This series, the second series of which should be released in the summer, is a far cry from BL productions from university faculties. I think that it could be made into a much bigger drama by omitting a bit of useless "magic" for me. But it still had the power and much desired BL otherness and I didn't expect it to be so engaging. Processing and visuals were probably the best of all evaluation criteria for me, when the acting falters a little. I recommend it to everyone who is looking for some change and new pleasant faces in BL production series.
Hlavní postavou tohoto psychologického thrilleru je křehký mladík Vee, vychováván v takzvané chráněné výchově k nevědomosti apoštolskou jeptiškou, kterému ukradnou jeho nevinnost tři sourozenci Dong (krásný Filipínec Migo de Vera, který hraje hlavní roli i v novém seriálu Inn Love - premiéra květen 2021), dále Jay, nejmladší chlípný bratr a mrcha Jennifer, která zneužívá kouzla jejich matky čarodějnice. Vee je postupně zneužíván všemi třemi sourozenci k sexu a vydírání.
Tento seriál, kdy v létě by měla vyjít druhá série, je na hony vzdálen BL produkcím z VŠ fakult. Myslím, že by z toho šlo udělat ještě daleko větší drama s vynecháním pro mě trošku zbytečných "kouzel". Ale i tak to mělo sílu a tolik žádanou BL jinakost a nečekal jsem, že to bude až tak poutavé. Zpracování a vizuál bylo pro mě asi nejlepší ze všech kritérií hodnocení, kdy herectví malinečko pokulhávalo. Doporučuji všem, kteří hledají v seriálech BL produkce nějakou změnu a na pohled nové příjemné tváře.
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I Am Conflicted AF
This was a very strange series. Don't get me wrong, I love dark premises. Plus dark premises mixed with magic/witchcraft!? *Chefs kisses, I love that stuff. But them trying to incorporate it with this BL kind of storyline didn't mesh very well. We essentially have our main guy being lusted after by 3 different people, all of which are siblings. That's interesting enough, but then there's incantations going on and harsh religious upbringing stuff and major deceit. It was a lot to try and do within only 6 episodes. It felt like each episode was disjointed from the other and that's not good.I could tell watching this that the budget was basically non-existent. Which makes sense since this is a web show on YouTube. I'm not sure if there was a kickstarter for this, but if there wasn't they should've started one! It could've given the creators even more money to play with. What they had though they used fairly well. Certain camera tricks were used for the dark magic stuff, some of it a little cheesy but nothing cringy. The incantations themselves were actually probably the best parts of the show! Then we get to the "romances", I put that in quotes because they are all individually toxic in their own ways and hard to watch. Like I said there's major deceit in this and that includes blatant sexual assault. I'm glad it wasn't played off as nothing, its addressed but not well enough still. I need serious repercussions to happen in one of these shows dammit! Also there's abuse coming from Jay's character. It's a mess, its meant to be but if you can't handle that stuff do not watch.
The only decent character in this morally is Dong. Or at least that's what I got from the ending, which was kind of a letdown by the way. They tried a twist and it didn't land hard enough. I think it's the way Vee delivers it is why it didn't work for me, it needed a real punch for a complete character switch to work. Instead they just kind of blurt it out in dialogue the last few minutes with very little to back it up and then a character seemingly gets killed? Nah I need more than that for it to hit. There were some good moments in the narrative, but it just sucks that the ending happened in that way. I don't think we necessarily need a season 2, but I know they will carry through with that since the show garnered the amount of success it did. Finally, I wanted to say that as much as I appreciate low budget stuff (I'm a film student so I identify deeply) they could've also casted differently. I think the main actors were alright for the most part, but some of the dialogue was delivered so horribly I couldn't take it seriously at all. I wish all the best for the cast and crew though! Let's hope for more progression from them!
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MESS
The whole series off, if you like things with weird and twisted plot. This is for you. But personally for me it was terrible. In the beginning it was starting off good, I notcied the quality and acting was sloppy but not everyone can afford expensive equipment so I looked over it. Then Vee and Dongs relationship was starting and I thought it was cute. Then once Jennifer druggees Vee, it started turning more dark. Which isnt really a problem, if they did it more properly. I feel it was too just out of no where. And if the actor backed it up, it woud be ok. Then next day Vee is telling Dong he had a great night not knowing that he was drugged or whatever. Vee and Dong start getting a little frisky and then here comes Jay [I think his name is] blackmailing Vee and r@ping him. I get thats suppose to be dark and all. If they just showed more FORESHADOWING. Plus Jay's actors acting was terrible. Long story short a lot of things happen and we find out Vee was behind it all. Which its a good ending but it was so out of nowhere and seemed rushed and unplanned. So overal, its just a messy plot with plot holes. But it can be good if you want to ignore all of it.Was this review helpful to you?
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BL com bruxaria: Amei
Com certeza é um BL do tipo jamais visto antes. Muitos elementos misturados, a bruxaria, o fanatismo e a hipocrisia religiosos, a farsa da família que se ama, e tudo isso com uma dose forte de erotismo. Na verdade o roteiro é muito bom, e ainda aguardo uma segunda temporada que feche as pontas que ficaram em aberto, como o real caráter de Vee, se Jay realmente morreu, o que aconteceu com a mãe, se Jeniffer morre, qual a reação de Dong diante disso tudo? Ele é cúmplice ou vítima? Enfim, muitas perguntas sem respostas, num plot surpreendente que terminou de uma forma que jamais imaginei. A direção fez um ótimo trabalho com a fotografia, os efeitos e tudo o mais.Um ponto em aberto pra mim, é que a mãe deles aparenta ser uma bruxa sábia e poderosa, mas não foi capaz de perceber as mazelas que ocorriam debaixo de seu próprio teto.
Em relação ao trabalho dos atores, não posso dar nota 10, mas eu dou entre 7,5 e 8,5 para o elenco.
A ost dessa série é ótima, super coerente e envolvente, completa as cenas com maestria. Já vi a série duas vezes, aguardo ansiosa uma nova temporada, e recomendo a todos que queiram ver algo inovador.
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