Hellbound Season 1 Review: Another hit on Netflix

A bunch of new movies as well as a TV series were released on Netflix on Friday. In fact, I watched another series, but this one “Hellbound” also caught my attention. And I finally decided to watch this South Korean series first because it only had 6 episodes that wouldn’t take much time to finish.

Ever since Netflix’s Squid Game series became a surprising sensation a few weeks ago, the demand for further South Korean titles has been gigantic. Everyone, of course, hopes to benefit from this hype in some way. It didn’t quite go with My Name, the revenge thriller was ultimately too interchangeable for it, despite a few interesting ideas. With Hellbound, it could work sooner. At least the series entices with an interesting scenario when Seoul residents are suddenly destroyed by strange creatures. But only those who have previously received a prophecy that can predict the time of death exactly to the day. As creepy as it is mysterious, a good mix in itself to entice an audience in front of screens.

But the man behind the series also guarantees attention. Sang-ho Yeon began his career with very dark animated films, which provoked numerous debates and were successfully screened at festivals. His big breakthrough came with the Busan Train, a witty and at the same time bitter zombie apocalypse on a moving train. The film was a sensation at home, but it also found a lot of fans outside of it. Since then, things haven’t really gone well for the South Korean, he couldn’t follow up on a surprising goal. And so he remembers his roots and continues with Hellbound. It’s not just based on Webtoon he wrote himself. Yeon’s film career began some twenty years ago with a short animated film that already toyed with the theme of hell.

Meanwhile, a lawyer named Min Hye-jin (Kim Hyun-joo – Miss Kim’s Million Dollar Quest, I Have a Lover TV series, etc.) was one of the loudest people against the cult. As New Truth gained increasing popularity, they continued to shoot a TV documentary despite the reluctance of one of its producers, Bae Young-jae (Park Jeong-min – Deliver Us from Evil, TV series Entourage, etc.). However, his wife Song So-hyun (Won Jin-ah – TV series Rain or Shine, etc.) was a true believer.

So how would the story end? You can find out in this dark drama series.

Hellbound Series Review

After watching a few interesting Netflix original South Korean drama series, I was quite drawn to them because they have some of the most unique premises. This time the plot was unique. Written by Yeong San-ho who happens to be the director of this series. I guess it was him that the writer allowed him to translate the message he wanted to convey. Btw, Yeong San-ho was the director of that awesome movie Train to Busan and its sequel Peninsula.

The series “Hellbound” started with something really exciting and really tense. Despite criticism from humans for the creature’s bad effects, I personally felt they were adequate. It may not be spectacular, but in my opinion decent enough. In any case, the story unfolded rather slowly, but the darkness was felt throughout. And it became very intense after we were shown the next person who was prophesied. The mysterious nature of the executioners of hell was what made the series interesting, especially in the first half.

What really surprised me was the complete change of direction in the middle of the series. This was certainly not common, but we still managed to intrigue what would follow. As I continued to watch until the last episode, I came to the conclusion that this is not a totally supernatural / horror series as the trailer suggests, but rather a drama with some supernatural background events that would affect the social aspect of human life.

Still, the story still amused me. It has an amazing and emotional ending with shocking twists that we didn’t expect. I think that, although it seemed to have the right conclusion, there is also room for filming the second season if they decide. The cast has generally done their roles well enough to make us feel preoccupied with them. In addition to the names I mentioned above, there were supporting characters who left a deep impression such as Deacon Yuji (Ryu Kyung-soo – Itaewon Class, etc.), Jeong Park (Kim Shin-rock – Beyond Evil TV series, etc.). .), the really boring character of the Arrowhead mascot and a few others.

For a series of only 6 episodes, this one covered the story enough for me and it didn’t seem too hasty. Those of you looking for a thriller with suspenseful series, you may not find it here because that wasn’t the main focus. However, if you agree with the drama that questions the foundations of faith, then this should fit well. However, be warned that there are scenes of severe violence that could be truly disturbing. IMDB Series Rating: 6.9 / 10

 “Hellbound” Season 1 cast and characters

Hellbound was released on November 19, 2021 in the United States

More Movie news: Red Notice Movie Review, Cast and Characters

source: IMDB

Hellbound Trailer Series – Netflix (video)