Sweet Home series (2020)(South Korean)

[cranefly]

On Netflix.

An assortment of people in a tenement are besieged by a plague of humans-turned-monsters.  Some inside are infected and turn.  Others seem infected and are watched closely in case they turn as well.  Very sanguineous.  The flavor of the day is gushing nosebleed.  Every day.  Not certain how they do the effect, but it's very convincing, and disturbing.

Lots of monsters ranging from a hypermuscled giant to some humanoid with the top half of the head cut off, rendering it blind, but it can hear really well.  Some creature that shoots out a bloom on the end of a tentacle to pierce people.  A giant clattery spider that cocoons victims.

The series is, like most series, overly padded.  But it offers up a lot of eye candy in freakish monsters.  The rules of this world are hard to figure out and seem guided by the needs of the story at any given moment.  Ten episodes of maybe 45 minutes each.  I'm only through six but am writing this now, as I'm not certain I recommend it or intend to finish it.

South Korea is really good with zombies (Train to Busan recommended), and this is an offshoot of that.

The monsters are not very integrated into a central premise.  I think each of the special effects team was told to come up with a monster, and that's what you see.

Might have to watch more.  That damned spider is back.  (And what's in that big eggsac in the bathroom?)

[cranefly]

I finished this out.  The characters started sparking for me.  They're a diverse lot with troubled backgrounds that slowly get revealed, and I did get involved with several of them.  Still, there was so much padding and so many loose threads...  What of that giant eggsac in the bathroom?  I think it somehow played into things, but-- Did I nod off during that?

And there is no real resolution at the end.  Instead, they did the big sequel-enabling punt at the end, and as far as I'm concerned way into foul territory.

The question that does need to be asked is, Why did cranefly bother watching this?

Because the central character is played by an actor who has a brother living in Limerick, and I was intrigued by the possibility that maybe Greg had visited that brother on a recent trip and had a chat with him.

[Drunk Monk]

Because the central character is played by an actor who has a brother living in Limerick, and I was intrigued by the possibility that maybe Greg had visited that brother on a recent trip and had a chat with him.

Good reason. I've been debating giving this a peep. Do you recommend it for me?

I've been craving some Korean cinema, even started something last night that was amusing but I nodded off because I was tired. You know my luv of azn monsters.

Are they pure fantasy monsters or yokai? I guess in Korean it's yogoe. Korean monsters are typically more like hungry ghosts, not lamp demons. 

More important, are there tentacles?

Are there swordfights?

[cranefly]

Because the central character is played by an actor who has a brother living in Limerick, and I was intrigued by the possibility that maybe Greg had visited that brother on a recent trip and had a chat with him.

Good reason. I've been debating giving this a peep. Do you recommend it for me?

I've been craving some Korean cinema, even started something last night that was amusing but I nodded off because I was tired. You know my luv of azn monsters.

Are they pure fantasy monsters or yokai? I guess in Korean it's yogoe. Korean monsters are typically more like hungry ghosts, not lamp demons. 

More important, are there tentacles?

Are there swordfights?

I'm going to recommend this and I'm not certain why.  Maybe because it was an interesting world to live in for a while.

I wouldn't categorize the monsters as yogue.  They are a very diverse lot, though all supposedly arising from infected humans.  Big spiders, an ectoplasmic thing (nicely done), ultramuscular giant, some mealy-faced gardener with a deadly weedwhacker, many others, some just glimpsed in the ruins.  No tentacles to speak of.  Yes, a sword comes into play, as well as a baseball bat, hammer, crowbar, crossbow, lots of improvised weapons.