I make mental notes of dramas to watch a lot and I'm usually glad when I remember them at crucial moments. I can't really remember how I downloaded this drama or when I started. All I remember is that I knew I needed a new drama to watch and I scrolled through the list of unwatched dramas I had stored mentally and I settled for Strangers from Hell.
It took me about three weeks to complete watching this series. That's not because it was long or anything. Infact, it's a very short drama series. I'll like to believe I'm still in my drama slump and that's why it took me so much time. I'm about to review the psychological thriller series Strangers from Hell. So, let's get to it.
Strangers from hell is a 10 episode Korean series starring actors Lee Dong Wook and Im Si-Wan. It follows the story of aspiring writer Yoon Jong-u(I'm Si-wan). When he relocates to Seoul for his internship, he moves into a cheap residence inhabited by weird people. Unable to stand the weirdness of people in the residence, he talks to his girlfriend and close school friend about them but they tell him off, saying he is being paranoid. Soon enough, he is influenced and their weirdness begins to rub off on him, thus affecting his relationship with others outside the residence.
This was a dark movie and it was really really creepy. I had seen somewhere that the character played by Lee dong Wook, traumatized the actor and I get why. A dentist by day, a leader of a group of cannibals at night. It's been a while since I experienced the psychological thrill in psychological thrillers and this series did that very effectively. At some parts of this series, I began to question how much I cherished my mental health. Because if I really did cherish my mental health like a normal person is supposed to, I would have just stopped halfway into the movie. But I watched it till the end. Pausing every now and then to stare into space and embrace the small fragments of my mental health that refused to be damaged, lol. It's safe to say that this is the darkest Korean series I've ever watched.
Im Si-wan! This is my first movie of his and his acting here, was spectacular. He represented the role well and his expressions were wonderful. Most especially when he bodied angry sides of the character. He was so good that you as a viewer, would see the anger rolling out his body (literally). I liked it. And there's Muk-jo, played by Lee Dong Wook. The popular actor is known for taking up diverse roles and still representing them perfectly. He did exactly that in this series. Being the villain in this series, he was everything a villain in a horror series should be. He is one of the actors I love his smile but in this movie, his smile did nothing but send chills down your spine as a viewer. The smile was one of the creepiest things I experienced in this drama.
There were only few characters to love in this drama and I mentioned them in the above paragraph. There were quite a number I disliked. Jong-u's girlfriend for one. Nothing justified her behaviour towards him. She was inconsiderate and spineless. I couldn't help but notice also that she was being two-mouthed about many things and it was annoying. There were these weird twins that lived in the residence. I didn't like them for anything. I found their actions irritating and although it was supposed to be creepy, it didn't come off to me as creepy. I even found myself skipping some of their parts.
The owner of the residence. I felt like she was overdoing things where her character was concerned. Aside from the fact that she was on the bad people's side, her ability to manipulate one into thinking she was an elderly woman who needed help was outright creepy.
I liked that this drama emphasized on the dark part of humanity. Everybody has an amount of darkness in them and that darkness is only triggered when one decides to give it a chance and lose control in unfavourable situations. But for some people, there's no reason behind their darkness and those kind of people are those we get to see in the series. I liked that about this drama. It's ability to touch on a topic like that. Not everybody that are exposed to darkness turn out dark. Being bad is a choice. You either choose to be on the good side of humanity or the bad side.
The ending of this drama was one I didn't really like. It lacked complete closure. It wasn't rushed but it wasn't so explanatory. It left me with speculations as to whether some things happened or not. But it was still fitting. Even without the closure, the ending was fitting and I was okay with that.
Will I recommend this drama? Yes. I will recommend it but I'll also add that it's not for the faint of heart. If you can't handle character deaths, gruesome murder and violence, it's advisable to stay away. If you can, still tread carefully because it's not your regular kind of psychological thriller.
I'll rate the movie a 7.5/10. It was absolutely worth the watch. One of the best psychological thrillers I've watched in a long time.