The Devil (2023)

crimi theme with ghosts and Kim Tae Ri

Revenant 8,5/10 -kdrama

Kim Tae Ri again picked good scenario and used her acting to make it into good drama[wasnt just thanks her, but if you check her works she rarely picks wrongly]

even though its not genre I usually watch I quite liked this thriller with :light: horror vibe.

Shortly whole drama goes around :catching serial murderer, which happens to be ghost:. Story got more points of views since there is more groups trying to catch murderer and each group got different investigating methods and different goals.

You will get to know little about asian folklore as well.

plot - "Revenant" is a kdrama centered around Ku San Young, a part-time worker studying to become a public officer, who becomes possessed by a demon from another world. Yeom Hae Sang, a man with the ability to see these demons, teams up with her. Together, they investigate a series of perplexing deaths linked to five sacred objects. This gripping crime thriller interweaves supernatural elements, Korean folklore, and modern investigation techniques. The acting is highly praised, particularly Kim Tae-ri and Oh Jung-se's performances. While the show's unique premise and atmosphere captivate audiences, it receives mixed reviews due to episodic plot structure, character development, and occasional plot conveniences. The ending strikes a balance between sentimentality and a slightly cartoonish feel. Despite its flaws, "Revenant" stands out for its fresh take on folklore and its impact on viewers seeking an unconventional kdrama experience.

genre - horror, thriller, crime, suppernatural

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Survival & the pursuit of happiness

For the watchers who enjoyed The Guest, this is like its younger cousin twice removed. Still very eerie at times, and gloomy in its own right, but it didn't crawl up my spine near as much as TG did.

It starts off following Sanyoung, who lives a life cleaning up after her mother and never quite making ends meet despite working herself to the bone. She's tired, rarely smiles, and contemplates ending it for herself. This drama does not have much humor in it, and consistently portrays graphic suicide and violence. If you're looking for something light with ghosts in it, this is not the one.

The storyline and pacing is honestly kind of eh. I found myself bored at times, and scrolling through my phone while half listening through the more filler moments. There is a lot of running around, finding clues, and a slow reveal of the truth, that constantly backtracks with twists and turns.

Yet, despite the more dull moments, I still clicked the next episode without hesitation every single time. Why? The acting takes the whole bakery in Revenant.

By far, the acting is what got me through this. I was unsettled, jump scared, horrified, and angered through this. The first few episodes are rough going, but once the ball starts rolling, the characters were what drew me in and kept me there. They delved into the true motives of peoples actions, the meaning of happiness, and the lengths people will go to just to survive. I highly recommend for the performances alone. Just be prepared to have to push through a few of the repetitive scenes where they run around and extract information.

All in all, a great watch and I finished in three days. If you're looking for truly bad ghosties and superb performances, then definitely give this one a go.

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Don't be put off by the "horror" tag.

Revenant is an occult mystery thriller and not a horror, so don't be too scared to watch this masterpiece. There's a lot of suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat, but nothing gory. It has a unique and interesting plot, which will keep you thinking and guessing, and thought-provoking themes. Above all, it features jaw-dropping acting from chameleon Kim Taeri, who has given us two more iconic characters in Sanyeong and possessed Sanyeong to join Na Heedo, Go Aeshin, Captain Jang and Sookhee. It's amazing that she transforms with each role without a trace of past characters. Revenant is thoroughly recommended and joins Mr Sunshine and Twenty-Five Twenty-One as my all-time favourite dramas.

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It's brutal but phenomenal

I'm not surprised the theme of valuing life/family over money is coming up again and again in KDramas. I think this show hit it in a different way than say squid games, though. For that, the directors and screenwriters are brilliant, masterfully weaving a wonderfully complex and unique story from a common theme. The cast was great, the sequencing of the scenes was great, the scenery and effects were great, and the folklore was outstanding. I really appreciated the dive into shamanism and traditional folktales. I think the brutal part was the suspense, gruesomeness of the repetitive suicides, and the mental heinousness of the crimes by the family in order to maintain obscene, unnecessary wealth - all to be expected considering the theme and nature of the show. Nevertheless, I feel like I'm walking away from the show entirely brutalized lol I think a few years down the line I'd watch it again, but I think it'll be hard to forget the details and feel the same level of suspense as the first time around. It was hard not to binge this one in a day!

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Blown Away. Those were my only words I can think of as the last few episodes played out. While it was a drama about a demon possession, I found myself deeply thinking about the messages they were portraying throughout. A huge one being: live life for yourself and not be envious of what others have and get. It spent a large portion of the drama speaking on the weaknesses we humans have, usually being that we want wealth, good jobs, and how some people will do anything to obtain those.

Another message that was given that I really loved was how often we start feeling complete despair and how much we might not want to exist anymore, but those are just dark thoughts at that moment. We always deep down want to live and survive for ourselves.

The mystery is amazing and does a great job at keeping the flow with how all of the secrets unravel. It feels like you're also trying to solve the mystery alongside the 3 leads. I'm sure it's not an original ghost story, but I felt that it was interesting and every episode had me glued to the screen.

Another reason for that is the acting. Especially the FL. She does an incredible job of switching between the evil spirit and herself. The way you can tell with just her eyes when the spirit has taken over is amazing. I also loved seeing Oh Jung Se again. I loved him in It's Okay, and I loved his character in this drama as well. Hong Kyung also does an amazing job. I do wish we could've gotten his character doing more actual investigating or profiling. There is one scene towards the end when he joins their side and his character is so good at profiling and detecting how people are. I wish we could've gotten more of that throughout the story.

Definitely a favorite that has come out this year.

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I’d recommend

I really liked this and was invested from beginning to end. The overall story was very intriguing, the folk horror that was introduced made it richer. It might have been more interesting if they delved deeper into the folklore and traditions surrounding the mystery. The ending wrapped things up nicely though.

Revenant’s horror has an arthouse feel to me. The production (which was soo good) focused a lot on atmosphere and the use of light and shadows to create a decent feeling of dread. The psychological aspect of feeling out of control and helpless hits home, too. Also, what we’re willing to do or accept in the name of survival, and what it means to live.

Heads up: suicide is heavily used throughout the series. It didn’t bother me here because it was in the context of murder and not stemming from the despair of wanting to unalive oneself.

KTR convincingly portrayed a capricious ghost and a terrified host. However, the hyperventilating and wheezing was a bit much for me.

Now, onto the not so great parts. There are two investigation teams, and it gets repetitive with the overlapping efforts. But also, at some point the information we’re being presented with becomes convoluted to the point where I wanted my own detective investigation white board.

The communication between our leads was often frustrating. There were so many instances of thoughtless exchanges that led to dire consequences. And just didn’t make sense.

All in all, a solid horror show.

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give them all the awards

This drama deserves the good reviews it has gotten because the acting is phenomenal and also the storyline is exciting.
We mainly follow Sanyeong(FL) and Haesang(ML). She is a hardworking girl and seems to be unhappy.... He is a folklore professor and notices that FL has a shadow - the shadow of a ghost, she is possesed by an evil one!
They work together to get rid of it and you are going to need to click on the next episode to see what will happen.
Be aware this drama shows a lot of TRIGGER WARNING
suicide but it is no S. but murder!!
I would not say that the genre is horror but mystery and thriller! :)
9.5/10 from me

PS: the drama will show how trashy humans are wbk

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It's not justs a horror drama.

I didn't plan to watch this. But ended up completing all episode. It is a good drama. The story was also great though they ending was rushed. I watched both Twenty Five Twenty One (Kim Tae-Ri) and It's Okay to not be Okay (Oh Jung Se). They were good in both dramas. In ' Revenant ' their acting is outstanding. Specially Tae-Ri portrayed her character very well. In this drama the writer give us the message that human are more scary than the ghost. The committed horrible crime to fulfill their greedness. It also give us gerat message that live your life for your own sake not for others. I'm sorry. I can't write review perfectly. I'm expressing my own opinion.

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Very well written horror story but dark and a little bit depressing

If you're anxious or you suffer from a mental illness or disorder. Please don't watch it.

Don't binge watching either for the emotional stable people out there.

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