, the story is set up in a dystopian world along with supernatural elements. Some people see predications of their death as a decree of being bound to hell for the sins they've committed and no matter how much they try, they can't prevent it. Some unknown monster-like giant creatures appear from nowhere and execute them and send them to hell. Jung Jin Su (Yoo Ah In), is the founder of the religious group "Saejinrihwae" (literally The Truth), tells the world that this is God's work and make people follow the group. They name the monsters "Angle of Death".
"Hwasalchok" (literally arrowhead) are the radical follwers of the religion who are very dangerous. They punish anyone who questions the existence of their God. Min Hye Jin (Kim Hyun Joo) is a lawyer at Sodo Law Firm, trying to find out about the truth of this religion. Jin Kyung Hoon (Yang Ik Jun) is a detective whose daughter Jin Hee Jung (Lee Re) somehow gets involved with the cult.
The plot development isn't steady, rather the story is divided into 2 parts; the first 3 episodes showing about the rise of the cult group and the latter half showcasing it's consequences and got a solid plotline about Bae Young Jae (Park Jung Min) and Song So Hyun (Won Jin Ah) who are married couple with a newborn baby. The execution of these 2 seemingly different storylines set up in the same scenario is very well done by the PDnim.
Personally, I couldn't find anything great in the first episode to feel the urge of continuing the show but I had to do it anyways. The 2nd episode did interest me a bit, ngl. The 3rd episode is what makes you hooked because of the intriguing elements that will definitely raise your curiosity level. There is a leap when the 4th episode starts and whatever follows, is very crazy and insane; enough to make your blood boil. I've already mentioned it's a dystopia so be careful in case you're sensitive because this ain't for the light-hearted.
The back story of the entire show isn't completely explained, just like many other Netflix Korea Original shows, in order to keep the suspense for another season and this clearly is the case here. Some might cite things happening in here illogical, but do keep in mind that it's dystopia.
Acting as an overall, is pretty good. Skillful ones like Yoo Ah In, Kim Hyun Joo, Park Jung Min, Won Ji Ah, Yang Ik Jun, etc have done a good job as usual. Also, the supporting plus minor characters have delivered a decent job. Not to forget, Kim Hyun Joo's action skills were nice, though wasn't shown for long and well, I loved that part. Wish they made her do some extra stunts hehe.
The CGI could have been better bcs tbh, the monsters weren't even scary. I admit the story is mot just about the monsters, rather the story about wrong beliefs plus some sort hidden power, who's doing all these, but still; the monsters looked like somky hulks and least scary... However, as always the sound production is apt which enthralls and enrages you and makes you anxious.
Many important factors, shown in here are: false sense of justice and righteousness, crime and criminal minds, victim and their families, bloodlust, superstition, wrong beliefs, brainwashing, radicalism, abuse, parental love & care, death & it's essence, desires to live or survive, relentless fear, agony, vengeance, sadism, etc.
My most favourite line from Hellbound is from the finale episode where this random person says, "I don't know about Gods, neither do I care. But what I know is, this world belongs to people. And we should deal our matters by ourselves."
Again, Netflix Korea has done a bad job in regards of English translation, idk what has happened to them since Squid Game. No one is asking for literal translations but for goodness's sake don't divert the context of a conversation by translating sentences in a sense that doesn't even match the essence of it.
In fact the very ending of the finale episode indicates the beginning of another tragedy, hence implying about a second season. But well, I am disappointed that Netflix Korea keep doing it on a regular basis and go silent about the clarification for a 2nd season. Then they come back after a long while saying they will make it but by that time, a major portion of the cast gives up the drama, wth. Do better, Netflix Korea.
I must admit, the ending consequences have made me cry. Given the storyline, it was bound to be a sad and tragic ending but I don't expect they'll put forth some essence about death, relationship and beliefs, which actually made me see the entire thing in a good light by the end of the drama. The finale episode is the best one out of the 6. I was totally enthrilled by the entire episode.
By the end, from What, How and Why, one thing that wasn't explained was the "What" aspect and the root cause of the entire happening. Wish they would make a full-length drama out of the webtoon so that we could rate it a whole, or a movie could have been better. Anyways, the overall development was good, if not excellent. I would have given a 8.0 but honestly not that impressed.
Overally, Hellbound is a very good one time watch and worth the binge. I enjoyed most of the parts of the show, though I am not really awed or taken aback by this. I haven't read the original wentoon so can't say what alterations they've made or whether it meets the standard or not. I suggest you watch with a strong hold on your heart. Even if you're not that interested, please do it for the one and only Yoo Ah In bcs his visuals are top notch, oof.
Was this review helpful to you?
Is This A ‘Hellbound’ Experience?
With director and screenwriter Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan) and co-writer Choi Kyu-Seok basing the series upon their own webcomic and original production, this does leave viewers with one ultimate question; “ is ‘ Hellbound’ actually worth watching ?”
For jaded and cynical detective Jin Kyeong-hoon (Yang Ik-june) humanity has offered him nothing but pain and sorrow. Still trying to come to grips with his wife’s brutal murder and having a fractious relationship with teenage daughter Hee-jeong (Lee Re), Jin’s research into the cases leads him face to face with leader of the mysterious cult ‘ New Truth’, Chairman Jeong Jin- Soo ( Yoo Ah-in). The cult has pledged salvation for “ sinners” by spreading gospels of the angels and encourage them to “ repent”. However as episodes progress it soon becomes slowly apparent towards Jin-Soo’s true nature and the brutal goals of the group, with attorney Min Hye-jin (Kim Hyun-joo) pledging representation for the alleged “ sinners”.
The biggest thing to address about ‘ Hellbound’ is that it isn’t a show for the lighthearted. Whilst devoted fans of the webcomic may notice some subtle storyline changes ,the show is violent and not afraid to present brutal murders alongside people being combusted like human torches throughout the series.
Intertwined amongst the shoddy CGI monsters of ‘ Hellbound’ as well as alongside the spine-tingling OST by Kim Dong-wook, ‘ Hellbound ‘ expertly paces its descent into chaos, knowing when to slow down on abominable killings and when to present its moral deadlocks . From the rising corruption of religion and the cultural phenomenon in South Korea of hysterical puritanism, hypocrisy as well as the rise of extreme conservative views paradoxical to the insatiable appetite of society for violence through popular culture, ‘ Hellbound’ addresses a lot of issues without shame or embarrassment and with the entire purpose to expose current issues and realities in South-Korean society. However this is also where the series began to hit a rut after the midway point; it never really carried through these messages with regards to the medium of the series . Whilst some characters are used with a purpose, some seemingly quintessential main characters have rushed arcs or suddenly disappear without rhyme or reason, whilst the climax and rising tension of the drama often went on a downwards slope after the halfway point.
The acting front is admittedly a mixed-bag ( especially with some line deliverances by the supporting characters.) Of course whilst the main cast shone throughout, one of the most dynamic performances throughout the show was surprisingly Yoo Ah-In’s performance as fanatic cult leader Chairman Jin Soo .
Whilst main lead Jin Kyeong-hoon is admittedly a complex character type as the “ cynical cop” and female lead Hye-Jin as the “ attorney”, they often felt tightly crammed into their roles as stock characters tropes . This isn’t necessarily a bad approach per say and did give director and screenwriter Sang-Ho opportunities to reimburse old character tropes for his own gain, but it did little to really diverge these main leads from their expected decisions and actions, often leading them to be shoehorned into the plot ( as well as lacking more profound depth) rather than allowing the characters to move coherently within the contents of the storyline. For example a major subplot surrounding the series for Kyeong-Hoon is the murder of his wife. Whilst later revelations play briefly upon this subplot, the profound details surrounding Hoon’s reactions as well as his relationship with daughter as a consequence were left underexposed, and therefore lacked more sound emotional-depth also.
Of course getting back to our mysterious chairman it isn’t necessarily the case that he was executed as an entirely “ original villain” as after all Sang-Ho does enjoy playing upon Jin Soo as the “ calm and quiet” archetype. However where Sang-Ho creates mystery surrounding Jin-Soo is that he isn’t a “ redeemable antagonist with a painful past” or “twirling his moustache planning world domination”, but just a regular person with a megalomaniacal desire to deliver his warped sense of “ justice”. However whilst Jin Soo helped us to bring together our main characters and kept the storyline moving, his anticlimactic character arc and exit from the series raided more questions than answers afterwards.
This was often a major problem with ‘ Hellbound’- plot points which could’ve been meticulously executed onscreen or poignant for audiences to reflect upon, felt missed out completely by Sang-Ho’s imbalance of subtext against plot. For example even through the cinematography and as the director Sang-Ho never seemed entirely sure how he wanted to capture the world of the characters. Seemingly ordinary or gritty early episode scenes hinting at the unexpected, turned into moody and drab aesthetic shots of Seoul straight out of a noir crime series. This isn’t necessarily unheard of a director playing with mood or lighting to convey messages or by transcending genres. However , directors or cinematographers usually have a vision in mind when invoking these scenes for viewers. Sang-Ho seemed often uncertain even through the objective lens of the director with how this truly captured or presented the emotional mind-frame of his characters . . Adding to this Yeon and Choi weigh down each dramatic scene straight out of a jump-scare movie; the monsters’ attacks feel animalistic and playfully sadistic, but never truly added a more profound and impactful tone for audiences.
The ending of the series attempt to crank up the shock value to the maximum with the delivered revelations of the finale. However whilst the series does leave a more open ending through a cliffhanger major characters arcs, subplots and storyline moments were rarely tied together or felt more complete as a consequence.
So what is left to take from ‘ Hellbound’? ‘ Hellbound’ is a pacy supernatural thriller with an intriguing plot wrapped into six episodes. Aside from some dodgy acting by our side characters, the main cast were decent enough and the standalone performance by Yoo Ah-In did give the drama some undeniably charisma. However one of the major problems with the Netflix series is that it becomes lost in a maze of its own doing; subtext themes and plot were often lacking in depth and more profound deliverance, whilst even some of our main characters lost their gravitation to audiences by abrupt exploration and coverage alongside an incomplete ending. The series attempts to deliver a “ terrifying” experience through the CGI “ monsters” of the series whose design and presence onscreen felt insipid. Overall ‘ Hellbound’ is not a bad per say during a binge-watch session with an intriguing enough plot to keep you engaged, but certainly lacking within delivering a more sound impact for viewers also.
Was this review helpful to you?
How's the story: does it exist? I don't think so,
Jung Jin Soo is creepy, monsters are funny (literally), Min Hye Jin is reckless but cool (But what's the use?), Kyung Hoon is... wait what's his role? lol. My brother is annoying, Oops sorry this is unrelated. Well, so is the show apparently."When one person suffers from delusions, we call it a mental illness. When the society suffers from them, we call it being normal." -Anonymous
One of the few things done right is the portrayal of society and its mindset lol... I'd rather won't comment on how religious things are shown... but the whole setup of how people (normal people not the crazy dudes) think... was relatable.
For 50×6=300min (approx), I was staring at my laptop screen, was legit for nothing coz this drama is just so random. Some random characters with some random backstories, with their random purpose put together and bunch of super annoying characters are thrown...wait, that explains poster well. Drama ends up being a hot mess that doesn't serve justice to anything, anyone... characters, actors-their acting.
I'm curious what's the writer trying to show actually...Story is like some scattered pieces joined together without giving proper time to explore any character well. I didn't the webtoon to I've no idea abt the background story.. but just judging from the drama. It lacks in many ways, it's confusing, writing just sucks, editing is choppy, the whole cult thing is crazy, why some characters exist... then they just vanish in a thin air. Other than Jung Jin Soo's purpose everything has loose ends, should I call it a Netflix thing so they can create seasons per season.
I do not have a problem with bad CGI even though it made me laugh at the monsters... they legit look funny, or even cinematography. They can have a small budget it's understandable... but what's wrong with lighting? Okay, I get that Netflix is been trying this for a while now... making dark lighting and cinematography to suit the theme of thrillers, but that doesn't mean it should be this bad that I had to check the brightness of my device two times. With bad color grading, it's weirdly dark.
The acting is spot on. Yoo Ah In legit gave me chills... but he doesn't look himself and if he's the sole reason if you want to watch the whole thing, you'll be disappointed he's dangling carrot. I appreciate Kim Hyun Joo's performance too. Park Jung Min and Woo Jin Ah slayed in a very small amount of screen time given.
I think the main problem with it is they just tried to do many things together is a small amount of time. Trying to put many characters... many things happening at the same time. But this season is just meant for the introduction and things are explained in later seasons... I may ignore it but right now I'm just thinking of it as an individual drama.
It doesn't have many surprising, thrilling, action factors. I didn't find it the least bit scary nor any jump-scaring moments. It's gory, disturbing at times...you might get disgusted on many occasions but I won't call it a good horror.
It doesn't bother to explain anything, just wreck your brain on your own. Nothing is impressive... nothing. I admit it's different but not in an extraordinary way. It's just normal... might be good as time pass, as I'm the least bit entertained and thrilled. I just hope the second season (if it's gonna happen) will prove me wrong and this is just a build-up for it.
Am I being harsh? yes. I should be.
Was this review helpful to you?
From the social sciences point of view
Sociology being my major in undergrad made me appreciate this series. It discusses the purpose of religion in our our society. On the level of the individual, it exists to satiate people's search for meaning, answers questions that science still fails to address, matters that are beyond our understanding. As Karl Marx puts it, it is the "opium of the masses."On an institutional level, it serves to ensure social control. We have laws in place, and religion reinforces them in the form of introducing the concept of morality and guilt, of heaven and eternal damnation.
Not a lot of kdramas offer this kind of commentary, so I should say it's worth a watch.
Was this review helpful to you?
Epic!
Hellbound is confusing and also scary. I loved watching this Korean drama. Episode 1, and 3 are really good, it scares and keeps you so hooked on it but then episode 4,5 and 6, leaves you so confusing. Everything got confusing to me. Like the story went on a different track. This series by Netflix is definitely worth the watch but watch it carefully.The ending reminded me of Daenerys Targaryen's birth of the dragon ending, visually so beautiful and story-wise so confusing but mysterious. The sound, cinematography and colors, well done, The VFX was amazing too.
Was this review helpful to you?
Wasn't Expecting Much & Not Much Is What I Got
First things first, this is my genre. All things supernatural, horror, and psychological thrillers are my jam. They make me happy. Somehow I knew from the trailer that Hellbound wasn't going to make me happy, but like a moth to a flame or a cat to a shiny thing... well you get the picture.The story had potential. It was obvious from the trailer that the supernatural was going to be on the back burner and the story was going to be more humanistic. It's a slice of life with CG monsters. In a series this short either the story has to develop quickly and you forego character development or your characters have to grow by leaps and bounds. Neither happens in Hellbound. The fault lies squarely on the shoulders of writer/director Yeon Sang Ho. The first 2 or 3 episodes are spent setting us up the characters that disappear by the end of the 3rd episode. You really only know what happens to one. Unless I dozed off, you get no closure on the main character in the first few episodes. I mean none. He's just gone. Then the story jumps 4 years and the 2nd set of characters are tied to the first by the only character from the first 3 episodes to still be around.
The writing was disappointing. I felt like Yeon was trying to preach, but couldn't figure out how to start his sermon. So he floundered, changed his mind, and started again. I don't know if he wanted to take on zealotry and idolatry or religion in general. It really did seem like he was trying to sneak in a message. Yeon also fails at directing. It's a dark series and I don't mean the subject matter. Even when the characters are outside on sunny days, the shots were dreary. We get it. Bad times ahead. Honestly, some scenes reminded me of film school projects. I'm starting to feel the same about Yeon as I do about M. Knight Shymalan, concentrate on the writing son, leave the directing to someone with more talent. Train to Busan may have been a happy accident because of the cast not his talent. But, hey, the visual and sound effects were great!
The cast does a good job with the material given. However, there is no character development. Park Jung Min gave a solid performance. Overall, his character may have been the best written or well rounded followed by Yang Ik Jun's character. Kim Hyun Joo was window dressing. Her character was a caricature of a strong female lead instead of actually being one.
I scored the music high because it does a great job supporting and setting up scenes. The rewatch value is 0. If you have ever read any of my reviews, you know I almost always say I rarely rewatch a drama. I can tell you with absolute certainty that unless inebriated, paid, or under duress I will never watch Hellbound again. Mind you it ends on a cliffhanger so I may watch part 2.
Overall, it's a 5.5- 6.0 primarily because the visual and sound effects and because there is something there. I like the idea of the story but it's just not told very well. I'd only recommend it to die hard supernatural genre fans like myself. For the average viewer I'd say skip it or at least wait to see if there is a season 2 and then watch them together.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Well, well, well…
Make some tea, this will take a while…!!!ALL the spoilers will be warned beforehand!!!
Hellbound is one of the examples where a story with an interesting concept was "bound", not to hell, but to not develop fully so that it could reach its true potential.
Hellbound is a supernatural horror drama not for the light-hearted. Even though Hellbound is not scary, it contains extreme violence and gore which makes it very dark, raw and twisted.
The story revolves around a mysterious phenomenon where some weird creatures burn humans and bind them to Hell. As fast these monsters burn humans, so slow burn the drama is. For a 6-episode length drama, it’s really slow paced. Personally, I like slow paced dramas when this factor helps in building the universe of the story, the atmosphere, the suspense or the characters’ depth. In Hellbound though, nothing of these happens. That’s why I found the whole set up (especially the first 3 episodes) a little boring and I don’t think that the drama can be binged-watched easily as its slowness makes it a very exhausting experience.
~~~What went wrong~~~
The real problem of the story though, it’s not the pace. I think that the story has 2 main problems
~ The Randomness~
DISCLAIMER: ~Randomness~ does not contain spoilers but it describes very generally how the storyline works.
The one problem is the randomness. Many random people were involved in many random situations that led to a random storyline.
Hellbound feels like watching a “collection of stories” which take place in the same universe. The storyline is showing some of the actions/situations of many different people during the crisis, but never you’ll never get to see in depth the character's way of thinking or get to fully know their personalities. Also, you won’t even get to know the whole story for some of them. As a result, you can’t get attached with any of the characters. There are only some cases where you can feel sorry for some of them and that’s it.
In addition, the relationships between the characters feel kind of superficial to me. The fact that you see many people with not a certain relationship between them, strengthened the randomness factor because basically, the drama was just throwing random characters and their stories to your face. The weird thing is that the drama isn’t that long and it didn’t even have these many characters to feel like it’s overdrawn with them and their stories, but it did.
And here is where the critical question arises: among all these characters, who is the protagonist?
I asked myself many times and to my surprise, I couldn’t come up with an answer. In Hellbound there isn’t anyone that you can call “the protagonist” of the story. Thus, as a watcher, you don’t have anyone to follow and process the story with. This is actually the reason that everyone seems irrelevant with each other, there isn’t a protagonist to bound all of them together.
Don’t get me wrong though. Good stories without a certain protagonist can exist but I believe that Hellbound isn't one of them.
~Netflix~
The second problem, that I believe is the most serious one, is Netflix.
Netflix has started to produce more and more Kdramas lately and some of the dramas it has made had huge and global success. Even though I really loved many of them, I have to say that there’s a different aura in these dramas, a more “Netflix” aura that slowly takes the K from Kdrama away.
The main problem I have with Netflix original dramas is the “see you in the second season that isn’t even confirmed that’s gonna happen” thing. As a regular asian-drama watcher, I have been used to watching a drama that has one season with a story that has a start-middle-closure which in the end I like or dislike and then, move on to the next watching adventure. I, and many others I have talked to, like asian-dramas because of this. I’d lie if I’d say that I haven’t liked dramas which have multiple seasons but Netflix has just overdone it lately.
Thus, I started to think if I dislike the fact that Hellbound is another Netflix drama which will have a second season, or if there was something wrong regardless of the fact that Hellbound has to have a second season. The answer here is both.
Hellbound is based on a webtoon by the same name. I haven’t read the webtoon. I don’t know the full story, so I don’t have an opinion about it. Maybe the webtoon is a hidden gem, when I read it, I will see for myself. For now, everything I based this review on is the 6 episodes that I have watched.
The webtoon’s original run was from August 25, 2019 to September 21, 2020. This means that the story was completed and Netflix could have released the whole story in one go, but it didn’t. This led to the creation of a drama which basically has no story progression. It’s remarkable, the first season ended and it answered literally nothing, on the other hand, it raised more questions than the already existing ones. The first season could have been described as the “backstory” of the Hellbound but it’s nearly the beginning of the story.
Maybe, if Netflix had released the whole story in one go, the progression and the escalation of the story and characters, that was needed, would be there. Unfortunately, Hellbound’s story was bound by Netflix to not develop as it should, and this is really sad. As the story hasn’t ended yet, to see the story’s full potential we have to wait until the second season is released (if it will be released) or read the webtoon instead. For me, Hellbound will be saved if the second season comes to set the record straight and puts everything in its proper place.
~~~What went well~~~
Despite the fact that the storyline is messy, there are some things that I quite liked about Hellbound.
~The concept~
!!WARNING ~The concept~ part contains SPOILERS!!
Hellbound has managed to build a dystopian world that's based on a very -as nonsense as it sounds- realistic depiction of human thought. Humans through the years tried to explain the world and the natural phenomena around them using logic. In the early years though, humans couldn’t understand all of the things around them. Thus, they attributed the nature of these phenomena to God and God’s Will and many times humans were scared by them. A perfect example is Greek mythology. One of the Greek mythology myths is saying that God Zeus was using lighting as a weapon and to punish but in many myths, he didn’t use lightning to punish but to seek solutions.
Likewise, in Hellbound we see people become witnesses to a supernatural phenomenon which they couldn’t explain. In their fear and lack of knowledge they attributed this supernatural phenomenon to God’s Will to punish sinners. At the end of episode 3, Jun Jin Soo explains exactly the feeling of human’s fear to the unknown perfectly.
“Do you honestly believe true justice can be served through man-made law?”. This is the moral question that Hellbound asks through Jun Jin Soo and answers through the 6 episodes of the fist season. Law was made by humans when society was created to ensure harmonious coexistence between people. Of course, nothing man-made is perfect and the same applies to the law. Through the years, humans fight for their rights and always try to improve the law as much as their human nature allows them.
In Hellbound, we see people turn a blind eye to the law and only believe in the God’s Punishment, which was actually the product of human fear. The deviation from legal life led to the creation of Hellbound’s dystopian world. Thus, through this world, Hellbound shows the value and the importance of human law and how humanity would end up without them.
~The production and Acting~
The production is not perfect, but it’s decent enough. It has some generally good cinematography and even though the music was average, it was on point and it fitted very well with the drama’s tone and atmosphere. As the drama has a very dark plot, the colors follow this darkness too so the color palette contains strictly cool colors. The visual FX are very satisfying in general but the VFX I think that lacked in some parts. The CGI of the monsters honestly wasn’t bad, the design of them was only somehow weird and not scary enough. Personally, I didn’t care about the monster’s appearance, I had other things that I didn’t like and found them more serious problems. Last, for the acting, Yoo Ah In was exceptional as always and the other actors acted good enough alongside him. Won Jin Ah's performance as mother and Park Jung Min as a father were really remarkable too and I enjoy watching them a lot.
Conclusion
Hellbound wasn’t good, but it wasn’t very bad either. Everything will depend on the second season. Until then, if you want to watch a horror-thriller series and you don’t care about how complex and well-written the story process is, you would definitely enjoy it.
Was this review helpful to you?
Everyone needs to stop talking crap about this!
This series is for sure worth a watch. Everyone here is complaining about the open ending. Calm your horses that ending is as open of an ending as Squid game. I didnt see anyone complaining about that? I dont get why some people here are upset with the second half (the last 3 episodes)? Yes the first 3 episodes was a great example of tension and release. And i also get why the last 3 episodes could've been confusing, but the more you watch the more you start getting on track again. The only reason it gets a little confusing is because we suddenly jump to the life of someone else. The story is split in two and the second half jumps a couple of years forward. I really think they did a good job on getting the story stable after jumping to a disconnected continuition. I got absolute thrills during every episode. I couldnt stop watching! Kept it going until 3 am. Now it has been a day and i've thought carefully about the series and the reviews. I think that the bad reviews are overall from people that got lost during the last 3 episodes. I guess its not a series for everyone because not everyone is good at putting together pieces in stories. Dont leave half ass reviews just because the story died off for you after not understanding what the flip is going on. The only thing slightly negative thing about this series was the special effects. It was slightly unrealistic on a few parts like (small spoiler alert) the disintegrator where the man was burning alive. It looked a little funny. And maybe some wounds were slightly off. Nothing significant. It probably wont bother the average watcher. I really recommend this show! Just please keep your attention on the show while watching it. I know enough people who scroll around on their phone and after its done they start complaining about how they didnt understand half the story. Oh two more things. The acting was honestly great. I was impressed on certain parts by the performance of the actors. A great cast :) A little more about the open ending. It will bother the people who hate open endings, but i personally dont mind. The open ending leaves a lot of options for season 2. I for sure cant wait for the second season!Was this review helpful to you?
This is NOT for everyone, but if you try it do so with an open mind and a strong heart.
I am not here to say that everyone criticizing this series is wrong, but that everyone should form their opinion on this drama by watching it and not by reading reviews, either positive or negative.Personally just today I've said 'this drama is not for everyone' to a friend of mine that asked me if she should watch it or skip it when i told her i had binged watched it. I did say that exactly because this drama is NOT entertainment, it's not easy and it will make you feel uneasy. It's frustrating, it has a desperate edge and heavy meaning with almost no hope, characters are not lovable and many moments will definitely make you cringe while watching.
So no, it's not for everyone or not for every moment, or for every kind of mood you are in. I would totally say to not watch it to someone who doesn't like heavy depressing content, i would say not to watch this to anyone looking for some relax and light content, and so on and on.
If someone who is looking for entertainment watch this and is disappointed based on the development of the plotline hence gives a low rating because of that it's not an objective or fair judgement. I don't like splatter at all, most of the time i find it gross and cheep but if i watch a story whose plot requires lots of splatter and i don't like it i don't immediately assume that's the drama's fault, but that maybe my personal dislike makes me a less objective judge on the value of the product in general and of the value and enjoyment it helds for the audience it's been specifically created for. So everyone has the right to leave any comment or review or rating, and everyone is entiteld to their own opinion on this. Personally though, when i read some reviews before deciding if i wanted to give it a try or not, I imagined this drama to be completely different and very poorly done. I almost gave it up without trying it amd i would have if Netflix did not have the autoplay for new series.
The first minute of hellbound starte automatically for me and it made me curious again so i left it running, still thinking i would be bored or find this ridiculous. Instead the more i watched the more i was disturbed by the deeper thems this drama presents. It's not the 'angels or demons' thing that's interesting, those are mere plot devices to present the truly scary monsters of this story: HUMANS. The supernatural creatures that appears from the start have no other role than being literally the deus ex machina to explain the story.
What dragged me into this drama unwillingly and by the hair, is its bleak commentary on our society and culture through a religious metaphor. I have not found enjoyable one single second of the 6 episodes, yet it made me think about aspects of human nature that i generally prefer to not dwell on too much because they are hard and unpleasant.
So if you are looking at ratings and review of Hellboud before starting the drama itself i'd say it's safe to assume that all the votes in this page are not exactly left to comment on the value of cinematography, writing, directing, and acting of this drama, but more of an expression of what this drama has meant to the viewer in terms of meaning of the plot and it's development or the social commentary that reside in the deeper level of the story. Personally i did not enjoy it, actually i quite hated it, yet i watched it all because to me every episode left behind welts of hurt and a hunger of thoughts that dramas i've loved and enjoy deeply rarely have.
Was this review helpful to you?
Another great series in 2021
2021 has been great in terms of Korean productions as exemplified by "Sweet & Sour" and "Move to Heaven". "Hellbound" is a series for everyone, but not everyone will appreciate it.The title and the reactions in the series to a repeated supernatural phenomenon, gives the viewers an insight into mass psyche in front of God/the transcendent.
Then, in the middle of the series one person makes a smart remark that goes against mainstream: in reality we are facing an unexplained set of phenomena and some people are exploiting these phenomena.
The author and/or movie maker will make everything crystal clear in the last seconds of the last episode, and I won't spoil it.
Was this review helpful to you?
