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The Judge from Hell korean drama review
Completed
The Judge from Hell
1 people found this review helpful
by Otiose
Nov 19, 2024
14 of 14 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 9.5
Story 10.0
Acting/Cast 10.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 10.0

Supernatural Vigilantism with a Big Bonus

There are many movies and TV series with strong vigilantist themes including a great many from Korea. This one, Judge From Hell, adds something to trigger attention. Seeing some rogue heroes deliver vigilante justice the system fails to provide is always satisfying, but here we get to see the hero, a demon exiled among humans to hunt down sinners, punish the sinners in excruciating and painful detail before sending them on their way to Hell. All in all it is extremely satisfying and very rewatchable.

The challenge for the screenwriter and director is to find the right balance among comedy, dark detail, and romance. For me, the comedy was a bit strong at times, and perhaps the main character, the demon judge, could have been a bit more demonlike before softening up, but it all works well enough.

The first half of episodes tend to emphasize the procedural element - showing the sins of a particular culprit followed by the machinations of the demon judge to deliver the sinner's punishment and then send them to hell. The judge likes to leave the bodies to tease the authorities. Once the basics are understood the series shifts to emphasize the struggle among the top demons in and from Hell.

And the ending is an obvious setup to keep the option for a second season open.

It's odd that in this story Satan and Lucifer are two entirely different beings and not just different names for the same.
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