Fans of death games are familiar with dramas like the Korean Squid Games and the Japanese Alice in Borderland, and this one is a Chinese version of the death games and a drama adaptation of an award-winning Chinese psychology suspense novel. I wrote the "Chinese version" because every Chinese drama watcher knows how strict Chinese censorship is. Therefore, in contrast to other countries' death games that are R-rated, this one is PG-13: minus profanity, nudity, and violence. I will also explain why the drama title has the number 19 in it.

STORY/PLOT:

The MDL synopsis is accurate so I won't add anything to it. "19th Floor" (actually, there are no physical floors, more likely levels) is a drama adaptation of the novel "The Nineteenth Floor of Hell" ((地狱的第十九层), a winner of the 2005 Sina Book of the Year Award, written by Chinese best-selling psychological suspense novelist Cai Jun (蔡骏). In the novel, according to Baidu, "the story aims to express a profound proposition beyond fear. Everyone has the original sin of greed, jealousy, selfishness, or anger in their hearts. Once tempted and the truth is revealed in broad daylight, there will be uncontrollable and unreasonable consequences. One's bizarre behavior, falling into layers of hell is a cruel punishment for the inner demons".

To pass the NRTA review, there are big changes made. Firstly, the word 'hell' is omitted, because CCP is atheist, and hell is a religious word, thus should not be in modern titles (can be added in xianxia's titles that are merely mythical stories). There is a Hong Kong movie adaptation "Naraka 19" with a plot that is true to the novel. Secondly. because the drama's mission is to educate young viewers, since the main characters mainly are university students, the drama focuses on the character growths of the main and important supporting characters who are the game players. Thirdly, there are no real deaths, as stated in the synopsis, the losers fell into a coma in the real world. Fourthly, there is profanity, nudity, and violence, thus making this drama a PG-13 version. Although I don't read the novel, I assume the novel is scarier than the drama. Fifthly, because it's a university setting, a slight romance is added to this drama, and the romance subplot does not take over the mystery plot.

Why Number 19:

It was in the Tang dynasty when the more popular concept of the “18 levels of hell” came to be, circulated by the Buddhist text "Sutra on Questions about Hell", which mentioned 134 worlds of hell that were then simplified to a total of 18 for convenience. Each of the 18 levels contains a specific method of torture for a specific sin. At the end of my review, before the spoiler of the ending, I will list the 18 levels of hell for your convenience.

The novel adds the 19th level of hell on purpose which I won't spoil you what it is, especially since the drama doesn't describe any hell nor do the games symbolize the 18 levels of hell. The number 19 in the drama simply is the number of the abandoned school building where some of the games are played.

Plot-wise I gave this drama a 9.0 because in their real lives, the story is a bit draggy with the character growth process some young characters have to develop. The games themselves are fast-paced, some I even think are too fast since the games end in only one episode. Definitely, they are thriller games, not suspense games (unlike, for example, Spirealm which I'm watching currently in which one game takes several episodes to finish).

Because of the character growth process, some conversations are deep and heart-to-heart. Therefore, is better if viewers understand Chinese either written or spoken. Unfortunately, some of us watched it through the bad translation of MangoTV, so we lost the depth. Fortunately, Viki will pick the subbing up. Hopefully, the late viewers would appreciate this drama more and thus will rate it higher.

CHARACTER/ACTING:

Chun Yu, the Female Lead, is the focus of this drama (also in the novel). She is intelligent, brave, and cute, but she holds a hatred towards someone that later is addressed in this drama.

Gao Xuan, the Male Lead, becomes Chun Yu's companion in solving the mystery and overcoming the game's challenges. This character is somewhat mysterious, because of the nature of Gao Xuan in the original source (I will spoil you about him at the end of the review). Casting Wei Zhe Ming as Gao Xuan is perfect, as I have seen him playing antagonists (or semi-antagonists) in the past.

I won't spoil you with the supporting characters, but the many characters are flawed/three-dimensional. As its original source explores characters with the sin of greed, jealousy, selfishness, or anger in their hearts, so does this drama but with positive outcomes.

Besides acting out greed, jealousy, selfishness, or anger, most actors and actresses did a good job of portraying fear, considering they don't face real monsters but greenscreens. The actors' or actresses' facial expressions befit the characters' confusion or stress when facing horrendous situations or trying to solve (time-ticking) puzzles or mysteries.

VISUALS:

This is a death game theme with monsters, puzzles, and mind games, therefore, props, sets, and CGI depicting the darkness and the intensity of each game are a must. They are pretty much well done and some give you jump scare or suspense without gore or horror. I specifically love the jump scare of the first game with the shadow puppets. I have watched many mystery-genre Chinese dramas in which shadow puppets become mysterious aspects, and in this drama shadow puppets are monstrous aspects.

OST:
The ending OST is "The Last Light" by Wang Mi Ran, a Mongolian-descent singer, with the stage name Miya. Actor Xiao Kai Zhong who played the character Zhang Tian Qiang, sang the male version of this OST as an insert song during the scenes with him in it.

SPOILERS (Scroll down if you want to know about 18 levels of hell according to Buddhism, the character of the Male Lead, and the ending)






















18 Levels of Hell (Not mentioned in the drama, because it's considered religious - Buddhism belief or mythical/superstition per NRTA censorship)

1. Hell of Tongue-ripping, where those who gossip and spread trouble with their words will repeatedly have their tongues ripped out.
2. Hell of Scissors, where those who destroy someone else’s marriage will have their fingers repeatedly cut off.
3. Hell of Trees of Knives, where those who sow discord amongst family members will be repeatedly hung from trees made of sharp knives.
4. Hell of Mirrors of Retribution, where those who have managed to escape punishment for their crimes while alive will be repeatedly shown their true horrific selves.
5. Hell of Steamers, where hypocrites and troublemakers will repeatedly be steamed “alive.”
6. Hell of Copper Pillars, where arsonists will be repeatedly chained to red-hot pillars of copper.
7. Hell of the Mountain of Knives, where those who have killed for pleasure or without good reason will repeatedly be made to climb a mountain made of sharp blades sticking out of it.
8. Hell of the Mountain of Ice, where adulterers, deceivers of elders, and schemers will be repeatedly left out on a barren mountain of ice to freeze.
9. Hell of the Cauldrons of Oil, where rapists, thieves, abusers, and false accusers will be repeatedly fried in vats of boiling oil.
10. Hell of the Cattle Pit, where those who have abused animals will repeatedly be hurt by animals in turn.
11. Hell of the Crushing Boulder, where those who have abandoned or killed children will repeatedly be made to hold up heavy boulders, eventually being crushed by their weight.
12. Hell of Mortars and Pestles, where those who voluntarily waste food will repeatedly be force-fed hell fire by demons.
13. Hell of the Blood Pool, where those who disrespect others will be thrown in and submerged into a pool of blood.
14. Hell of the Wrongful Dead, where those who have committed suicide—considered deliberately going against the karmic course of the universe—will be forced to repeatedly wander the realm without a way out, while being pelted constantly by the Winds of Sorrow and the Rains of Pain.
15. Hell of Dismemberment, where tomb raiders will have their bodies repeatedly torn into pieces.
16. Hell of the Mountain of Fire, where thieves, robbers, and the corrupt will be repeatedly thrown into the fiery pits of an active volcano.
17. Hell of Mills, where those who have misused their power to oppress the weak will repeatedly be crushed in a stone mill.
18. Hell of Saws, where those who have engaged in unethical or unfair business practices, or exploited loopholes in the legal system, will be repeatedly sawn in half by demons with saws.

Regarding the Male Lead Gao Xuan:
In the novel, Gao Xuan is an antagonist. In the drama, Gao Xuan is a protagonist

Ending:
Overall a happy ending, EVERYONE is alive and played the final game to fight the villain. Broken relationships are mended. There are two romantic couples formed, Chun Yu and Gao Xun are one of the couples.

The last scene depicting a new death game starting is probably just a tease for the possibility of Season 2. So, the drama doesn't end with a cliffhanger or open ending.

Because of this type of a wholesome happy ending, my final rating is 9.5.