POPCORNX Review: BEYOND EVIL 괴물 (Episodes 1-7) *Minor Spoilers Ahead*
A serial murder case takes place in the small, peaceful city. The case is the same serial murder case that took place 20 years ago and changed Lee Dong-Sik’s life. The two detectives work to catch the killer."
The above synopsis is as accurate as up until Episode 6 thus far (where this review had started with...), but is just scrapping the surface of what's physically happening, whereas underneath is an immense layer of an intensely emotional past, both shone in public opinion, and veiled in anguish. The Wiki-entry featured below, gives a more succinct synopsis for BEYOND EVIL:
For all intents and purposes of this blog-feature, the following are my impressions of Episodes 1 to 7 *Mild Spoilers Ahead*
The English title is "Beyond Evil", with the literal title of the Hangul title of "괴물" being "Monster", and what happens is quite literally "EVIL" in both how it is perpetrated, which might leave you stopping to counting the ways "how" with your delicate fingers ... *cough* :p
Released by JTBC, the twice weekly episodes air Fridays and Saturdays (23:00 very late night, which gives you an idea about the subject matter of this series), started February 19th and ending April 10, 2021, with 16 Episodes to be had.
The "serial murderer"-trope is a favourite amongst KDramas, with this offering currently providing a POV/Point-of-View of both the investigators - both of whom have emotional histories in their lives - which they carry the burdens of, with differing levels of guilt, anger, and effectiveness. Bth tehy not to wear their hearts on their sleeves, but...
Director Sim Na-Yeon and writer Kim Soo-Jin has crafted an intense (understatement) chronicling of people and circumstance, burdened with history, interwoven with a oft mentioned "small town project your own"-mentality (like a twisted version of Singapore's "kampung spirit"), that had somehow been presented (initially) into a cloak of unspoken secrecy and doubt.
6 episodes in, and we have been introduced to a myriad of characters, all of whom are connected to each other in different ways - some straight from their shared pasts and tragedies, some indirectly from they past generation, a spider-web of emotional burdens that plague everyone's judgement, to which end, is up in the air at this moment.
A heinious crime happens in modern day, which mirror aspects of what happened decades back, and suspicions are thrown around, doubts presented in our eyes too ... until Ep5 when the perpetrator is "showcased" - but to US the viewers, and NOT the characters in the story...! And the frustration we feel seeing how the perp manipulates the people and info around said small town, and it is refreshing to not "guess" WHO the perp is, but instead biting our fingers waiting to find out HOW the crime is exposed. The cliffhanger to Ep6 is one prime example of how their bait and lure story tactics work, and it certainly worked for me!
Shin Ha-Kyun as "Lee Dong-Sik", is UTTER INTENSE (Sorry I do not have any other word worthy of being evoked here), with his "colourful" back history, and excessively veiled personal agenda, and a conscience that oozes from the pores of his very being. And that maniacal laughter is as tragic as it seemed to portray his "insanity" and overt lack of mental facilities (which of course is a ruse, otherwise how is he able to continue as being a police officer?).
My personal impression of the actor was his turn in LESS THAN EVIL, and he is not less intense in this series OMFG. His eyes are the strongest aspect of his craft, and they are evocative of his always brimming and boiling underneath his skin, threatening to burst forth and thru his eyeballs, and has been nothing but fascinating to watch, IMHO.
Yeo Jin-Goo as the hot-shot golden child "Han Joo-Won" bares his own guilt, and is stubbornly headstrong in his various attempts to uncover the "truth", and the truth is never convenient. The pretty-boy schtick looms over him in every circumstance too - from his OCD-cleaniness, to his show-boaty sports car, and his actions/inactions that immediately separates himself from the folks of MuYung Station, where he actively chooses to not intergrate into where he works, with very self-centredly clinging unto his own life, past, and what he thinks his future should be, regardless of flaws and mistakes, which he carries over his should with him.
His turn in Hotel deLuna was memorable, and I am considering watching "The Crowned Clown" (although I am currently taking a break from "period dramas", after a fantastic viewing experience with MR QUEEN).
Mixed into these two persons is a collection of characters on this "small town" interconnected to each other - who "protect their own" first and foremost, and are pretty in-sync with each other too, or so we are constantly "told". We witness that life thru Han Joo-Won's eyes, but at the same time we need to consider where Joon-Won comes from, and who he is connected to.
I found myself constantly being surprised, most of all with how honest the characters have been - of their circumstance - but in reality you doubt 100% of said-honesty, as there are far more secrets and unspoken happenings behind them. Like when a dash-cam footage recording is edited to reveal a partial visual "proof", and said edited footage is uploaded unto the internet, and how folks react and revolve around said edited-footage, instead of asking questions leading to said edited-footage.
If the writing was trying to comment on "public opinion" versus "the truth of the matter", then he has me reeled in for more.
This has thus far been a Kdrama which I find myself invested in the story, and quite frankly not noticing the cinematography, nor art - which frankly has an interestingly distinct look of a "frozen past" (where a lot of citizens are living in, mixed into the lack of city development due to the crimes of the past), ironically visuals of what a "small town charm" could have been.
If I had discovered this series after the entire 16-episoder had finished, I would without a doubt BINGED continuously to find the resolution LOL ... but for now, I'll just have to be patient, and wait for my twice weekly broadcast.
The series thus far presents a slow burning story told chronologically, and at the same time weaves in flashbacks sequences - sometimes for nearly half an episode - (re)telling the sequences that leads/led to the sequence shown before. You are brought along to see how the crime was committed, not as much as the "why" (which might still happen later, who knows?), and at what lengths they are kept hush amongst each other, or to the characters themselves. Less "AH-HA!"-moments, versus "aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh"-feelings of dread and discovery. In this I'd felt the production had done very well in presenting "Beyond Evil".
There is very little "victory" to be savoured in BEYOND EVIL ... The circumstances and situations comes as constant waves of bad shit happening to people - both the good and the bad - when the notion of "justice" becomes a constant blurring of lines, across sacred boundaries of moral perceptions and realities of the written law (which are constantly quoted), now used to "entertain" us (this is a television show, after all), and at the same tome provide us with "food for thought", and who knows? Perhaps "conversations" with others, or even with ourselves?
Watching episodes one thru to seven had been a personal investment of attention, which to me, had been emotionally exhausting his far, and I am certainly hooked for more. A decades old crime might have been at the edge of beginning solved, but this is not the end game yet, isn't it?
There is very little "victory" to be savoured in BEYOND EVIL, but if you decide to watch the series, at least make it to the end of Episode 7, and you might feel that slight glimmer of "hope", in a unjust fictional world.
You can catch BEYOND EVIL legitimately in Singapore on viu.com (Video-on-Demand/VOD) or via the Viu app which can be downloaded for free on App Store, Google Play, and selected smart TVs, as well as on the web at www.viu.com. I have yet to see a listing on Singapore cable channels.
(Images used via hancinema.net + IMDb)
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