The Guest Review

Title: The Guest

AKA: Hand / Son

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Episodes: 16

Broadcast period: 2018-Sept to 2018-Nov

Cast: Kim Dong Wook, Kim Jae Wook and Jung Eun Chae.

When he was a child, Yoon Hwa Pyung (Kim Dong Wook) was possessed by a superior ghost. The possession led to the deaths of many people, accidently involving the brother of a priest who tried to exorcise him, Choi Yoon, and the daughter of a police woman who tried to help, Kang Gil Young.

As a grown up, Hwa Pyung is able to see ghosts, which he believes is because of the possession. He meets Priest Choi (Kim Jae Wook), while trying to find the superior ghost, Sohn, he believes is still out there creating havoc. And he meets police woman Kang Gil Young (Jung Eun Chae), who wants to find her mothers murderer. The three get involved in an exorcism, and soon they realize that they are all the children, victims of Sohn, the ghost that had possessed Hwa Pyung, repossessed Yoons brother, and killed Gil Youngs mother. At first, the three are at odds, but when they witness more than just one abnormal case of ghosts, they soon form an alliance…

Sorry for the weird summary, I recommend watching the trailer…

Dear lord! This is by far one of my favorite dramas, ever! I loved every single thing about this - maybe not the “Son” background story, but it was still pretty amazing. I loved the cast, their chemistry, and the entire build up. It had me guessing the entire time, and I loved every minute it. I can retell the entire drama, because I was taking every minute in. I was on the edge of my seat, and I enjoyed it. The plot was very intriguing, as in how and what, which has scary moments, but not the classic ones. It was very refreshing to see a different type of storyline - that wasn’t cliché. Likewise, the fact that there wasn’t a love story, made it so much better.

All in all, 100% recommend to people that like suspense, but also those who want to try a very different genre.

☆☆☆☆☆ / 5 out 5 stars

♥♥♥♥♥ / 5 out of 5 hearts

Voice (Kdrama) Review

Title: Voice

Genre: Mystery, Crime, Police, Action

Episodes: 16

Broadcast period: 2017-Jan to 2017-Mar

Cast: Jang Hyuk, Lee Ha Na, Baek Sung Hyun, Yesung, Son Eun Seo and Kim Jae Wook.

Moo Jin Hyuk (Jang Hyuk) is a detective with a horrible temper. He works at the crime unit, and is known as the “mad dog” because of his ability to track and see through a case. But that changes when his wife is found brutally murdered in an ally. Out of grief and anger, he refuses to go home untill he finds the murderer. The team manages to find a suspect, but because of an operator called Kang Kwon Joo (Lee Ha Na), who says that the killer is the same person who killed her father, the case is dismissed and the suspect flees the country.

Three years later Jin Hyuk is now a traffic cop, working odd hours. Kwon Joo who had been out of the country for all the time, returns to the police station with the idea of starting a “Golden Team”, meaning an operator sending out a team of detectives to save a 911-caller within 10 minutes of calling. Her ideal is having Jin Hyuk working with her. At first Jin Hyuk refuses, but after hearing the plea of the victim he decided to set out. The two slowly find out that they aren’t that different, and that they have a common goal: to find the one who murdered their loved ones…

Firstly, the drama is much more exciting than my summary, so if you went “ah that’s boring”, it is not!

This drama made me anxious, excited and thrilled for next weekend, so I could watch the next episode. This os an OCN drama, but compared to many other dramas, this one is so ‘real’ (with the blood and grotesque nature of people). Of course, a bit lacking here and there, but the TABOO about “being too violent”.

The acting was okay, though I am not a fan of Jang Hyuk’s acting. And the female actress was likewise, not great – just about average. The storyline and screenplay are both well-executed, so it isn’t as important about them, but occasionally is annoys you. As a general the drama is great. Most recommendable.

☆☆☆☆½/ 4½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

Kamji’s Verdict

Actually this drama didn’t work out for me, it was very hard to finish it. Even though I’m a big fan of thriller and crime dramas, this one was just not my cup of tea. Maybe because I felt like Jang Hyuk’s character was really annoying. I get his back story and everything, but still I find him very hard to understand. When working with the police force, there are rules to follow. He Just did whatever he liked. The concept with her hearing the smallest sound, and with that figuring it out was not very well worked out. It dragged out in places where it should be suspenseful, but instead it became boring. What I did like, was the villain. Everything about him was pure crazy, it kinda grew on me. So the last episodes where he had more screentime where the best ones. Anyway, all in all, a failure for me.

☆☆☆   / 3 out of 5 stars

♥♥ (1/2)/ 2 (1/2) out of 5 hearts

Who Are You Review

Title: Who are you?

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Horror, Melodrama, Mystery, Thriller, Action

Episodes: 16

Broadcast period: 2013-Jul to 2013-Sept

Cast: So Yi Hyun, Ok Taecyeon and Kim Jae Wook.

While on an undercover mission Yang Si Ohn (So Yi Hyun) hears gunshots and runs to aid her partner and boyfriend Lee Hyung Joon (Kim Jae Wook), whom she in horror sees being shot. When she is seen she is hit and becomes unconscious.

After spending 6 years in a coma Si Ohn wakes up, not remembering a single thing of that event, nor her boyfriend. Even after spending several months in recovery she still isn’t able to feel comfortable with herself. But she noticed one thing: she is able to see people no one else sees. Not only is she the only one able to see them, but she sees them in the state they died in which most of the time makes her scream out in horror. When she is assigned to the lost and found unit, she is assigned the role as the team leader, much to Cha Gun Woo’s (Ok Taecyeon) annoyance.

While working she is visited by ghosts who want her help, and as time goes on Gun Woo gets more and more curious about how she is able to know thing without any form of evidence…

I had a hard time watching this drama because of the way the story was going, but luckily it didn’t as I expected. The drama is okay, kind of interesting in sorts, and also kind of confusing, but I wouldn’t say that it was all that thrilling. I sort of knew where the ‘twist’ was going to come and was rather bored with it. Besides that I expected it to be draggy, but it was pretty okay, even though I yelled “Come on!” most of the time. Also, this is my very first time actually liking the lead actress with both supporting actor and lead actor.

This is my third drama (I think?) with Taecyeon, and compared to the one I do remember this was pretty great. I actually found myself thinking he had improved. I didn’t mind the main actress before, kind of do now. I think it has to do with her facial expressions so very often, but I can’t really put my finger on it.

All in all the drama is okay, little better than your usual melodrama, even though it comes pretty close.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3½ out of 5 hearts