A Cinematic Masterpiece: Kingdom Redefines the Zombie Apocalypse Genre

A word before my review:- "I'll be honest, zombie apocalypses aren't typically my go-to genre. In fact, I had a traumatic experience watching a non-Korean zombie movie when I was just 11 or 12 years old. I didn't understand the context, but it left me terrified, and I avoided the genre altogether since then. However, thanks to a friend's enthusiastic recommendation, I decided to give Kingdom a chance, and I'm so grateful I did! This series has completely changed my perspective on the zombie apocalypse genre, and I'm now hooked."

THE DRAMA - KINGDOM :-

This Korean drama is a Stand-out drama in the thriller genre, setting a new standard for zombie apocalypse stories.
The decision to set the series ( the story point of Zombie) in ancient times was a bold and really challenging move, but the makers pulled it off with finesse. Mainly where the " Sageuk" dramas main elements rule on the classic love-revenge-wars-betrayal, power-struggle for the throne. it's a really tough challenge to the writer - director to create Zombie world in this classic sageuk elements. But their hardwork shines in every scene and every character makes us emotional, survival tense.
and the Netflix 's Korean drama wave started from here.

*THE EXCELLENCE OF KINGDOM'S SOUNDTRACK AND CINEMATOGRAPHY*

"When it comes to the thriller genre, I'm particularly discerning about two crucial aspects: soundtrack and cinematography. Kingdom excels in both areas, elevating the overall tension and suspense to new heights. The soundtrack is masterfully crafted, with the subtle sounds of the zombies and the haunting background score for the main leads perfectly complementing the on-screen action. The cinematography is equally impressive, with a keen attention to detail that immerses the viewer in the dark and foreboding world of ancient Korea. The cinematography in the Kingdom is nothing short of breathtaking, transporting me to a hauntingly beautiful ancient ( sageuk/historical ) Korea time'. The dark tone cinematography is a masterclass in crafting suspense and tension, expertly leveraging lighting, shadows, and composition to create an atmosphere that's both foreboding and mesmerizing and capturing a hauntingly beautiful scenery of Korean old days with bare trees on the mountains, their silhouettes etched against the eerie backdrop like nature's own work of art."
The soundtrack is equally impressive, with a haunting score that perfectly complements the on-screen action, amplifying the emotional impact of every scene and character. The combination of these two elements creates a truly unsettling and thrilling experience that keeps me on the edge of my seat.

ACTING:-

"The acting in Kingdom is truly exceptional, with each actor delivering a standout performance that leaves a lasting impact. Ju Ji Hoon, in particular, brings his character to life with a depth and nuance that is simply awe-inspiring. The entire cast, including Bae Doona, Kim Hye Jun, Ryu Seung Ryong, Heo Jun Ho, and Kim Sung Kyu, delivers fantastic performances that are both convincing and compelling. The cast's extraordinary acting skills are a testament to their dedication and talent, and they play a significant role in making Kingdom the thrilling and unforgettable experience that it is."

OVERALL :-

"I'm a little late to the party, but I'm thrilled to have finally experienced the masterpiece that is Kingdom! The script is nothing short of brilliant, weaving a story that's both captivating and unpredictable. The director-writer's vision is masterful, transporting me to the eerie world of the Kin and plunging me into the midst of a zombie apocalypse like never before. With its flawless pacing, heart-pumping action sequences, and emotional depth, Kingdom has raised the bar for K-dramas and zombie apocalypse stories alike.

My Rating: 10/10

If you haven't yet indulged in the thrill ride that is Kingdom, do yourself a favor and dive in without hesitation! This unforgettable experience will leave you breathless, craving more, and forever changed. Trust me, it's worth the binge!"

Leia Mais

An Exciting Thriller..

The drama [ Extracurricular ] takes a different aspect from typical school dramas, like a struggling male lead who manages trafficking businesses. It ( his work ) can be troubling at times because things frequently get away from his control and he is unable to deal with his unexpected situations. So, despite the dark atmosphere, the story was well-constructed and captivating to the end.

As a kdrama lover I'm not defending bullying, sexual assault, or whatever else they shown in this drama, but what i liked is how the K-drama ( Extracurricular ) subtly unveils the depth of a crime-filled plot with teenage school story line. Let's appreciate that Netflix work brought a different subject theme this time allowing the writer Jin Han-Sae and Director Kim Jin-Min to move away from the common Korean high school storyline, cut off the classic love story element, and brought the crucially dark topics such as school bullying, payed dating, online sex work, and a variety of other issues navigating young adolescents in today's online world..

You will most certainly feel a wide range of emotions from sadness to love to frustration to anger to excitement through the main characters. And those emotions help add what can be an incredibly enlightening view of today’s youth and crime.


Kim Dong Hee is a brilliant actor and one of the young korean talents, After receiving prominent status for his supporting parts in the two biggest dramas, Kim Dong Hee jumps into leading roles & conveys an emotionally intense performance that will leave us question ourselves what you stand for at the end of the drama, Park Joo Hyun another talented young actress, no word how to appreciate her work, A Perfectionist. She really gave her 10/10 performance here, Portraying raw emotions with parental pressure and like a deep hurting inside daughter she perfectly played her role. Jung Da Bin did an excellent job giving her character depth.

Both ScreenWriter & Director were given a good thriller by showing the School Bullying, harassment, social norms, and parental pressure are all aspects of the life of a high school student in South Korea.
Cinematography and Soundtrack two are top quality that they capture us into a thriller mood.

Still waiting for season 02..

I enjoyed the drama and thanks to the Kdrama Judge who was given[ recommendation ] to me one of the best Kdramas. If you’re looking for an exploration in Korean highschool thriller with an engaging plot then this is definitely a must-watch..

Leia Mais

Amazing Youthful Entertainer - Clean Hit of 2024

I'm a big fan of time travel dramas; I watch time travel dramas most of the time." But after watching Some Day Or One Day," the time-travel rom-com caught me on the spot to explore these dramas. But I don't get enough dramas to freeze in those cute rom-coms, except for last year's "Twinkling Watermelon.". So I waited for this drama to breakout from the time-travel slump, as well as for the cast of Kim Hye Yoo, Byeon Woo Seok, and the trend of webtoon adaptations.


I watched all the episodes at once (I did not watch them when they were airing because I had exams), so I think I'm late to the party. The start is as good as I expected. The time travel aspect watch is another new element joined in the time travel mission. The synopsis tells the entire plot of the drama, so now it's up to the makers how they will keep the audience engaged with the plot, but it makes the drama watchable, like, Let's see how she will save him. Every episode is purely made as a youthful entertainer, especially the chemistry of the main leads, Kim Hye Yoon and Byeon Woo Seok, which makes the drama even more beautiful. The scene settings are impressive, and the use of the element "If the time traveler talks about the future or about the time travel, then the time will stop and no one in the past could hear anything from the time traveler '' made the plot engaging, but it will disappear suddenly from the drama. No love triangle; it has one but is not a complete one. The construction of a drama without a love triangle in a teenage love story is really something that we could appreciate from the from the director and writer because they focused on one story progression rather than love triangle points. With that unnecessary love triangle, sometimes the story progression is ruined. Emotional character development is pretty good. Kim Hye Yoon from funny lovable to emotional caring. Byeon Woo Seok a student with dreams to protective lovable. Song Geon Hee is a free-bird student and an understanding friend. The comedy plot is really a good entertainment aspect, and the execution of the comedy is also reasonable according to the story; there are no unnecessary side tracks, especially the comedy scenes of Kim Won Hae, Jung Young Joo, Seo Hye Won, and Song Ji, which will make the drama more enjoyable.

My only disappointment :-

This is not a thriller—time-travel—but they attempted a plot twist in the thriller zone by using a mysterious man (a killer), but the execution of that point is weak for me. If they try to give it some valuable scope and make it interesting, then the output is even better than this. Put the villain character only in boundary to show his face and drive a van or car. The director and writer got the friendship element to create a friendly environment around the male lead, but the protection point of the main lead was overshadowed. I agree; drama had the friendship moments between the main lead and his friends, but that's not enough for me. Even though it was a short time, it was good (male-led friendship).


ACTORS :-

One of the biggest elements of this drama's success is the chemistry between the main leads and the short girl tall guy troop. It was a classic troop in Kdrama Land, and we are missing it. So in the correct time this drama dropped their weapon, short girl tall guy love, it quickly gained the attention of every kdrama lover (also plot). Their acting is simply charismatic. Kim Hye Yoon I've been watching her dramas since "Extraordinary You," and she explored different genres, from dark to lovable, in every character she did an extraordinary performance. And in this drama, she really made me cry and laugh again, but this time more. She gave life to the Im Sol character; her superb emotional acting and ability to make you cry in funny scenes also contributed to her character development. The first half is totally funny, and the second totally emotional—multit character portrayal in a single-layer character—which is what made her one of the best actors in the upcoming generation.
Byeon Woo Seok, although this is my first main work of him, did great as Ryu Seon Jae. He caught me on the spot with his acting and I am now going to check out all his works (movies and dramas). And the supporting characters of Seo Hye Won, veteran actor Kim Won Hae, Jung Young Joo, Song Ji Ho, and Song Geon Hee gave complete decent acting performances in their respective character roles. They will make us laugh. Feel pain and emotion. What I found interesting is that, except for veteran actors Kim Won Hee, Jung Young Joo, and Seo Hye Won, no other supporting actors had a known face. Yet, this drama was a big success with them.

Writing - Direction - Screenplay - Sound Track Departments :-

Since it's an adaptation, the writer Lee Shi Eun's splendid script works very well. Attractive dialogues, lovely lines between the main leads, and hilarious conversations between supporting characters shine in every scene. Director Yoon Jung Ho, this is what made me excited because his previous masterpiece "Flower of Evil" is one of my favorite dramas, so I'm really excited to watch his other work, which is a Rom-com. He did pretty well his job as director. Every scene is stunningly beautiful, and no wonder I got thriller vibes with the killer plot in this drama. The scene settings are absolutely amazing, and his bold move for casting with limited big supporting actors and Byeon Woo Seok, Kim Hye Yoon is really appreciated. The screenplay in this typical drama is a really important aspect, to give the detailed drama structure from going in time backwards and forwards. There is not a lot of scope for the screenplay in this drama, but it is pretty good when it comes. One of the strongest pieces is the melodramatic sound track; it was amazing and fresh from the start to the end.

I would like to recommend this drama to every kdrama fan.

Note :- I’d like to notify that the following thoughts and words in my review are purely my own and not intended as criticism of any actor or drama.

Thank you - @Shinnosuke_Lee

Leia Mais

Magic with Cinematography, Screenplay - Best Thriller of All Time

First, let's talk about the extraordinary cinematography/camera work. 
My best appreciation of cinematography and soundtrack. The people who worked for those 2 sections really gave fantastic output. Coloring, lighting too. To precisely say the Cinematography's a truly magical feast here that elevates the dramas story telling to different levels. The slow motion angle shots/slow moving forward frame/slow backward moving frames are really, really well done. It's like cinematography/camera work magic. And writing is good, except for the last episode, Lee Su Hyun's death.
 
Acting is extraordinary, especially. Chae Won bin really, really done a pure masterclass. I know her character role is i
emotionless person throughout drama, but for an upcoming emerging actress it's not that easy to perfectly convey the same expressions from the start to the end of the drama and to keep watchers engaged. Also every actor gives their best performance.


But the disappointing thing is—no strong story in the detective subplot, same weak writing on police and detective procedural. The Writing in this core area feels underdeveloped or formulaic, with not thrilling investigative elements used as to push the story forward. They do nothing except suspect and arrest the main leads. Writers are using this police procedural plot just for the story engagement and to move the episode forward. Except for this weak writing, every aspect is good.

Leia Mais

Sorry.....

There's no strong emotional development between the main leads; the male lead's acting is average; there's no proper explanation about the future (present). If there's time travel, going back to the present is an important element of the story, but without dealing with it, they give a simple ending with the past. 
 
This drama is good for K-drama beginners (time travel genre), but after watching many time travel dramas for me, they presented a simple revenge drama with the time travel element.
 
They had the choice to create a more dynamic relationship between the main leads by using her ex-boyfriend, and they had to create love triangle points too, like one spring night, but did not utilize those elements. It's better to sometimes use a third person to create strong emotional development between the main leads, like One Spring Night. If they use it more, it will become trash.

Leia Mais

A Simple Thriller.. The Trio treat to watch

Hello Monster is A simple thriller drama, that presents an emotional rollercoaster story about one's love and concern with a twisted fate..

This drama came into my list when i was at the starting stage of adapting thriller/mystery genres from love/fantasy, and completed in 2 days.. After watching no.of Thrillers in kdrama this drama is also standout for its unique story selection. The main story runs with the investigation part but However, In my opinion the most compelling and freshest element of the plot is the second part of the story, which centers on the brotherhood bond (you will know once you watch the drama ).

And the first Criminal-Profiler drama i watched, they presented very well and detailed manner of new-coming thriller elements like criminal profiler in S Korean dramas, They put forward the topic of criminology to us and showed existential-humanistic theories with different solving criminal cases that explain criminals, serial killers, and psychopaths by examining their motives, behaviors, growth! It was the drama that showed almost everything related to Profiler. And I'm saying too much on Criminal parts means this is not a dark thriller or complete psychological thriller :) this is less romance but complicated brotherhood bond and overall an emotional thriller. A thriller plot twist is the core part of capturing the viewers interest to complete the drama and Hello Monster plot twist challenges our expectations, creates tension between characters and often reveals new layers to the narrative, making our viewing experience more immersive and satisfying adding an emotional backdrop story to it, once the plot twist was revealed it adds unpredictability and suspense and keep engaged and eager to see how the story unfolds from this moment. Plot twist along with additional twists might look simple, but with skilled script work, they created a major impact on the story narration.

Decent performance from the whole cast, especially the trio Seo In Guk, Park Bo Gum, Choi Won Young fictional characters they trigger us to experience a wide range of emotions beyond the relationships with well connected naturally and the bloodline that never want to aprat from us in any circumstances. This trio is a treat to watch.
And Jang Nara was given a settled performance. The Soundtrack & Camera good, the Screenplay highlights in some scenes to surprise with good story telling..

I will recommend this drama to those who are interested in a simple thriller that explores criminology as well as the good emotional bonding between brothers..

Leia Mais

MASTERPIECE! Excellent Story, Blending excellent characterization, lots of twists.

Stranger is the drama for you if you thrive on law-crime-thriller genres.

PLOT SET-UP, A VERY WELL EXECUTED WITH THRILLING AND SUSPENSE ASPECTS :-

A murder turns out to be more complex and puzzling than they initially thought, unravelling a whole national conspiracy behind the scenes. Viewers might find themselves questioning every character’s motives and allegiance while trying to find the real culprit. Not easy to deal with Puzzle.

Plot twists were properly executed, every second the suspense was maintained until the very end, the plot accelerated forward continuously, and the ending pulled more toward realistically than it did toward a perfect cliffhanger ending for season 2.

A amazingly challenging plotline that had me captivated and invested in the story from the start. I kept trying to figure out who the culprit was, but I couldn't. This is a prime example of those stories where you have to pay close attention or you'll become interconnected with the story and end up in the web of events and confused. AMAZING . MASTERPIECE

Finally :-
If you’re sick of all these romantic and cute dramas and want to watch something with gripping twists that makes you binge the whole series at once, this drama is for yo

Leia Mais