Sweet Home is a South Korean apocalyptic horror series directed by Lee Eung-bok, Jang Young-woo, and Park So-Hyun. It stars Song Kang, Lee Jin Wook, Lee Si-young, Lee Do-Hyun, Go Min Si, Park, and Gyu-young in lead roles. It has a total of 10 episodes and was released on 18th December 2020 on Netflix.
Based on the 2017 webtoon of the same name by Kim Kan-bi and Hwang Young-chan, “Sweet Home” tells the story of a world in which people are suddenly becoming monsters. In this season, the show focuses on tenants in an apartment complex and their desperate attempts to survive as their world around them turns wild quickly. What distinguishes “Sweet Home” is that it does not use the traditional struggle between man and beasts as a primary issue. Instead, it focuses on how characters, whether humans or monsters, interact and how they deal with monsters and this bizarre circumstances.
Soon after the anxious teenager Cha Hyun Soo (Song Kang) moves into the green house (the apartment), people starts to turn into monsters and attack others. Although Hyun-Soo and others initially thought this was an illness, it turned out to be a curse. It is not contagious and does not affect everyone. The monsters in this show are a manifestation of people's deeply entrenched desires. A monster eye is how voyeur primal human tendencies manifest while portraying a monster.
With no idea who will be next in line, the survivors, led by Lee Eun-hyuk (Lee Do-hyun), form a temporary alliance that creates an effective system to ensure their safety and perseverance. Food and water are rationed. Going out anywhere is prohibited. Most importantly, those who show signs of shifting are placed in quarantine. Hyun-soo begins his transformation at the beginning of the series but doesn't quite go through it and transforms into something completely different from normal humans and monsters. Always pragmatic, Eun Hyuk keeps Hyun-Soo alive during the golden hours, a time when monsters are weak, and he often sends him on dangerous missions, knowing that the latter has the best chance due to his apparent potential for nurturing them for immortality.
At the season's finale, the focus is again on the human beast's struggle, after the military dropped leaflets offering protection to those reporting a "particularly injured person" like Hyun-soo. While Seo Yi-kyeong (Lee Si-young) does not contact the army with the beacon it previously received, one of the other survivors does. As the group continues to be affected by the outlaw attack in the previous episode, Eun-hyuk's system crashes. When the special casualty begins indiscriminately killing the other survivors, Hyun-soo has to choose between them and someone of his kind. The whole time he served as a boy errand, they were the closest to any family he had. In the next battle, he undergoes another transformation, one wing appears from his hand just like Lucifer, and kills the other bad man. When the army arrives and surrounds the building, Cha Soo-ah (Kim Yi-kyeong) finds an underground path that can lead them outside by digging in the same spot as Ahn Gil-seop (Kim Kap-soo) before his death.
Hong So-ri, Kim Hyung-min, and Park So-jung have together written the story which has almost the same buildup as any other zombie apocalyptic film and has a quite a resemblance from The Mist. Tenants stuck at the ground floor and has only a glass door to see through at the outside world is nothing new. But thankfully, its not only that to look up to here. There are many characters and each of them have been given an unique personality and a rigid base to stand on its own and each of them have been given sufficient screen time to create their impact on audience's mind and heart.
Apart from all the central characters, the supporting cast appears believable and has been given a story of their own to give depth to those characters. Even you don't want anyone to fall into the monster's hand. Such strong connections are build between you and the characters. As I told you, the premise is the same old but these characters keep you invested in this overlong 8.5 hours series. But this is surely a treat for horror fans and keeping that in mind the script has been written.
The monsters are a treat to see but could have been better as the CGI looks cheap sometimes. Otherwise, it has a strong impact, especially in the first scene when you see a long slender man-like monster standing outside the door when the tenants accidentally opens it. It's fantastic and at the ending of the fifth episode when another monster growls (behind the frame) grabs that same long monster. It will shock you, surprise you, the unusual humor embedded between such tense situations also works and the humane nature of some characters and their interactions provide some emotional moments too.
Song Kang as Cha Hyun-soo is phenomenal and is believable. He is the most well-established character here, depicting the time when he used to get bullied and his parents died. Song Kang did full justice to his part showing the emotions perfectly. Lee Jin-Wook as Pyeon Sang-Wook is another amazing fleshed out character who is hard to hate even he appears as a villain. Lee Si-young as Seo Yi-kyeong, the firefighter, has a strong role and did a great job.
Lee Do-Hyun as Lee Eun-hyuk, the medical student and the leader, is outstanding. He is perfect for this role as the cool and calm and knows how to handle complex situations. Park Gyu-young as Yoon Ji-soo looks beautiful and has done a fine job. Go Min-si as Lee Eun-yoo is a scene-stealer. She provides some comic relief with some of the amazing dialogues given to her. Kim Nam-hee as Jung Jae-heon, Kim Kap-soo as Ahn Gil-seop, Kim Sang-ho as Han Du-sik, and others have also given their best.
The cinematography is excellent and some of the scenes are terrifically shot. The production design and art direction are perfect. The editing could have been sharper. The visual effects are of high quality but could have been more than this. The music is good but some score especially that song that keeps playing in the background doesn't really suit the intense drama.
Sweet Home is a gift for horror fans. It has everything that you need in a horror film or series. Lots of blood, jaw-dropping monsters, and some amazing action sequences really make this 8.5 hours series worth your time. The makers could have explained more about how people are becoming monsters as the reason that's given doesn't feel solid. Is it an outbreak or a curse? Well, the series is not ended yet, as it seems from this season, and I'm hoping to see more of these monster slashing drama. Despite its flaws and cliched storyline, it manages to be entertaining, and let's see how long it goes.
Rating:- 3.5/5
Now streaming on Netflix.
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