Nightly Photo Studio (2024)

very underated drama

I definitely give this drama 10/10, I don't know why people don't like it because there is no annoying love triangle, because there is no spoiled or cheated woman who suffers and does not notice the man? because there is no love with hate? this drama has nothing that I wouldn't watch, I love dramas without a love triangle and without unnecessary breakups, for me it's very beautiful, it's very interesting, every single episode is more beautiful and better, they have a amazing chemistry between them, they're both very beautiful, it's also very funny, sometimes sad drama ... i love this couple, i'm with ghosts videos only hotel de luna i love it very much and this is very similar to me also there they fulfilled the last wishes of the dead i loved it and i love this drama as well be sure to watch it because it's the most beautiful fantasy 2024 for me ,

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waste of my time

This drama started off real good, with a solid plot of the main leads helping ghosts to leave for the afterlife. I was really enjoying seeing backstories of ghosts until they ruined it with unnecessary romance. First of all, there was no chemistry between the main leads and their romance was so visibly forced. I wouldn’t say the acting was great either. It was my first time watching Joo Won star in a drama but his acting wasn’t realistic at all. The scenes of him being happy,sad,frustrated- he had the same expression in each of them. He looked confused. Wouldn’t say it was one of Kwon Na-ra’s best works either. Anyways, I watched the whole drama just for Yoo In Soo. I liked his romance with the female lead’s best friend but their ending was open. Like he was a ghost and the other was a person. I’m giving it 3.5 for the sake of Yoo In Soo and few ghost stories that were interesting. I would NEVER REWATCH THIS!!!!

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OK....where should I begin...

Since last September I have been in a Korean drama slump. I dropped so many dramas that I was starting to lose hope.

I came across this title by accident. When I read the synopsis and saw that two of the actors that I liked that was in Fiery Priest was in this I had to watch.

I also keep forgetting about the main character. I didn't like Carter but I absolutely loved Stealer Treasure Keeper. He looks different in everything that I've seen him in hence the reason I couldn't recognize who he was.

Deputy Go was a lot better in this drama than Uncanny Counter Two. Even though he was weak at times I pretty much enjoyed him in this drama.

The main female lead was annoying to no end!! I didn't like her character in Itaewon Class and I didn't like her in this one. She was that whiny female I have come to despise in Korean dramas. They had to add romance in this and they had to bring out the clingy naggy lovesick female. These two romance scenes were that of two kids falling in love with each other. It wasn't swoon worthy, it was childish. The main FL was so bad. Why do they make female actors act this way??
I did, however like her best friend. Even though she and Deputy Go's romance was hard it was more believable and likable than the main two main characters forced romance. The main two lead's romance scenes were the most awkward romance scenes ever. The main ML was like a robot when it came to showing his affections. It was like they had to whisper in his ear to tell him what to do but forgot to tell him how to act it out. The main FL was what I said earlier, clingy, whiny, and naggy.

I didn't like the wife's character either. The writers tried to make the viewers feel sympathy for a wife who married a cop that didn't factor in what his life would be like as a cop so they made her act like she was lonely so she could cheat. Her justifying her actions just because her husband was too busy catching bad guys didn't sit well with me. Cops, lawyers, doctors, judges...those are the type of people who shouldn't marry outside of their profession. The writers made it seem like the cheating wife was the victim but it was the husband who was the victim.

The first 6 or so episodes were awesome. The final picture taking was so gut wrenching that I caught the water works on those episodes but then it stopped. The 'visitors' just stopped coming. Because of that the series took a dive. Instead of focusing on making the ghosts final goodbyes a happy one they decide to switch it to romance mode. Once in that mode it just didn't go anywhere. Like I said, the ghost and the best friend's relationship was more enjoyable to watch than the main two characters.

Now for the end, it was so predictable. I wish it would've taken the other route but I guess the writers wanted a happy ending.

No one in the ML's family was able to break the curse but he was...because of a girl....Eye roll for sure.

The first episodes of visitors were the best. The last few episodes I wish I would've skipped but I thought it was going to stray away from the romance scenario but it didn't.

I doubt I will be able to find anymore decent Korean dramas without the romance and without me dropping it.

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Good Enough

Korean Drama '' Midnight Photo Studio '' is a fantasy romantic comedy.

The drama has many funny moments, with the side characters adding their special flair to the mix. The ghost stories were also quite emotional and bittersweet, and, fortunately, plenty.

The romance was also enjoyable, with many sweet moments between the leads, though the final episode had a cheesy twist, but, still, the couple was adorable. The side couple was a bit awkwardly handled.

The performances were, in addition, pretty enjoyable by everyone in the cast.

So, overall, six and a half out of ten.

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Un entre-deux-mondes qui ne m'a pas entièrement convaincue...

Ce drama m’a intéressé de par son univers. Puisque j’adore les histoires de fantômes que cela touche à l’horreur ou au drame, il est certain que je regarderai au moins la BA. Ici, soyons honnête, le concept ressemble assez à « Hotel del Luna » (Beaucoup de gens les comparent d’ailleurs.), ayant apprécié ce dernier & voyant Joo Won au casting, je me suis lancée =D.

Alors, j’ai adoré le début, avec ce studio photo pour les morts, l’aspect malédiction, ainsi que les deux acolytes fantômes, j’ai même pas mal pleuré… (pour les cas des épisodes 2 & 4) Mais très vite, les choses se compilent de façon trop évidente… Il y a beaucoup trop de liens « cachés » entre les personnages. [Cela peut apporter du « mystère » (si on les découvre pas trop vite) mais cela peut également alourdir l’histoire et enlever une partie de son attrait.] J’avoue que tous ces liens m'ont fait penser que les scénaristes ne savaient pas trop quoi inventer pour meubler… (Il y en a vraiment TROP !!!)

On peut dire que j’ai commencé à décrocher autour de l‘épisode 11, pour totalement capituler aux deux derniers épisodes. (Je jouais sur mon téléphone en regardant les épisodes… J’étais donc HYPER CONCENTREE ^^) Je pense que l’histoire aurait pu s’arrêter à l’épisode 14 avec quelques ajustements… (Pourquoi encore foutre le bordel en « changeant » de photographe… Rahaaaaaaa !)

En bref, il s’agit d’une histoire qui peut être sympathique si vous aimez le genre & que vous êtes moins blasée que moi… (J’imagine que je commence à avoir vu trop de dramas…)

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Of Ghost and Curse and unfinished business in an unremarkable manner

Ghost/horror genre and ability of a human to see them is not new. ML has a fulltime job as a photographer of the dead prior to crossing over to afterlife. It's a cursed ability handed through generation in his family. His sidekicks are 2 ghosts (ex deskworker and ex cop) both with reasons of unfinished business and had stayed in the land of the living.

The main selling point were the episodic telling of the stories of each ghost visitor. From child to elderlies, each with their final request. ML's role, often challenging but rewarding to see the visitors have a proper closing before sending off to the other realm. This worked well in the beginning.. I cried on episodes of grandma, the child, abd the courier deliveryman. Those were stories that were touching and memorable.

Enter my criticism. Later on its fixated on the overall big baddie ghost. And sidetracked by cop ghost's story about his wife (very skippable). That enjoyable nature of diff ghost diff story was abandoned.

Next the romance between our ML and FL. In the beginning I enjoyed how ML seem a lil antihero and FL was kind of bubbly and goofy. ML was just trying to survive the curse and escape the looming death. I felt their relationship never reached the height it should. If hot is 100C, theirs is like lukewarm. Cause of this I never felt the intensity of a love thats connected to life and death.

From execution of plot to casting of the leads, it never truly fulfilled what it was supposed to. Nothing truly disastrous, but isnt remarkable either.

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What I expected but not really (to be edited until series ends)

I was interested in watching this after seeing the cast cry during the script reading and it had similar vibes to "May I Help You?"(which I recommend btw) so I was interested in seeing how the theme of helping the dead safely move on to the afterlife without having any regrets was going to be tackled. Plus, it being a photo studio was already I guess unique because how are they going to deal with providing such a service to ghost customers when living people may give them issues.

the series has a solid opening. It gives basic understanding of how everything works and still leaves enough curiosity for plot development in future episodes. I enjoyed the stories of the deceased (ep3 was hilarious imo- the aespa cameo you didn't know you needed) and learning more about how our ML's family came to be cursed this way and how FL comes into play in everything especially the link to a ghost from the past. We get to meet all type of ghosts so not every story is the same/similar. Plus, not every ghost has good intentions and seeing how they deal with them ensures the interest in the story is maintained. The side character stories are also somewhat interesting, but I hope they are fully developed by the end of it all.

My problem with the series starts(?)/started(?) in ep7 when the romance plot finally takes off, that's if we can call it that. I am all for FL taking initiative but tbh it was more coercion than positive pursuit. She keeps crossing the line and not respecting his stance. My guy says no she hears try again (just because she felt embarrassed and feels like he is stringing her along which he isn't btw). We are blinded in seeing this because he is also interested in her, but oh well.

I am still struggling to wrap my head around why ML is looking for his uncle when he knows about the family curse but there is still time for clarity.

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This drama is stuck in purgatory

This show is not bad. The real problem is that it doesn’t know when to stop. The initial premise is interesting enough. Multi-generational curse is nothing new but it is functional. The show pushed it for all its worth though. There are plot holes here and there but the show has enough momentum to push through most of them, at least initially.

Once it gets started, it gives off a similar vibe to several other wish fulfilling style fantasy shows such as May I Help You. While other shows are more focused on the “clients” and their backstory, this show used them as fillers when the main plot needs to take a breather. The overarching plot is focused on the ML and the curse he inherited. In that sense, it is a nice change from other series where the leads tend to fade into the background and only pops up at key moments. Our OTP is definitely in the fore.

However, this is a double-edged sword. With the focus firmly on the ML, this series struggles. As the saying goes, the tank is running dry. It seems to slice and diced the same plot into different combinations and pad things out. What was novel at the beginning become rather passe by the half way mark. Several times the show seems to have reached its logical conclusion only to be dragged back into the fray just to stretch it out a bit more.

On the positive side, not only are our leads more in focus, his two ghost helpers also have their moments in the sun which is rare in such shows. I appreciate that because they are both interesting characters and they deserve some growth and attention. Deputy Go does fairs better than Mr. Baek and I'm keen to see Yoo In See in other roles.

Acting wise, the ensemble cast did a decent job with what they are given. The ghostly makeup is rather low rent though and more Halloween than scary.

The last episode is probably the most problematic. It really ties itself in knots with its own DIY mystic mumble-jumble. A case of narrative purgatory, I suppose. It all ends well which came as no surprise. The series is watchable but could have been better and tighter. If only it ended 2 or 3 eps earlier while the going was good. One time watch for me.

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Romance lacked chemistry, lost interest about half way and struggled to finish it

6.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2024 South Korean Supernatural romance series with 16, 68-73 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review

Synopsis

Seo Ki Joo (Joo won) is the 7th owner of a photo studio whose purpose is to allow the recently deceased one last opportunity to interact with their loved ones and capture the moment photographically. But he did not come by this supernatural skill amicably, his ancestor struck a deal with reapers that they would perform this duty in exchange for saving the male child who would otherwise have died in childbirth. But it comes at the additional cost that all heirs from that point onward will be tormented by ghosts and die during their 35th year. Ki joo performs his photographer services with the help of Assistant Manager Go (Yoo In Soo) and Baek Nam Gu (Eum Moon suk) who run the office and help with each ghostly case. As his 35th year approaches, things become more chaotic and Kijoo notices that the granddaughter of his landlord serves as a ghost deterrant. The granddaughter, Han Bom (Kwon Nara), is a lawyer who is between jobs because her inability to look the other way in unjust situations doe not sit well with her superiors. Kijoo, eager to keep her near as a ghost repellant, asks Han bom to work with him on the legal issues tied up in recently departed client’s last wishes.

Review

With relatively fewer offerings in the supernatural genre in terms of Korean dramas, I would say that alone would be a reason to watch it if you are a fan of the genre.  The premise is unusual with the whole last photo of the recently deceased angle.  It is interesting that the camera offers a way for those with regrets to have that last interaction with those they care about and resolve things before they depart.  But, if you’re considering watching this one for the romance, there are better romances out there.  I am a bit biased simply because I have watched over 300 Korean dramas now and have seen all the best ones.  So, it makes me really picky with the content.  I share the impression other reviewers that the chemistry with the leads was off.  It was like they went through the motions, the first kiss, the longing stares, all the elements but it just did not add up with the two characters. May have been more palatable if there were strong 2nd or 3rd romances but there weren’t.  The second romance was just not very believable. So, you have one romance with little to no chemistry and the other one that is not believable.  So, in terms of recommending it to anyone I would only recommend to those like the very niche supernatural genre but for those looking for anything else, like a good romance,  I would not recommend it. Those that are fans of any of the actors might like it as the actors did an excellent job with their roles.  The lack of chemistry and other issues were issues with the writing not the actors.  I will not watch it again as I had a hard time getting through it the first time.  I found it boring after about half-way just because I wasn’t all that interested in most of the characters. 

Spoilers

The lack of chemistry between the leads for me began when she wasn’t very nice to him in the beginning of the series. She tried to get him kicked out of the apartment and told some untruths simply because of something her grandmother did.  Her grandmother kicked her out because she wasn’t paying the rent, which I thought was odd given the character of the grandmother. They did not fully explain why the grandmother kicked the main girl out, if it was to give her incentive to get back into practicing law or if it was simply because she needed the income from the rent.  But generally, the main girl’s misplaced anger made me not like her very well. I know that is a common trope, where the leads at first do not like each other at first.  And that is often used as comedic moments.  But there was nothing funny in her behavior, it just seemed mean.  I think they sometimes have the main leads gaze at each other too long before kissing but this is a good example of how too short is not a good thing either.  The kisses were just awkward in a way.  Like two strangers kissing because there weren’t the looks of love and longing gazes around it.  It just felt like, okay time to kiss now.  Same with holding hands.  There wasn’t this huge build up and anticipation.  

I thought the whole mystique around the camera was not very well-developed (pun intended). I understood that the camera allowed recently deceased people an opportunity to see their loved ones, one last time, resolve issues and capture last memories.  And they showed it was only those ghosts who were willing to go through the hardship of navigating back through the netherworld and finding the door that got the opportunity.  But why did that camera even exist?  Why did the supernatural beings feel the need to provide a camera for that purpose?  Who had the camera before main guy’s family got it? How did main guy’s ancestor even know to go to the afterlife and steal the camera?  The Grim Reaper in this one was all dark and spooky looking with like black smoke and stuff around in like an evil spirit.  In other dramas the Grim Reapers are attractive individuals, and the only difference is their skin may be a bit paler and they have supernatural powers. Interpreting Grim Reapers in a different way wasn’t the problem the show should have at least explain why that Grim Reaper looks like he did. Why the spooky black, evil spirit looking, smoke? 

I found the bromance aspects of the series more compelling than the romance. The lead guy and his two ghost assistants and their friendship was more interesting than the relationship between the male and female lead.  However, I didn’t understand how those two ghosts, out of all the ghosts that were moving through his studio, became his helpers. I mean ghosts were coming and going all the time and his goal was to help them resolve whatever they needed to and then take the photos quickly to move them on to the afterlife.  So why did the two ghosts that assisted him get to stay and why did they not only stay but become his assistants? It was emphasized several times that lingering too long could cause the ghost to become an evil spirit.  So, how were they able to stay so long without becoming evil spirits?  I also don’t know why they had to make the main guy like a bad boss.  They made jokes several times about him being cheap and working them too much.  Given the one guy died from overwork, why did he stay with main guy?  And how did main guy even have money?  It wasn’t like he was getting paid for his role photographing ghosts for the netherworld. 

I wasn’t sure why they put the grandma character in there only to have her leave. And it seemed out of character for her, not to want to say bye to her granddaughter.  The grandmother gave some lame excuse for leaving without that final moment and photo but it was out of character of her to leave her granddaughter that way.  I was glad main guy got the main girl to see her grandmother anyway.  But the whole grandma dying seemed pointless.  A big deal was made out of how that was her last family and how devastated she would be without the grandmother but then, once that final photo opportunity happened, they never focused on her again.  It was odd.

 

Hands down what I liked least about the story was the police officers’ situation. They tried to make his wife a sympathetic character because she was lonely, but she never told him that she was lonely so that he had a chance to be there more.  Basically, she pretended to be understanding and told him it was okay when it wasn’t okay to her at all.  She was lying and deceiving him into thinking everything was okay and then she was supposedly noble for doing it.  So, she has this “affair” with the florist guy, and it is spun so that it is his fault for making her lonely.  I wasn’t even clear on what type of affair it was.  Was it emotional cheating or did she have a physical relationship or both?  We didn’t get enough of a glimpse into that relationship to understand any of that nor what was so great about the floral guy that she would cheat on her husband.  I thought the whole pity party around her was ridiculous as she knew she was marrying a police officer and that his job kept him away a lot. In fact, they showed, during wedding preparations, where he did not have time to participate in the arrangements much and she was basically like it’s okay just do this one thing. Many people, early in their careers, work long hours to establish themselves. Given they were a new couple just starting their life as a married couple, and she was a stay at home, you would expect he would need to work long hours to support them in this new venture of a married life. I found her whining and playing the victim annoying.  So, I was very disappointed his story ended that he disappeared forever. He was one of my favorite characters in the show and that was a horrible and unnecessary ending for him.  I wanted him to confront his wife and maybe apologize for not being there but say you should have told me you were lonely.  And she would say something like I know, I was wrong too, and apologize for the affair. Maybe he would have had words with the guy who was such a slime to cheat with a cop’s wife. I didn’t like that guy at all, here he has an affair with the wife of a hero in uniform, then turns around, after the police officer dies in the line of duty and says bad things about him. He deserved some heated words.  But instead, they made cheater florist guy out to be a good guy for easing the cop’s wife’s loneliness.  What?   Even main guy was like I thought you were going to bop him.  And then he doesn’t go to the afterlife in the kind, peaceful manner where you capture a beautiful last photograph and he dissipates, nope he goes down with the evil spirit and since he went all evil spirit briefly himself, he is now going to be gone forever?  I extremely disliked how they played that story out. 

What could have saved the romantic aspect a bit was if the second romance was cute or heartwarming but it wasn’t.  It made no sense.  Their romance would have been cute if he wasn’t a ghost.  But the fact that she never physically saw him and just carried on this relationship with a ghost who possessed other people to have a physical presence, was weird.  I thought, given how many times the story emphasized the ghosts had to leave or would turn evil, there would be that final goodbye with the camera and the emotions like there were for all other visitors.  I thought main girl’s friend would get to physically see the ghost one time and then he would leave and they would agree to be in each other life in another another life or something like that. Oddly though he stayed and basically broke all the “rules” we had been taught leading up to this part.  He is able to somehow stay without turning evil.  And what about her brain tumor?  What was the miraculous cure? And why did it seem, when she passed out and all that, maybe her brain tumor was coming back?  I thought perhaps she was going to die and main guy’s ghost buddy and her would depart to the afterlife together or something like that.  But instead, her brain tumor issue just disappears, they break all the rules on having a ghost stay and they have some weird ghost human relationship.  That was weird enough.  But then him jumping in and out of people seemed very rape like.  Spirit rape or something like that.  And she is just okay with him possessing people even when he is a woman, a really old person, or young.  And she interacts with the person he possessed in a very rapey way, kissing them and other such physical contact.  Eww.  Usually it is the ghost asks someone if it would be okay to possess them to interact with someone so they are a willing partner, but not in this one.  It just made it creepy.   

I felt like it could have ended after episode 14 when the curse was lifted from him and he was no longer going to die.  Having the curse transfer to her and opening up this whole new thread of the story with her as the photographer was awkward so late in the series.  And then his power goes away and he cannot even help his two ghost friends go on to the afterlife?  Weird.  I think they only did that to stretch it two more episodes to make it to 16. 

So of course, they had to have the year separation trope for some odd reason. Let’s get him stuck in the netherworld trying to lift her curse.  Again, it felt like a way to extend the story for the last two episodes.  And then, when he comes back, I am reminded why I did not like her in the first place.  After he lifts the curse to safe her life and is stuck in the Netherworld, he miraculously returns, and rather than her being like “oh thank you so much you saved my life” she’s mad at him because he was gone longer than he said he was going to be.  Yeah, yeah, she didn’t want him to go and was upset he didn’t listen to her on that. But he went with her, albeit reluctant, permission.  I mean, come on, it’s the Netherworld, obviously he would have absolutely no control over when or even if he could come back.  So, her being angry, on any level, toward someone that risked his life to save hers was not a very nice way to be.  It was just a return to her self-centered pettiness that made me not like her in the first place.  And then not root for them as a couple.  But he had his issues too.  There was the one part where he was awkwardly like complaining about a public display of affection.  You’re embarrassing me.  And they weren’t a cuddly couple.  It was like just two people hanging out then bam, a kiss.  Just hanging out, bam holding hands.  I don’t know, hard to describe, just not a lot of lead up.  It was what made the chemistry off the fact they had so little interaction outside of what felt, to me, like random bouts of skinship.  Just not very well scripted.

#MidnightStudio  #MoonJunWon #JooWon #KwonNara #YooInSoo #EunMoonSuk

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Could have been so much better

I cannot express in words just how unsatisfied this drama left me. There are sooo many issues with this, and I don't want to waste much of my time thinking about all of them - so I'll just go with the ones that pissed me the fuck off.
1. Seong Ho. If there ever is a more annoying supporting character, I haven't seen them yet. And I'm willing to bet that I won't be seeing one in the future either. He's wishy-washy and annoyingly self-righteous about the worst things, and oh so creepy with his interactions with Han Bom in the beginning. And yet all of this is written off so easily when ji won is introduced that it gave me whiplash.
2. The unbelievably unrealistic HE for SH x JW. What sort of future is there for a human and ghost? What about all the problems that is shown because of him being a ghost? Nothing is resolved, simply written off, like every other stupid thing about SH. Ugh. For god's sake, she can't see him and he can't touch her.
3. The number of resolutions. Every time I think oh, it's done, they go - oh no, not yet. There's yet another problem to resolve (and yet another episode with a pseudo ending to watch). This happened 4 times, and each time it was so unwarranted - like everything was so obvious and they could have so easily finished things off so much earlier without dragging it on and on and on and on. It's like one of those horrible C-list movies that have a perfectly reasonable ending with a dumbass post-credits scene showing that the villain is still alive/risen back from the dead so that they can make a sequel.

That's the top 3 - if I start thinking, I can probably list many more. But that's brain cells that I'll never get back so I'm not going to. The worst part is that this could have been sooo much better - the overarching villain reveal was actually pretty well done, it had a good plot that tied together a bunch of seemingly unrelated plot points, had pretty likeable main and supporting characters (SH notwithstanding - that one's a lost cause.)

So despite everything, I'm giving this a higher rating than it probably deserves because of above listed reasons. And because this made me binge it in a day, so something about it was worth watching.

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