South Korea has carved out its own specific position in horror cinema, with everything from ghosts to monsters to murders, gorgeous cinematography, and in-your-face horrors. The psychological and perverted are frequently featured in Korean horror films.
The richness of its people and connections distinguishes K-horror from Western horror, making their eventual fates all the more horrifying. Everything revolves around emotion. With inventive, mind-boggling notions and an emphasis on deadly revenge; troubled, anguished people; and bizarre plot twists, it turns cruel.
So the most recent and famous Korean series streaming on Netflix would be Hellbound. We’ve speculated about divinity for as long as humans have lived, resulting in faiths and ideologies that postulate about Heaven, Hell, and divine will. But what if these ideas and theories are shown to be true, and supernatural creatures descend on Earth, bringing with them judgment? Hellbound, Netflix’s brand new South Korean horror drama series, is based on this notion.
The series depicts a world engulfed by a supernatural phenomenon in which Hell’s executors appear, condemning people to Hell. Following this, a new religious movement known as the New Truth forms in the midst of the chaos, while others struggle to figure out what’s going on.
The Story
If you are wondering if this series is worth your time, don’t be! This series is written and directed by Yeon Sang-ho, the director of Train To Busan, and its wacky sequel, Peninsula. So you may rest assured that you’re in good hands. This series focuses more on the afterlife except there’s no zombie or ghost this time but with three colossal ape-like creatures attacking and murdering a man in broad daylight The creatures beat him to death and then burn his body until all that’s left is an ashy skeleton. The three strange beings return to whatever awful region they came from once their task is completed.
The filmmaker reveals human vulnerabilities and phobias and delivers a crisp representation of a variety of people in the midst of the pandemonium through a supernatural phenomenon in which executors from Hell appear in the middle of Seoul to demonstrate condemnation to Hell.
So Why Should You Watch It?
First and foremost, if you enjoy works that challenge the mind and highlight religious themes, you will enjoy watching the Hellbound series. The work’s core aim is to foretell when people will die and condemn them to hell as a result of their acts, but it doesn’t end there; events follow, and we learn how humanity reacts after receiving the prophecy and how they fear death. People make their sins known.
Second, if you enjoy fantasy works, you will enjoy this series because the concept of the work, whether it is a prophecy of the day of death or the appearance of “Hell Angels” to kill individuals on time, cannot be realized in reality.
Also, this series is brutal and thrilling. If you think Train To Busan is horrifying, wait till you watch Hellbound! Imagine God’s wrath as three smoky greys, Hulk-like animals rising out of nowhere and crushing people into vehicles, walls, and whatever else they can get their hands on like toys. They splash a human’s blood all over the place, destroying the surroundings in the process, before torching the target to death.
And if that isn’t enough, this series’s horror is not merely laid on the monsters but on what’s about to happen. How many people’s minds and sense of self would be lost, especially if such a tangible force of wrath was explained as payback for our crimes. People, opportunists, cult leaders, and blind believers are the terror here, as they follow fear to the point of shaming, hating, and destroying one another in order to gain God’s mercy.
Hellbound is the type of horror series that gets better with each episode, demonstrating how seriously the storytellers have taken the situation. They battle with the ensuing media frenzy, the embarrassment people would feel if they received a decree, the organizations that would try to profit from it, and more. It’s an interesting entrée into religious stories that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The wrath monster trio may be ridiculous, but the insanity in “Hellbound” is quite real.
The series was released on 19 November but you could still catch season 1 of Hellbound on Netflix to experience the thrills from it!
Sources: Netflix, Lifestyle Asia, Middle East In 24, Roger Ebert, Collider, Digital Spy