Okay, so I wrote an article based on The Village: Achiara's Secret just under six months ago, and I'm slightly ashamed to say that I have only just finished it because I put this drama on-hold after watching eight episodes. Honestly, the only reasons I watched it was because of Yook Sungjae and the fact this drama was horror based. Not many good dramas have been themed around horror (excluding The Master's Sun) and, unfortunately, this drama didn't do any better.
As with a lot of dramas I watch, the series had a good concept to it. It seemed quite original and wasn't afraid to try some risks (for example, jumping almost immediately in with the scares and tension). But it was poorly executed. The Village: Achiara's Secret tried too hard to be scary that it couldn't give the viewers a proper thrill. But that wasn't just it. There were also a lot of unnecessary scenes, some of the supporting characters had way more screen time than the actual main cast, there was barely any subtlety when needed, and finally, I absolutely loathe it when dramas use issues with transphobia and homophobia. However, I do applaud the writers for creating a good pacing for the events in the series, and for making the final three episodes really interesting. Everything else though was pretty boring. Also, I'm not sure whether I liked this or not, but the family tree based around Kim Hye Jin is seriously messed up.
At least the directors did something well done for this drama and that was picking the cast. Of course any drama that picks Yook Sungjae to be part of the main cast is bound to have a good choice of acting, even though my oppa couldn't exactly help save this drama (like Hyun Bin with Hyde, Jekyll, Me). Sungjae oppa was flawless in his acting, and he deserved to win the New Star Award from this series. Anyway, moving on. I'm not sure how I felt about Moon Geun Young's acting. At times, her character felt genuine and quite realistic, but at other times, her acting was stiff and not too great to watch. She's not the worst actress I've seen but far from the best. After watching The Village: Achiara's Secret, I take away any criticism I had for Shin Eun Gyeong because her acting went so perfectly with her character, I'm amazed at how immersed she was in acting - this also applies to Jang Hee Jin. Finally, Ohn Joo Wan. He could have done a lot better, but he did good with his character.
Music probably had the worst execution I've ever seen in watching anything. Okay, I'll admit that it was good for a few scenes (especially the cliffhanger endings to each episode), but besides that, it was all over the place. There would be extremely dramatic music in scenes where they are only talking about what happened to Hye Jin, it was so poorly done.
The only reason I would watch this again is if I was doing a Yook Sungjae binge watch of all his dramas, but I don't see that happening any time soon.
Overall, probably the worst horror themed media I've ever watched. The story needed a LOT of work, the music director needs to get his act together and some acting choices may need to improve. I would only recommend for the actors I praised.
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