Korean folklore and mythology paired together with elements of horror and fantasy are certainly not new to the world of K-dramas. From director Jang Young-woo(‘Mr. Sunshine’, ‘Sweet Home’, ) alongside screenwriters Kwon So-ra and Seo Jae-won ( ‘The Guest’), ‘ Bulgasal: Immortal Souls’ offered viewers with a seemingly woeful revenge fantasy epic. However whilst the intriguing premise and impressive cast lineup will certainly hook and entice viewers, ‘ Bulgasal: Immortal Souls’ ‘ lacklustre plot , pacing and character-writing became more prominent as the storyline progressed.

In the early exposition of the narrative , Kwon So-ra and Seo Jae-won attempted to foreground the events from six hundred years ago surrounding the inauspicious birth of main lead Dan Hwal ( Lee Jin-wook). Deemed cursed, Dan Hwal is transformed into a bulgasal ( a vampire-like immortal creature that feasts on human blood), while heroically fighting monsters as a solider. Hwal is determined not to throw away his humanity and seeks out revenge against the former-bulgasal who cursed him. No longer a prisoner of mortality and time, Hwal desperately seeks out the creature’s reincarnations throughout the centuries.

A present day time-skip reveals to the audience that Hwal believes that he’s found the former-bulgasal’s current incarnation Min Sang-Woon (Kwon Na Ra) . However there’s a catch; Sang-Woon is a mortal human. Together with her sister Min Shi Ho ( Gong Seung Yeon), the siblings have spent most of their childhood running away from monsters that most would only believe existed in fairytales. Sang-Woon soon finds her life ineffably intertwined with the monster who she’d be told to fear the most; the bulgasal. Hwal and Sang-Woon find that fate has had a mysterious way of bringing them together as past incarnations of people from the past soon enter their lives. However, the mysterious appearance of sadistic bulgasal Ok Eul Tae ( Lee Joon) soon threatens their fates. With his personal vendetta and morbid fascination with Hwal, Eul Tae is determined to stop at nothing to enact his own revenge.

While screenwriters Kwon So-ra and Seo Jae-won do give comical moments throughout the drama it is important to establish that these are sparse and spread out. ‘ Bulgasal: Immortal Souls’ isn’t a series for the lighthearted . The storyline focused upon elements of grim suspense ( particularly through the appearance of the monsters)as well as gratuitous gore . Nevertheless despite some stunning aesthetics surrounding fight scenes, the abundance of explicit violence in director Jang Young-woo’s fantasy series has been received with mixed reception also.

Naturally it isn’t out of the question for a series that primarily focuses upon blood-drinking entities and malicious monsters to delve into bloodthirsty scenes. In fact it is even arguable that the absence of violence from the series would not have allowed director Jang Young Woo to have a wider scope towards exploring and captivating the tainted and savage world of the characters.

On the other hand for a series which attempted to present itself as an narrative immersed with complex and psychologically conflicted characters, it felt odd that ‘ Bulgasal: Immortal Souls’’ heavy reliance upon gore and violence for shock-value thrills would rarely allow opportunities in order to flesh-out weaker characters, plot holes or quintessentially deliver an impactful coup de grâce by the ending of the series.

The acting of the series could admittedly have several slip ups with line deliverances but the main cast were fairly dynamic onscreen. Actor Lee Jin-Wook has long been typecast in rom-coms . However, since his venture into different genres through ‘ Voice’ and having previously worked alongside director Jang Young-woo in ‘ Sweet Home’, it should come as no surprise to viewers that Jin-Wook carries himself well onscreen as main lead Hal. The actor added a surprising touch of heartache and mystery to his onscreen persona which, whilst slightly limited by the scope of script, did give Hal an intriguing streak for audiences .

Mysterious, reserved and powerful, Hal is an intriguing main character with many notable flaws and strengths. Despite his curse Hal is able to retain his humanity due many personal drives throughout the series. Nevertheless whilst Hal’s motives were admirable, there was always a slight sense of dull focus upon Hal truly struggling or being presented with more conflict ( due to initial foreshadowing) with his primal instincts . Of course whilst there is the argument that Hal may have used six-hundred years to practice self-restraint, but, it did seem odd that this wasn’t a conflicting trait for a character to struggle more ( even in flashbacks) with an obstacle against his seeming crusade to regain humanity throughout the storyline .

This could’ve easily been presented even in his seeming complicated antagonistic counterpart Eul Tae; a bond which whilst necessary for plot-drive rarely delivered an impactful blow. In addition to this even as someone who was ‘detached’ from human history, it seemed an odd plot fall that Hal rarely gave insight into meeting past incarnations, figures or people throughout this period of time.( Aside from the initial exposition and some brief “ historic” photos shown between the past and present .)

Then of course Jin Wook’s costar Kwon Na Ra as the main female lead of the series. A former idol, Na Ra’s acting portfolio from ‘ My Suspicious Partner’ and ‘ My Mister’ to ‘ Doctor Prisoner’ and ‘ Itaewon Class’ , has certainly given an opportunity for Na Ra to express her eclectic range of acting abilities onscreen. The actress added a surprising level of angst and mystery onscreen helping to convey a natural and mysterious charm to her onscreen role as Min Sang-Woon. Nevertheless, whilst Na Ra is a dynamic actress , her character was arguably very limited by the writing .

It isn’t necessarily bad per say how the drama’s narrative introduced us to Sang-Woon and her sister through initial flashbacks. It allowed us as viewers to comprehend the world that Sang-Woon and Shi Ho have been forced into as a consequence of impending fate, as well as foreshadowing her initial meeting with the main lead . On the other hand, here’s where we do hit a pitfall with Sang-Woon as a character; she’ never really feels as though she has a personal-drive, definitive flaws or goals. It is arguable that perhaps Sang-Woon’s main goal has been to protect her sister and her naivety has proven to be one of her downfalls. On the other hand for a character brought up under unusual circumstances, it seemed odd that the drama rarely pointed out Sang Woon truly being shaped or affected by her environment. Even if her gullible nature is viewed as an arguable weakness of her character, it seem bizarre that other characters ( especially her sister) didn’t point this out or at least draw expectations towards her personality being different from her seemingly “abnormal” upbringing.

Sang Woon and Hal’s unusual bond is presented as seemingly one of the major driving forces of the series. Whilst there is arguably a slight romantic tension between Jin-Wook and Na Ra’s onscreen personas, their relationship is platonic for the most part. Nevertheless whilst it was intriguing to watch Hal and Sang Woon’s bond develop from animosity to sincere trust, both main leads’ relationship could often feel somewhat
stagnant at times. This seemed to come as a result of both main leads’ interactions often feeling enforced and shoehorned into plot setups. As a consequence , this allowed limited opportunities in order to flesh-out characters outside of the “ main events” of the narrative.

Then of course there’s the discussion surrounding Ok Eul Tae. A-lister Lee Joon is no stranger towards taking on different roles throughout his acting career, and his part in the series as Hal’s fellow bulgasal and opponent, Ok Eul Tae, was no exception. Joon added a somewhat twisted charisma to his onscreen persona; likely to shock and intrigue viewers of equal measure.

As an antagonist, Eul Tae is supposed to serve as Hal’s opposing counterpart; he’s sardonic, remorseless and unpredictable. In order to reiterate the opposing natures of Eul Tae and Hal beyond spoken words, director Jang Young-woo would often cleverly place heavy focus through camera angles upon the characters’ clothing. Eul Tae’s bright, expensive and somewhat gaudy suits presenting his illusive personality, whilst Hal’s somewhat drab and dull attire highlighted the main lead’s honest nature.Nevertheless whilst Eul Tae acted as the necessary “ driving force” of the events of the series, the main antagonist rarely left an everlasting impression upon audiences due to often being present as shoehorned “ for the sake of evil”. His rivalry, origins and intrigue surrounding another bulgasal could’ve easily been the most intriguing element in the series. However, lacking opportunities to truly delve into character parallelisms and differences between the main lead, the antagonist and other side character presented few opportunities to make Eul Tae a truly terrifying or well-defined opposing threat. As a consequence Eul Tae could often feel akin to a plot device “ dilemma”; easy to thrown into the equation to present conflict but rarely possessing a definitive edge.

Actress Gong Seung Yeon ( ‘ Are You Human?’, ‘ Circle’ and ‘Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency’) takes on the role as Sang-Woon’s level-headed sister Shi-Ho.Shi Ho was notably intriguing due to her contrasting personality-type to Sang-Woo; she’s less naive, reserved and observant also. On the other hand whilst Shi Ho did serve her necessary purpose for “ plot drive” and revelations in the series, the second female lead could rarely feel entirely sentient due to her lacking opportunities to truly grow or be defined by her own personality traits. ( In particular a massive plot revelation surrounding Shi Ho was left greatly abandoned after its initial use in the series.)

Additionally there’s Nam Do Yoon ( Kim Woo Seok). Whilst Nam Do Yoon was necessary for adding “ shocking twists” in an attempt to keep the plot afloat a, it often felt as though these revelations were predictable outcomes . Screenwriters Kwon So-ra and Seo Jae-won seemed to create Do Yoon purely on the basis of plot-motivation; attempting to shock and surprise viewers with Do Hoon’s revealed reasons and motives for being in the storyline, but lacking the element of shock or an emotive punch due to lacking foundations surrounding Do Yoon as a character from the outset. Kwon Ho Yeol ( Jung Jin Young) and Hye Suk ( Park Myung Shin) also presided in the supporting cast ; potentially playing intriguing characters, but rarely having personal character-drive.

The pacing of the narrative was admittedly not one of the drama’s fortes. Whilst a pacy opening gave leeway towards downplaying later elements of the storyline in order to build suspense, ‘ Bulgasal: Immortal Souls’ notably fell into the trap of repetitive storyline events. Potentially intriguing opportunities in order to build up characters’ personalities, backstories or even relationships were cast aside in order to make way for a gradually dwindling “ threat” in each passing episode. However rather than attempting to at least create a fearsome presence for the antagonistic force onscreen, ‘ Bulgasal: Immortal Souls’ notably became hooked on tiresomely dragging out events beyond their expiration date.

Under the directing reigns of Jang Young-Woo, ‘ Bulgasal:Immortal Souls’ was notably stunning in parts. The figures and supernatural entities from Korean mythology found throughout the storyline had notable aesthetic and visual influences from Guillermo Del Toro’s ‘ Pan’s Labyrinth’ and Kwon So-ra and Seo Jae-won’s previous supernatural-horror project The Guest’ onscreen. In addition to creature visuals, the cinematography was a notable highlight with beautifully filmed shots of snow-filled landscapes and scenery often predominating scenes. However despite some gorgeous filming techniques, ‘ Bulgasal:Immortal Souls’ was slightly degraded by its somewhat shoddy CGI and choppy editing; often taking away from potentially stunning and emotive moments of the series.

The OST is notably synchronic with a lot of fight or tense scenes. It does not particularly distract the audience with vocal tracks but rather instrumentals; quintessential for helping to build up tension or reflecting the inner- turmoil of the onscreen characters, but rarely giving an impactful deliverance also.

‘ Bulgasal: Immortal Souls ’ attempted to give viewers a terrifying and thrilling fantasy horror epic. Interweaving the classic cliche in recent fantasy shows of mostly modern settings against Korean mythology, ‘ Bulgasal: Immortal Souls ’ ‘s potentially intriguing screenplay by Kwon So-ra and Seo Jae-won was greatly let down by the direction of plot. Instead of allowing golden opportunities in order to explore multilayered characters, world-building and a tense storyline, the drama’s layout instead delivered a somewhat niche and shallow array of characters who lacked creative flare, as well as a narrative filled with plot holes also. The ending of the series was notably anticlimactic; rushed in an attempt to wrap up several key plot points, but failing to tie up a satisfying outcome for the plot and characters. Overall, ‘ Bulgasal: Immortal Souls’ was an generic and somewhat niche supernatural series; watchable for those willing to disengage during a binge-watch session , but filled with wasted potential also.