Watching South Korean series on Netflix is a great experience. They're completely different from what we're used to, and this 10-part series is a great mix of comedy, sci-fi and horror.
We start with a simple plot where in 1946, shortly after the war, the owner of the largest pawn shop in a small town (more like village, I guess) is tasked with finding the police chief's missing mistress. He is tasked with solving it before the cherry blossoms fall from the cherry trees (symbolically).
During his search for his lost wife, he discovers that all is not as easy and good as it first appears. Gradually, a military conspiracy, inhumane human testing, and even a local military project to put Japan back in the military spotlight are revealed.
The first seven episodes premiered on Netflix in December. The full story of the investigation and the main characters' interactions (including love) is concluded, and we've learned everything we need to know to consider the main story complete. Consider January's three episodes as the final wrap up of the first season. You already know everything you need to know, so the main characters of the story return to the scene of the crime once again to finish the job and destroy everything bad that's going on in their town. And there will be a second season. It's already filming. And that includes the main characters of season one – almost all of them survived.
I'm going to go through the setup of the whole show a little bit. The entire post-war village is stylized and built in studios. The lights are on and all the characters have clean, unworn clothes. You can see throughout the village what social status the character has. From the poorest, to the pawn shop owner, who is one of the richest people, to the poor, such as the "seekers" of the lost people - the stalkers.
Not forgetting the characters who immigrated to occupied South Korea from Japan. The soldiers wear distinctive military garb, and the ruling class (i.e., women) wear kimonos made of the finest fabrics.
But I must fault the overly digital modernization of the entire city. Thousands of coloured neon lights are lit up at night and especially the cars and motorbikes have modern lights. That is, the trucks have modern overly bright (white) headlights and the motorbikes use modern lights (H7 bulbs). Even though the heroine has a motorbike that she herself revived from „a junkyard“, it looks like a modern Harley with a saddlecar (my feeling).
I didn't notice much else about the modern stuff that doesn't belong to the 1940s. Just the digital look and the city built out of scenery depressed me a bit. Not forgetting the tram tracks on the main street either. I don't know if this village could have trams, but it seems silly to me that it would be a train? This also applies to the area in front of the hospital, which is just unusually sterile (pap). The interiors are of course filmed in studios. And the exteriors, to my eye, too. I'm sure the filmmakers built an entire town.
I'm not familiar with the main cast at all, though it's possible they've appeared in American films here and there. For a bit of effort, you can find films they were in. Avengers: Age of Ultron, Fantastic Beasts: the Crimes of Grindelwald, Parasite, Magnum P.I. (the series). They're definitely stars in South Korea.
I think South Korea has brought us another good and unique series to Netflix that are worth watching. It's just sci-fi combined with a love arc. Filled with a very good combination of love story, horror and even a bit of slapstick comedy.
Rating: 80%
PS: I'm quite curious how the title Monster of Old Seoul came from the English title Gyeongseong Creature. Anyone have any ideas.
Original article January 7, 2024 – Kritiky.cz
