Sweet Home (2020)

It's not for EVERYONE.

[As I said in the title it's not a drama that everyone would love cause there is too much blood, violence, monsters, deaths, and many other things so if you are not into horror shows then don't watch it, it will be a nightmare for you.]
It was just a warning for soft-hearted people, so now let's talk about my opinion about this drama. I would say it was freaking, hella awesome it just blew my mind, I'm in still shock now what I have watched. The cast was amazing, their acting was brilliant, felt the emotions and I loved the fact that they showed us even side character's side stories in the short period of 10 episodes, the character development was amazing they literally showed us every character journey and personality development. Many people think that the title of the show is irrelevant but in my opinion, it's not at all because after surviving together they become like a family that's what you call family. The ML seemed to be shady in the first but after knowing his backstory we can understand him. The special effects were awesome it's kind of obvious being the most expensive show, loved the sound effects they give you chills, actually, I liked every aspect of the drama.

This drama can be the definition of a thriller and it's not just a thriller it's emotional too it makes you cry also so it's also exploded with lots of emotions.

I would never have watched this drama cause it's not my usual genre but I'm glad I watched it, it was indeed a great experience to try something new, different out of your comfort zone that's how you explore. So this drama was full package for me I literally watched it in one go cause it's worth it, I gave less re-watch valuelessly because it's not the show that you can re-watch again, I never give high ratings but it made me do it. It would have been 10 if there were fewer cliffhangers in the end but I still think it was kind of obvious for this kind of drama.

Basically, it doesn't reveal many secrets I think we will have to wait for season 2, but still, the fact that story wasn't complete, I loved it! if you are a sucker for a good plot, good acting, thriller, action, horror then it's definitely piece of cake.

Waiting for season 2!!!

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Surprisingly boring

I've heard good reviews prior to watching this show and maybe I had my expectations too high. However, this drama disappointed me. Sadly, instead of being scary and captivating, it was boring and sometimes unintentionally funny. The special effects didn't impress me either. The character development does not work well. As far as horrors are concerned, I found "Kingdom" much better, as well as the movie "Train to Busan". I do not recommend this show to anyone. The rewatch value for me is close to zero. The ending implies there's going to be season 2. I'm not looking forward to it.

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song kang said "i know 2020 is almost over but i'm gonna come through real quick and end every other actor's career" and honestly? we should thank him for that

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This had it all... the directing, ACTING, plot, ost, visual effects... they went off, good lord. The only - and I mean only - negative thing I have to add is that pacing felt a little patchy at times. But if you want my honest opinion, I feel like it wasn't an objective pacing issue, but a subjective one. Even the slower scenes had full purpose for being the way they were, so I really can't fault the show for that. Either way, my own opinions on pacing were flipped upside down in the final two episodes where things completely exploded. Those episodes were about as close to perfect horror/thriller as you can get.

Side note, I really appreciated the lack of main focus romance. I know it's a huge thing with kdramas, but in shows like this, I would rather focus on the story and found family relationships than taking time to focus on romance. If I want that, I'll go to the romance genre. I know this'll probably be nullified in s2 - I'm sure Eun Yoo's crush will be explored more - but for now I'm gonna milk the fact that they chose not to assert any romance with the main characters (although I will say, if there HAS to be romance... the typically cold Eun Yoo's protective nature over Hyun Soo was actually pretty gratifying and sweet to watch. But, you know. Just best friends would do!!!!!!)

Should I talk about Song Kang again? I don't care, I'm gonna do it. Why did he have to body this role the way he did? Who asked him to do that? Who said "portray a self-harming, suicidal depressed teenager with abusive & complicated family and social relationships, who then finds out he'll likely become a monster, and must come to terms with what is happening to him as well as slowly building up a relationship with the people around him... and make it nuanced, heartbreaking, and terrifying"? Who asked him to do that and why did this man deliver the way he did? The scene where one moment his eyes are black, veins distorted, furious & completely submerged in his monster psyche, and in the next he's a terrified, exhausted, sobbing teenager, crying in the arms of the man he just killed? How the hell? Y'all really expect me to just move on from this?

Cut the cameras deadass

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Home Sweet Home

Studio Dragon’s Sweet Home is the live-action adaptation of Naver’s eponymous webtoon. Based on many viewers’ feedback, it seems that both the original source material and drama are equally fantastic yet slightly different as well. I haven’t read the webtoon but having watched the drama, I would have to agree – it certainly doesn’t disappoint. Along with Alice in Borderland, also distributed by Netflix, Sweet Home became the most talked about show for a period of time in December 2020 not only here at MDL but also globally – it currently ranks in the top 5 in the US and number 1 in 13 other countries, according to statistics. And for good reasons too, apart from being accessible on a major international streaming platform.

As it turned out, what I initially thought was a horror drama that was purely about monsters with thrilling action and suspense actually had a lot more going. What the trailers, vivid posters and edgy soundtrack compilation didn’t reveal was that Sweet Home was also a story about humanity, and the baggage of people issues that come along with it. I finally understood why 10 episodes (not including the potential sequel) were needed for this show.

This is a very well-crafted adaptation with an experienced cast of many familiar faces, stellar production crew, big budget CGIs, and outstanding cinematography, art direction, action choreography as well as excellent screenplay filled with well-written and colourful characters brought to life by superb all-round acting. It is directed by Lee Eung Bok, who helmed Mr Sunshine, Goblin, and Descendants of the Sun being the notable ones. The music score is composed by Gaemi, whose works include Mystic Pop-Up Bar, The King: Eternal Monarch, The World of the Married, and DotS, among many others. The visual effects are provided by Legacy Effects, VFX Studio Westworld and Spectral Motion, all of which worked on well-known productions such Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Films), Avatar, Game of Thrones and Stranger Things.

As for the main cast, there’s Lee Jin Wook (Voice 2 and 3), Lee Shi Young, Lee Do Hyun, and Park Gyu Young among the more well-known. The supporting cast comprises veterans such as the more familiar ones like Kim Nam Hee, Kim Gab Soo, Kim Sang Ho, Woo Hyun, and Park Sung Geun. The main character is played by the talented youngster, Song Kang in his second lead role.

In summary, the drama tells the story of how a group of inhabitants of an apartment building, Green Home (interestingly the apartment complex itself had a greenish tint), survive a monster apocalypse. How the monsters came about, let’s just say it’s not a natural evolution although some viewers may probably debate this. We see the best and worst of humanity in each and every single character of the show as they struggle to survive this disaster. In many respects, the characters likely mirror real life people that we meet in our day to day lives, for no monster is truly as horrifying as people themselves once they succumb to their inner darkness. At least, that’s my takeaway from this show. Each character has his or her own respective backstory, whose present lives are shaped by varying levels of tragedy and trauma of their past, which now intersect as they are forced to team up and face the onslaught of monster attack.

As far as character portrayals go, my personal favourites are Lee Jin Wook’s Pyeon Sang Wook, Park Gyu Young’s Yoon Ji Su, Go Min Si’s Lee Eun Yoo, and Kim Nam Hee’s Jung Jae Heon. For the supporting cast, Kim Sang Ho’s Mr Han, Woo Hyun and Kim Hyun as the shopkeeper and his wife respectively, were equally phenomenal. The characterisations adapted for the screenplay are immensely elevated by the excellent acting of these actors in particular. The depth and richness of each respective character arc and development, the deft execution and quality delivery of myriad emotional expressions, these were my major personal highlights from the drama.

As well-made and well-acted as this production is, where most of the cast brought their A-game and the special effects were truly exceptional, to me it wasn’t as close to flawlessness as it might have seemed to many viewers. I certainly enjoyed it but not as much as I had anticipated or hoped, possibly due to the immense hype that snowballed from prior to its official release up to the point of completion of airing.

The storytelling would have probably worked better with a shorter season of perhaps 8 or so episodes, (case in point, both seasons of Kingdom which had 6 episodes each) with a more compelling plot, sustained momentum and intensity by balancing the dramatic, thrilling and poignant moments. As it is, particularly from the mid-section to nearing the end with the sudden introduction of new characters, the additional build up felt dragged. It’s a case of each character being “fleshed out over excessively”. The pain, sorrow, fears and insecurities kept being reinforced incessantly throughout to the point of being rendered mere iterations, when discerning viewers have already utterly understood the message and underlying tone of human drama and tragedy being conveyed. Confrontations between characters and internal conflicts were magnified for maximum effect much longer than was necessary while the finale, when it eventually transpired and as thrilling as it was, wasn’t as satisfying or “epic” as it could’ve been to bring closure to this first season and more importantly, entice us viewers or at least me to higher levels of excitement in anticipating the follow-up season.

Regardless of the issues I personally felt, on the whole Sweet Home still remains a top tier production and a “viewing event” that’s very much worth a watch (and re-watch) and to a certain extent warrants the hype that accompanies it. It still could have been so much more and there remains vast potential to this series, so hopefully the second season would be even greater.

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From a Webtoon fan...

Disclaimer: this review is biased. I have been reading this webtoon ongoing right after it came out several months after I finished reading Bastard. I don't like horror but these authors are amazing! I'm a huge fan of this webtoon and was waiting for a new chapter each week, and even bought some early access. So I was veeeery disappointed in the drama... but if you are a webtoon reader like me, try to not compare this to it, and just enjoy the drama as a standalone, even though i know that it will be hard.

There are spoilers in the review if you didn't read the webtoon. So better to not read it.

Side Note for those who don't like Horror like me: Even though the drama was creepy and disgusting, you could easily close your eyes at the most disgusting parts like excessive blood flow or killings/eatings and still enjoy the show.

STORY:
the Bad:
They changed everything from the very start.. They removed Maria, they completely changed Eunhyuk's sister, they took away Eunhyuk's nerdy side, they added a completely new character who is a strong woman firefighter, They focused more on the outside world, while the webtoon focused only on the residents of this place and from their perspective (the characters didnd't know what was going on, just like us), they changed the group of evil people that barged into their apartment complex, They changed Wook and his profession, they changed Dusik's ending (his end was soooooooooooooooo dramatic and special in the webtoon, i was crying my eyes out but here it wasn't), They removed the "NEW" people, they changed the old man fighter girl duo, They changed the overall ending leaving it open for the second season, they added romance where it wasn't and removed romance from where it was, They breezed through some of the important side characters. Not only that, they also didn't focus much on people's thought process when becoming a monster. The inner fight was less, the chemistry between characters was just shoved down to 0. Eunhyuk Hyun, Wook, Jisoo friendship was my favorite but they just removed it completely. This webtoon was one of the best webtoon with character growth and this was not shown well too. Anyway it just seemed that they are making money on the webtoons name, taking the core idea and doing it completely differently.
The Good:
Now if you take this as a standalone and forget about the webtoon. The characters were interesting, the new firefighter girl was cool and she did a lot for the story progress, the showed us some of the reasons why this started happening making it a big conspiracy. Including military and showing us what they are doing too. So we get more information and the thing becomes much bigger. Some great characters were so perfect that they became scene stealers.

Acting/Cast:
the bad: the bad goes not into the acting but the cast, some didn't suit the characters, like Wook. and some were just made up out of nowhere.
the good: the good is of course the acting, because everyone did a great job with it! amazing performance by everyone!
SOUNDTRACK: Warriors by Imagine Dragons? XD well i like the song so it was nice and epic but kinda unexpected and not very suited.

I never rewatch dramas. So i put a random number in there.

Overall:
Compared to the webtoon, this show is very bad. If i was a webtoon writer i would have been enraged.
But if you watch it separate from the webtoon it is good and interesting.

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a really really unique drama, I guess in some ways drama writers take their products too lightly, and maybe since webtoon writers how a bigger deadline and medium they work harder on building their world, that's why this was perfect

for me the best part was the characters, each one was different, each one had their good and bad qualities, and each had a worth and a purpose for the story lines.


for me, Kim Nam Hee, Lee Shi Young, Park Gyu Young, Lee Do Hyun had the best acting performance, the rest of course did a great job, but these 4 really outdid their past works and it was a pleasure to watch them.

personally, I think Song Kang and Go Yoon Jung were their weakest links acting-wise, their characters were great (especially those bows, and the last fight) but their acting had a flat side, especially with the delivery of their dialogues.


my top 2 characters were Jae Heon and Yi Kyung.. I'll never forgive the director for killing my favorite characters ;( I get that he was too perfect for them, in the last 2eps things would've been different if he was still around, he was rational, calm but he was a man of action especially if his friends were involved...
I wish his death was a little more dramatic but agh the director was enjoying it so much that he went back and punch me one last time with the start of ep9 TT_TT



the cgi was HORRIBLE, the gore was ridiculous -those waterfall bloods were funny- the sounds were infuriating and they didn't only make a character chew gum and talk but they highlighted the sound so much, I HATE that ;)



aannnyyway, the OSTs were nice, the filmography and the scenery was beautiful but the best part was jaeheon's fighting scenes, I wish they were longer..


I never rewatch stuff but I'll wait for the 2nd season~ they better make it!

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JUST AMAZING

I finished it in one day. I had no plan whatsoever to watch it nor what the story was about but after I saw this popping up on my Netflix I couldn’t resist but click on it. The cast is so good, let me tell you. Every single one of the characters (humans and monsters) are so well thought and the actor deserve so much praise. Lee Dohyun and Song Kang seemed so mature and real after all the romcoms it was almost refreshing.

They made me cry, think and just love the whole concept. As I always say, I love sci-fi, dystopian and post apocalyptic stuff so much although I always cry but honestly it’s so necessary to watch something raw and “real” every now and then. The ending left so much room for a possible season 2 and I’m really excited at the thought.

For those who are planning to watch it, do it. It can get bloody, scary, disgusting and very emotional throughout but it’s really one of the best kdramas I watched this year. What a wonderful binge worthy finish to this year!


*Fans of Alice in Borderland, Alive, Kingdom and similar will really love this*

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Webtoon reader, biased review

I already know the webtoon is amazing: the plot, characters, concept, creepiness, comedy, relationship, gore, sadness, etc...everything is perfect for me, I can feel every bit of emotion the webtoon tries to deliver. And this drama just makes the webtoon ×100 better.

The bad CGI, the way they change the characters and their relationships just doesn't stand well with me, they just feel less connected and the drama show less on how the ML fight/resist the inner monster (it doesn't really show that it's very difficult to ressist the monster) he just suddenly have power and how ridiculous of him to went up and down to get their stuff while the other monsters are there. In the webtoon, the ML is just infected human being with no power, he just go berserk when he lose control of the demon or become monster when he succumbed to the demon at the end. Talking about the ML, his character is just plain and dull in the drama, he don't fight for himself (he does fight the monster but not human) and they can just use him however they want. I don't like the gangster too, they make him look like he is invincible (like he can easily fight the monster and can go wherever he wants in the building). This drama would have been much better if they focus more on the monsters/ inner monster than humans. Most of the characters in this drama is just so unlikable (not to say there are none in the webtoon, there are hateful ones but they just add to the creeps of the webtoon). There are still some characters I find annoying but I'll just stop here, if not it will be never ending...

I just think it's funny throughout the drama instead of feeling intense or scary (since it's a horror genre). I don't get why the name is "sweet home" for this drama, the webtoon has a very touching meaning for it so i recommend everyone to read the webtoon to understand more in depth of the story (but they literally change everything from the webtoon so.... idk which do you prefer). There are people who like the changes but definitely not me. Maybe because they want to make a season 2 but it just so sad that many of the main characters died and other useless characters which contribute nothing to the plot lives.
Maybe because i read the webtoon first so i think the drama is silly, but it's better experience for people who watch the drama first...i guess

Won't rewatch, definitely not excited for season 2 too

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DEFINETELY A MUST WATCH!!!!!!

Im gonna try to keep this review as short as possible. Ok so this is my first time ever writing a review on mydramalist because ive been so unmotivated to write some for the kdramas Ive watched but this...i just had too!! I am usually into romance kdramas and romcom and I am not really a big fan of horror so I was a bit skeptical about this at first. But as soon as I watched the first episode I was drawn in and fell inlove with the plots and themes. Even though this is a bit graphic for me, thats what I loved about it. There isnt any Kdrama like this! It goes into depth about Hyunsu's life and how special he is unlike the other infected. I think that this whole monster apocalypse really showcased his capabilities and how his life isnt completely ruined because he met some good people.

The story talks about how Hyunsu moved into this strange apartment when things started to change and people started to turn into monsters, while Hyun Soo and other residents try to survive. Boy let me tell you, this drama was an emotional rollercoaster! It made me cry so many times following the tragic deaths of my favorite people and it felt very heartwarming at times where they showed hints of love and romance between many characters. The story keeps you drawed in from episode one that you want to keep watching more! Lets not mention the fact that they left the viewers curious about the huge cliffhanger at the end! The chaos and blood from every scene was so captivating and realistic!

Dont even get me started on the cast and their acting! The emotions they put into their acting makes everyone understand the struggle that they were going through trying to fight off the monsters and survive. In the drama, Hyunsu was a really introverted guy who kept his emotions inside and resented many people but as we move on in the drama, we learn that he is actually a caring person with a big heart willing to sacrifice himself to help anyone survive especially the ones he got closer to. Same goes with Sangwook, he appears to be a gangster in the drama but later on we discover that he just needed support and to be loved. He has never experienced such before but he makes the viewer understand that he is not a bad guy. I really loved Yikyung in the drama, we rarely see women so brave and determined like her. She is a firefighter and anyone could tell from her strength and heroic actions. Let me also include that she is very fit and isnt afraid of anything or anyone that comes in her way. Eunhyuk is a person who never backs down on his words, whether his words are hurtful or educational. Eunhyuk stays calm in every situation and always has a backup plan. He is the type to not show his emotions but rather gives it to us through words. I wanted to only cover the main characters but I feel like Jisu and Eunyoo both played a huge role in the drama! They both are stubborn bad asses who isnt afraid to speak their mind, which I really love about them. They both went through tragic events in the past but that didnt stop them from persevering.

I am a fan of Imagine Dragons and I felt that their song really fit in well theme of the drama. It gives a rock vibe that makes the viewer intrigued even more. It gives us the idea that it is worth fighting to survive and it fits so well that I cant even explain it! I would definitely rewatch it! I never rewatch kdramas but THIS IS A MUST WATCH AGAIN! I cant wait for season 2 that it has me thinking about it all day! Honestly the best Kdrama of 2020 by far!

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Starts great, ends in disaster.

Saw Season 2's trailer, which looked great, and decided to watch Season 1.

The writing was so jarringly bad I just had to write a review.

This starts out promising. It really does. The first 2 episodes are, for the most part, amazing. Interesting characters, tense horror environment, great acting. At this point, I'm having fun, thinking this series is going to be great. I can see why Netflix signed on for seasons 2 and 3.

As the show progresses, the monster designs get less scary. One of them is basically a guy in some workout gear and some Halloween gear. Ok, fine. Not a big deal to me. The most interesting part of the show is the relationships among the apartment community anyways. I'm cool if they want to save some of their budget with the monsters.

Things are still solid until episode 8 or 9. Here, important characters start dying in stupid ways (the kind where everyone else is standing around and watching when they could've done something). *Still* not the end of the world. I can live with some cheese.

However, episode 10 is where it gets unforgivable. Now you have characters dying for... seemingly no other reason than because they want to? The plot now has characters doing things that directly lead to their death, but does not give any reason for them to do said action.

Simply put, this series has the worst writing I've seen in a long time. And sadly I no longer care about season 2 because of it.

All that said, cinematography is a 10. Supporting actors are a 10. Main lead is a 5. He walks around the entire series with one expression on his face. Maybe it's the writing and not his fault. Music is a 5. Overall really good but overuse of the same Imagine Dragons song brings it down a notch.

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For horror fans, this is a cheesy, campy, low budget cgi, action horror, and not a serious show.

This what happens when you don't have good enough budget on cgi and your director's experience is only rom com shows. So, the only option is a cheesy and campy show like shark nado, zombie nation, or any show on syfy channel. Therefore, the show should not be judge as a serious horror. Ep 1 establishes the cheesy tone when they play warrior's music in background and Lee Eun Hyuk is spraying fire hydrant in monster face. It's a joke and this why they play it in every time heoric moment happens.

Most of the characters are stale and common tropes, which is the main issue with the show and not a failure adaptation of the character relationships. Like, who cares if the show fail to adapt character relationships, when your main character Cha Hyun Soo has the most overused backstory with family dead, bullied in school, and same boring personality. This isn't even spoilers because this literally every main Asian boy orign story. It's raining and there's either sad piano or violin playing in background and someone they care about dies. At this point, I am starting to think all of the boys in Asia real life are bullied and their families are dead. Furthermore, you got Captain smarty pants, Wannabe gangster dude, Sword dude, Healer girl, etc. Imagine Cha Hyun Soo had a normal personality and his family was alive that would be the real horror.

However, there was a couple characters that were entertaining and what kept me continuing to watch. Han Du Sik made interesting combat weapons and traps with house supplies, occasionally joke around like about his disability, and he is decent actor. Ahn Gil Seop is not your typical grandpa character, who are usually nice, weak, wise, and formal. He is kickass grandpa, had a dark sense of humor, and jokes about his death a lot. They are the main reason why this show was decent to watch.

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This Caused Emotional Damage

Everything... was so good. The ending was definitely the best part I think because it was absolutely insane. To me, the first few episodes were kind of confusing and I didn't really understand what was happening, but I think it was made to be that way because they probably wanted the characters to be mysterious in the beginning so they could tell us all of their backstories near the end and hit us with a wave of emotion. Well, good choice. Also, the plotline of this so is VERY unexpected, it talks about bullying, suicide, etc, so it's really a mix of all that, gore, thriller, monsters, and character development of absolutely amazing characters who deserve to be worshipped. The last few episodes went kind of fast, especially some parts I thought they should've lingered on more, but it's still one of the best dramas I've watched. And the plot is so good I can't even describe it.
The characters and actors/actresses were absolutely INCREDIBLE. The way they acted their characters out SO well is amazing. The love I have for some of these characters and the emotion I feel for them shows that the actors and actresses did a phenomenal job and they were a great pick for the role. My favourite characters are Hyunsu, Jaeheon, Yikyung, and Eunhyuk. And wait, we can't EVER forget one of my favourite actors, Kim Sungcheol. I NEVER knew he had this side of him when he played Eui Myeong. *Shakes head* he's absolutely insane, his acting skills are just simply so good. He can act the sweet guy like in 'Our Beloved Summer' or he can play the... wait, no spoilers, whatever character he plays in here lol. I also just watched this because of Song Kang, and thank goodness I watched it because it's definitely one of my favourite shows ever. And I mostly watch romance dramas and I've never watched something like this so it's odd that it's one of my favourites now. That shows how good it is!
Overall, it was amazing and I would recommend this to absolutely anyone.

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