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virgievirgie

Lost in Dramaland

virgievirgie

Lost in Dramaland
The Guest korean drama review
Completed
The Guest
2 people found this review helpful
by virgievirgie
Feb 6, 2024
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 8.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 7.0

An Exhausting Watch! I need a shoulder massage after this. It's too stressful, in a Good way!

Subjective Enjoyment Rating: 8.5
Objective Drama Rating: 9.0-9.5

Disclaimer: Horror is usually the genre I avoid as it’s not really my cup of tea. I am a scaredy cat, though I am Ok with violence. My review is from a novice perspective.


I want to emphasize that this is a very stressful drama-watching experience for me. My shoulders were all tensed up from Ep 1 to Ep 16. I am not sure if it’s because I am a novice and not used to this, or if this drama is just so exciting and full of plot twists. This is a whole new experience for me and I’ve watched many, many dramas in the last 3-4 years, though not this genre.

The acting is excellent - from the youngest to the oldest, from the main cast to those with very minor roles. It’s nice to see Kim Dong Wook play a regular dude, not a CEO or professional. This is a side of him I haven’t seen before, and he’s much more expressive than when I saw him in his last drama, “My Perfect Stranger”. It’s also great to see my beloved Kim Jae Wook, not as the perfect boyfriend but as a stoic priest who really needs to act to show a range of subtle emotions. Jung Eun Chae as the main female member held her own in the trio. It’s so great to see a badass female cop who actually could come in and save the day physically, and not a damsel in distress. Additionally, this drama also has a pretty stacked veteran supporting cast.

Special effects, creepy and scary sound effects, hair and makeup, all added to the overall viewing experience. This is a top notch production and there’s really nothing I can pick on. From a horror perspective, it’s not too scary for me. I think the horror aspects are more visual (violence, gore, blood). It’s less of a psychological horror, thus, I wasn’t really scared at all. But if you don’t like violence and gore, I would not recommend this drama for you. Those exorcism scenes are quite a sight to behold.

Even though I was tense from the beginning to the end (what a crazy, exciting and an emotional last episode), I do feel that the pacing of some episodes is somewhat slow. These are hour-long episodes and at times, they felt longer than one hour. There are also times when not much happened and the main cast was running around in circles. I actually wanted more action. I also don’t feel the urge to keep on pressing the “play” button to go to the next episode.

For someone who is inexperienced in this genre, I do think this is a great drama. I am not going to pretend I have a very enjoyable time, because I was stressed out and exhausted. I definitely do not recommend binge watching this. But if horror is your thing, please do check this out. If you don’t like violence, gore and lots of blood, then skip this one.


Other Random Observations:
1. Hwa Pyung reminded me of Harry Potter, and Park Il Do reminded me of Voldemort. LOL.
2. I keep thinking the three main characters plus all their friends and relatives should all carry a cross with them at all times.
3. Shamanism working hand-in-hand with Catholicism? That’s interesting.



Completed: 2/5/2024 - Review #401
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