In the opening coffee shop scene to “Hellbound” we watch some young students argue over whether the videos they’ve seen of otherworldly monsters manifesting out of the ether to brutalize people seemingly at random are real or just an elaborate CGI hoax. Before too long, we see one very apprehensive man in the cafe looking at a clock. And immediately thereafter, we see that the monsters are very real. And now the cops, led by the ramshackle Detective Jin (played by Yang Ik-june) are stuck investigating a supernatural event without precedent.
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“Hellbound” is structured like a detective mystery- important information not at all made clear by the marketing. Somewhat awkwardly, there doesn’t seem to be much of a mystery to solve. The otherworldly monsters are, well, otherworldly. So Detective Jin just ends up approaching the engimatic Chairman Jeong (played by Yoo Ah-in), who chairs the New Truth Association. They’re a sort of cult, albeit one that’s centered around the otherworldly monsters that as of yet have no worldly explanation.
There’s a lot of methodological exposition in the first episode of “Hellbound” that certainly arouses curiousity as to where exactly the story is going, but there’s not much substance. To some extent this is deliberate. We have no idea whether Chairman Jeong actually has any unique insights into the behavior of the monsters. We know that he probably isn’t trustworthy. Mostly this is because of Yoo Ah-in‘s creepy delivery of his lines, although Detective Jin’s skepticism and Arrowhead’s existence are also important elements.
Speaking of which, Arrowhead is a violent organization of dangerous thugs that appears to be connected to the New Truth Association albeit with the bare minimum level of plausible deniability. They beat people up for preaching immorality, which is every bit as speciously defined as I’m making it sound. I’m a little surprised that the emcee of their streaming channel (played by Kim Do-yoon-I) isn’t a real world subject of controversy for using blackface. The reggae guy from “The Penthouse 3” was going too far but not The Emcee?
So much of the first episode of “Hellbound” is devoted to simple exposition there’s not really much to praise or criticize on actual substance yet. I’m also at a disadvantage plot twist wise because, having read the original webtoon, I already mostly know everything that’s going to happen. Incidentally, Detective Jin’s daughter Hee-jeong (played Lee Re) was actually his son in the original comic- the importance of this, if any, remains unclear.
Review by William Schwartz
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“Hellbound” is directed by Yeon Sang-ho, written by Choi Kyu-sok, Yeon Sang-ho, and features Yoo Ah-in, Park Jung-min, Kim Hyun-joo, Won Jin-ah, Yang Ik-june, Kim Do-yoon-I. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2021/11/19, Fri on Netflix.
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William Schwartz
Staff writer. Has been writing articles for HanCinema since 2012, having lived in South Korea since 2011. Started out in Gyeongju, then to Daegu, then to Ansan, then to Yeongju, then to Seoul, lived on the road for HanCinema’s travel diaries series in the summer of 2016, and is currently settled in Anyang. Has good tips for utilizing South Korea’s public bus system. William Schwartz can be contacted via william@hancinema.net. He also has a substack at williamschwartz.substack.com where he discusses the South Korean film industry in broader terms and takes suggestions for future movies to review.
[HanCinema’s Drama Review] “Hellbound” Episode 1 (2021/11/20)
Source: Laban Lang Philippines
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