Sweet Home (2020)

Humans are the scariest of all...

Disclaimer: I have not read the webtoon so this is an unbiased review of the drama as a standalone piece. Also, TW's for excessive blood and gore.

This is definitely an apocalyptic go-to, and one that integrates monsters and some deep questions very well. We start in a seemingly normal-ish (heavy on the ish) apartment complex with an introduction to all the central characters. It's a relatively easy drama to follow as the group we get to know is small and each introduction is integral to the story. At only ten episodes, every minute counted here. The acting is incredibly on point, and I really believe that is what brought the story to life.

The CGI in SH leaves much to be desired, many of the monsters coming off as almost laughable, but everything else was spot on. The OST was perfect for this and is definitely one I will be coming back to. My biggest complaint would be the length of this, as we don't get to explore the various backgrounds, and we only got to skim the surface of motivations for each character. The episode count sadly limited how in depth the plotline was, and I wish we had dived deeper into the story that was Sweet Home. However, each person was interesting and played an important part in SH. I don't think there was an actor who fell behind or let someone else outshine them, and that doesn't happen to often. Although there were ghost ships, there is no prominent romance here, which is a relief because there's enough going on everywhere else. It would have only detracted from the story time. Also, shout out to all the badass women characters in here. They really held their own and I appreciated everything they contributed to the story. In its essence SH puts forth many questions about what makes us human, our deepest desires, and what would kill our humanity. It was executed well and never posed a dull moment.

All in all, a phenomenal drama in an us versus them scenario that questions if we're our own monsters in the making. I would recommend if you're looking for something more serious but weirdly wholesome. I'm already hoping and ready for a season two.

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I was scared that I was going to overhype this drama myself, so I waited a little while before watching it. But I gave in and decided that I really needed to start watching dramas that I really want to watch and this one did not disappoint. If you like the intensity of The Last of Us & The Promised Neverland, where you are trying to fight to stay alive, then this is for you. But there is also the intensity of your favorite characters dying like season one of Attack on Titan. Still, an amazing drama that makes you want to keep watching, but super depressing because all you want is the best for everyone and for them to be badasses and survive. But also, the reason why I couldn't give this a full 10 stars. Loved this drama, but it got to a point where I got annoyed that people were dying left and right, and mostly the ones I got attached to.

This was a drama about the ugliness of human nature as well as the bits of good - you have an apartment full of different people who are battling their own evils, and they are trapped together during a pandemic, trying to find some kind of synergy on how to survive together. You have people with a lot of character development and you even get to see some backstory on a few people, which made it a lot harder when you weren't sure if they were going to survive. I would say my favorite part about this drama, besides everything about Cha Hyun Soo, were the character teams. It seemed that a lot of people seemed to tag team together and build this emotional attachment that gave the drama life. Yoon Ji Su & Jayhun (or guitar baddie & katana Christian - so many people, couldn't keep up with names, had to give them nicknames) were the freaken dream team and became my favorite characters seeing how they grew together. Then near the end, we got Pyeon Sang Wook & Park Yu Ri (mafia & caretaker) who softened one another but still kicked major ass. There were other characters here and there that I tried to keep track of but Lee Eun Yoo, Seo Yi Kyung, & Lee Eun Hyuk were the three I couldn't figure out. Eun Yoo & Eun Hyuk had really cute sibling-building moments, but they were both just very extreme people. Yi Kyung is a fan favorite from the articles that I have read, and she was a badass, BUT I really never knew what her morals were in comparison with her end goal of trying to figure out what happened to her fiance.

Overall, I am excited to see a season 2 come out and even might decide to pick up the webtoon/manga. With the ending we got, I really want to figure who was really in that car and if it is possible for people to fight this "plague."

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Entertaining but lacking

Overall, a pretty entertaining show with some good visuals and action. Love the premise of the show, just wish it was executed differently. I haven't read the webtoon, so I'm reviewing solely the show itself.

First off, I agree with many other people who think that adding the Imagine Dragons song to dramatic scenes was a little unfitting to say the least. Ruined some of the dramatic moments, but still, not that big of a deal for me. My problem was with the way they develop Song Kang's character, Hyun-su.

I was under the impression that Hyun-su was going to be the main character and have a lot of scenes. Unfortunately, with such a large ensemble cast, he was often pushed to the side in order to focus on the other 10 main characters (not to mention the side character's screentime). They gave Hyun-su a very sad and dramatic backstory that looked like it was going to develop as the show progressed, allowing him to overcome his demons and possibly utilize it to help others. Although he does help others intermittently throughout the show, he rarely gets any satisfying scenes where he saves the others and is often the one who is needing saving in the first place. Most of the main cast were given strong characters who are capable and have their moments to showcase their strengths, whereas Hyun-su didn't really get any satisfying moments (except at the very end).

Even at the end of the show (spoiler warning), I was expecting Hyun-su to do something dramatic and possibly sacrifice himself to save the others, showing them that he was a good person even if he was labeled a "monster". This doesn't really happen, and his climactic ending moments are overshadowed with the "sacrifice" of the other main character, Eun-hyeok. Speaking of, I don't understand the need for Eun-hyeok to even sacrifice himself in the first place. He could of gone with the others to safety, but instead he decided to sit in a room and die for no reason? I don't know, maybe I'm missing something (I was often confused by the plot). This just overshadowed Hyun-su's part that could have been so much more impactful.

In general, that is my biggest complaint about this show. I understand the need to showcase all of the characters in this large cast, but I feel like they could have done so much more with Song Kang's character. There was so much potential to develop him into something great, like having him transform at the end and sacrifice himself to save the others as a clear indication of him accepting himself and having grown as a person, but instead he just leaves. Not really a sacrifice, no recognition or satisfying ending, and doesn't even get to prove to the others who judged him that he was truly a good person and could control his inner demons. Even the whole relationship between Hyun-su and Eun-yu could have been more impactful at the very end if they didn't unnecessarily throw in Eun-hyeok's death.

Overall, decent story with some hard to follow plot progression and plotholes, great acting, questionable music choices, good effects and animations, good action, but with the unrecognized potential of the character of Hyun-su.

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Onde estamos realmente seguros?

Eu confesso que quando vi a sinopse a série não me chamou atenção por já ser um tema batido, logo pensei: "Outra série de zumbi, que saco". Porém, eu vi que o casting era muito bom, então resolvi dar uma chance. Foi a melhor coisa que eu fiz. A série já me supreendeu pela qualidade logo no primeiro episódio, eu havia imaginado que seria um drama de horror, no entanto é muito mais focado em ação e suspense.

O primeiro ponto que me chamou a atenção foram os personagens, eles possuem mistério e charme próprios, que cativam o espectador, você fica curioso e quer conhecer um pouco mais sobre cada um (até os coadjuvantes). É interessante notar que a série também aborda conflitos da natureza humana, então não é só uma série com monstros, ela é mais profunda. Aqui também preciso deixar o meu elogio aos atores que trouxeram vida a esses personagens, elenco muitoooo bommmmm!

A segunda coisa que chama atenção é produção e a qualidade dos efeitos visuais, os monstros são muito perfeitos! Essa série não perde nada para Hollywood. Uma das coisas que eu gosto nas produções coreanas é que apesar de ser um tema pesado, com bastante cenas de ação e sangue, elas não são indigestas. Eu tenho um sério problema com cenas fortes, passo mal, fico revendo a cena na minha cabeça, é horrível. Mas quando eu assisto as séries coreanas isso não acontece, eles focam na fluidez da cena e não em mostrar os detalhes chocantes e desnecessários.

Por fim, a trilha sonora é super envolvente, ela ajuda a dar o ritmo da série e aflorar as emoções do espectador. Eu espero que a segunda temporada saia logo! Se você gosta de séries de ação e suspense com excelente produção e um quê de mistério, Sweet Home é para você.

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Buena historia, muy buenos actores, pero DEMASIADO GORE (para mí)

Debo comenzar por decir que no es un drama que vería por gusto a este género más de miedo/suspense. Me lo puse en la lista de pendientes porque sale Lee Do Hyun y, desde que me vi el drama «18 Again», tengo un crush muy grande con ese chico.
No he leído el webtoon, por lo que sólo puedo aportar mi valoración partiendo del drama:

La historia me ha gustado y me ha parecido interesante; temas apocalípticos y distópicos la verdad que siempre me han gustado. La línea temática monstruos=matar=supervivencia ha sido intensa, pero sólo ha durado los primeros capítulos, lo cual no me ha parecido del todo mal porque ver muchos más monstruos habría sido cansino y repetitivo, así que creo que han dado la dosis justa. No obstante, no he visto justificada la "desaparición" de los mismos. Se supone que debería haber más por las calles, ¿no? Ahora, debo decir que es muy gore todo para mi gusto, con litros y litros de sangre que les salía de la nariz a los pobrecicos.
También tiene partes que tocan temas de la moral y los valores humanos, el suicidio, la muerte y la pérdida, el bullying, etc... Esos temas subyacentes han dado lugar a escenas bastante emotivas y que me han agradado más, como la de la mujer que pierde a su hija y los niños que pierden a su padre... Un 10 para esas escenas que me han sacado litros de lágrimas.

En lo que respecta a los personajes, me ha gustado que hubiese tanta variedad de personalidades; también las historias individuales de los más principales. Aunque las dos personajes femeninas más principales me han parecido un poco "meh"... No sé cómo serán en el webtoon pero a mí se me han hecho un poco tediosas las muchachas: 1. La hermana de Eun Hyuk se me ha hecho muy pesadita y odiosa; 2. A la Yi Kyung no la he entendido... iba muy por su cuenta y luego va de preocupada por Hyun So y ni apenas ha entablado conversación con el chico... No sé, me ha parecido un personaje un poco vacío.
Tengo que destacar el personaje del profesor cristiano, Jae Heon: me ha parecido el más redondo de principio a fin. Era mi fav, junto con el mafioso Sang Wook, Ji Su, y los dos abueletes.

En la actuación no hay nada malo que comentar; considero que todos tienen un nivelazo. Los niños GENIAL. Hasta la actuación del perrito es destacable JAJA. Mi crush Lee Do Hyun también lo ha hecho muy bien, porque con lo majo y alegre que es en la vida real, ha conseguido que llegue a odiar un poquito a su personaje. Y el protagonista no se queda atrás: lo he visto actuar en Love Alarm (drama que me dejé porque no me convencía, y él tampoco), pero me ha callado la boca; actuación de 10 también. Un gran elenco (la actriz del personaje de Yi Kyung no me ha convencido mucho, pero creo que es porque su personaje no me ha gustado, PERO no se le puede negar el 10 en las escenas de acción).

Luego, los efectos especiales... para ser un drama, está BASTANTE bien. Evidentemente no es calidad de película estadounidense de millones de dólares de presupuesto, pero por eso mismo se merece un aplauso por lograr una producción "decente" (no digo que solo las estadounidenses son buenos en producción, pero suelen ser los que pueden gastar más pasta para hacer producciones mortales). No da tanto cringe de ver como pensaba que daría.

Ahora, lo que no me ha gustado para nada es el OST... Más que el OST, los momentos y escenas en las que decidían ponerlo: no pegaba ni con cola. Lo único acertado ha sido usar el Réquiem de Mozart en escenas dramáticas.

En general, me ha gustado y me ha dejado con ganas de más, sobre todo para poder comprender EL FINAL: Se ha quedado muy abierto y con muchas dudas que resolver, al menos para mí... Aunque debo de confesar que mi único deseo es que vuelva el personaje de mi Lee Do Hyun ¡Creo que hay posibilidades de no la haya palmado! (Por cierto, su escena final me ha parecido sublime).
Mi puntuación final es de un 8.5. Creo que me leeré el webtoon para comprender los vacíos que supongo habrá dejado el drama. No la volvería a ver, no porque no me guste, sino porque no suelo volver a ver los dramas y, particularmente con este, porque hay mucha sangre para mi gusto.

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Very Overrated

The story is extremely slow. Nothing actually happens. the length could be restricted to max 3 episodes even with fillers.
I think there was a vague concept of how unchecked human desires cause to become monsters (in various senses). But it was not touched upon, at all. There was close to no plot in the show. Everyone was just trying not to get killed. ML's backstory is touched upon a bit, we see the BEGINNING of a character arc towards the end of the show. The whole concept of why ML is special is because he literally has no thoughts, cause his mental health was already very bad, before the pandemic/acopolypse hit. So he doesnt have desires. So he cant turn into a monster. (like go crazy and kill other people)
And reading on the reviews of the following seasons, i gathered that s1 is actually one of the better seasons.
So im gonna stop here.
Theres nothing sweet about this home. It not even homely..
All the side characters (almost all) are killed. Even the ones with interesting backstories and possibilities of role in the story arc.

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Promising and popular, but can be slow at times

I started Sweet Home after hearing how popular it is and my friends' recommending it. I loved how different each monster was and the CG of how real it looked. The story is also quite unique as it does go into the depth of each of the character's personality and backstory.

However, I wish that they answered more of the questions around "why?". I felt like I was confused most of the time in the drama and some episodes can be quite slow. The pacing is quite odd as it starts off with a great concept and then slows down until the last 2 episodes.

Still, the acting was really solid and so was that soundtrack, especially when a monster approached. I might check out the webtoon too.

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Good Enough

Korean Drama 'Sweet Home' has awful CGI, but it makes up with the on-point atmosphere. The settings, the costumes, the music, the performances, everything is and feels perfect, as the group of residence is trying to survive. However, this season felt more like the introduction, as we start to get to know each character and bond with them, without, nevertheless, getting too deep into the mystery of what is happening and why and how to move forward. Still, this season sets strong foundations for those to come.

In addition, everything is well constructed, with enough screen time for each character and each storyline. The pace is also perfect for the action element of the story. Finally, the performances were all quite emotional.

So, overall, 7 out of 10.

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Is it a good show? Maybe. But something is off.

First of all, english isn't my mother language, but i hope everyone at least know what I mean. I think nowadays, almost all tv shows which have good ratings, just part of hype, in fact not all of them is really good. After watching 2 ep, this show is pure action, and i quickly noticed something is off, which is, the logical action of the character based on situation. Enter Lee eun-hyuk. This guy shares a room with his sister. One night, he told her he was going to work. At ground level, he found some occupants grouping together & they seem can't get out. Then a monster attack. Tell me, in your logic, what should the guy do? First he tries to help others to fend off the monster & close the door. Pretty logical. Then he groups up with other. He forbids anyone opening the door to leave. Ok. He goes to security room and watches the monitors. He sits there with others & planning what to do. Errr...wait, did you say he has a sister?
Yep, that's exactly why i told you something is off with this tv show. The character doesn't act logically enough. Does he forget he has a sister up there? And when her sister finally goes downfloor, he just hands her a shirt for cover. No talk. Nothing.

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