Sweet Home (2020)

Emotional Whirlwind: A Work of art, a drama that captivates us and makes us sad to see it end.

An adventure of this magnitude leaves an indelible mark. Looking forward to Season 2 becomes a difficult ordeal, so captivated were we by the exceptional quality of Season 1. "Sweet Home" promises a thrilling story, a fascinating universe and extraordinary acting.


STORY


The story unfolds without a hitch, the chronology impeccably orchestrated throughout the drama. No scene can be described as insignificant, as every moment in the world of "Sweet Home" is a delight to savor. The dialogue is carefully crafted, adding a captivating rhythm throughout the drama. The many twists and turns essential to the plot keep us on the edge of our seats every episode. What's more, the deep, intelligent writing of each character makes it easy for us to identify with them, as they are all remarkably realistic.


ACTING


The acting is breathtaking, leaving us speechless in the face of each actor's mastery (even the children, who are exceptional). Song Kang, Lee Si Young and Lee Jin Wook light up the screen with their powerful performances. In fact, all the actors are to be commended for their level of excellence. The drama wouldn't be as brilliant without their talent.


MUSIC


One of the drama's undoubted strengths is its music. Each musical appearance accompanies an event in such a special way that it sends shivers down our spines time and again. The sound designers have done an outstanding job of creating a unique atmosphere and ambience that blends in perfectly with the overall picture.


REVIEW VALUE

I highly recommend "Sweet Home" to everyone, and I'm sure I'll see it again and again myself. It's a true masterpiece that deserves to be rediscovered again and again.

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Even if you’re into RomComs, watch episode 1 and you will want to continue.

I’m not a person to write reviews but the way Sweet Home had an impact is insane.
The Story line was amazing, from the very first scene to the very last one. It was well distributed between suspense, thriller, horror (for me), trust and friendship. I didn’t think it’d be that good but finally gave it a try last night and poof- in 12 hours I’m done watching this show.
The cast SHOOK me. I didn’t think Song Kang would portray his character so well. Another character that shook me was ji-su. (the nam ju ur girl from it’s ok to not be ok) I found her character extremely annoying in IOTNBO but here- dang this girl was rocking it. Each and every cast member fitted their role perfectly.
The music was good as we were familiar with a few songs and I liked how it matched the scenes.
I gave Re-Watch an 8 cause I’ll rewatch it when I wish to bawl my eyes out.
Overall: Exceeded my expectations. I really didn’t expect it to be this good and I’m so impressed. This DEFINITELY has potential for season 2 and I’ll cry if there’s no season 2 cause PLEASE! I’m kinda scared cause Netflix is kinda famous for AMAZING season 1 but kinda shitty season 2 with unnecessary plot twists. Hopefully it won’t be the case here and they announce a season 2!

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Sweet home is a good (considered the best for me) drama to watch during the pandemic

This is my first time writing a review!

I'm still pretty much a newbie to kdrama industry but i do watched couple of zombies/vampires/monsters/devils/mythical creatures/horror dramas, so i was very surprised by how realistic and was in awe of many high quality cgi scenes from this drama. I was immediately captivated by the trailer of sweet home and i knew that this drama will be great.

"apocalyptic horror South Korean television series", can't completely explain how amazing this drama is. Although this drama is categorized as horror, i think it is not as horrifying as Conjuring series. HOWEVER, this drama makes me panic every minute. I think one of the greatest strength of this drama and makes it attractive is... You totally don't know what's going to happen. You can't predict what will happen in the next episode AT ALL. Any moment someone could die, any moment i will cry. (Did i mentioned that this drama makes me emotional too?) So basically, unlike many other zombie dramas such as KINGDOM or TRAIN TO BUSAN, you really can't tell what the story will turn out in the end, ecspecially when this drama is about humans turning into "monsters" when they got overcame by their own "desires". (as complicated as it sounds, you can watch the drama and find out!)

A TOTALLY NEW CONCEPT for a kdrama, unlike zombies, you turn into one when u got bitten (infection) or maybe angels and devils or demons, you turn into one when u drank their blood (?). Literally, this drama gives panic attacks to audience because it gives no warning on how or WHEN the characters is infected and is becoming their evil side.

Now that we talk about the monstrous sides of "humans" that this drama managed to capture perfectly, let's talk about the distinct characteristics or appearance of EVERY "monsters" the main character, Cha Hyun-soo encounters. Spoiler: For example, a disabled runner that wishes to run again, would give into his desires to become this hideous monster with legs that can run so fast that no one can escape from/see.

Ok, if you came this far. Im sure it is getting boring but i have so much to share with you! The concept and storyline of the drama is already very well-written, but the casting and acting in this drama makes it so much better. Song Kang acts as Cha hyun soo, a male that finds life meaningless and been counting days to mark his death. You can easily tell depression symptoms from the way he carry himself or just leaching off at his room/at rooftop. He is a character that is broken inside and talks little. But we could understand enough about his struggle based on his behaviours and his past (NOPE A SPOLIER! AND WILL MAKE U ANGRY AND CRY AT THE SAME TIME) I really liked how instead of a very brave, aggresively justice or highly intelligent main character that highlights a lot of survival movies, this drama chose a main character we can relate to. Cha hyun soo thinks little of himself, doubts himself alot which sometimes restricts him into action immediately under dangerous stituations. He has very low self esteems but is a very kind hearted fellow. He is stupidly too kind for this world ugh And there is this one scenario that highlights how other characters make use of his good heart to stay alive. The main character transformed into "desire" halfly and can regenerate his body when he is injured BUT HE STILL FEEL PAIN. Humans being humans, others that are still "humans" forced Hyun Soo to travel to dangerous areas where monsters roam to help forage for food. *i dont know what im talking about this point, you get me if you watched it :D*

The camerawork is smooth and doesn't make me feel choked. The sequence when Hyun soo have to fight for himself and others also were captured nicely. Hyun soo is just a person and never fought against 8 feet of a monster before. So the struggling and actually tripping or panicking during the fights really are good details. (He almost died alot of times omg) And i think the music is pretty iconic too, u can hear the ending song and damn it stucks on your mind. The music really just makes you think "oh thats sweet home" ORIGINALITY YAS

Hmm OH YES, You know there are many dramas that sometimes over-summarize side characters personality and it is not easy to protray side characters importance and presence throughout the entire drama. This drama did a good job in showing side characters desires to survive and realistic sides that anyone under the same stituation could relate too. No sugarcoating yay and omg look at how diverse the remaining survivors are (there are mothers that lost their child, children that lost their dad, gangsters that are retired but damn soft inside,teenagers that are overly positive and depressed, a firefighter that lost her fiance, a girl that is too rebelious, a typical kdrama auntie, and more). I ended up falling in love with all the *important* characters BECAUSE of their flaws and their humane qualities (such as comforting someone that is down or forgiving or sympathize or setting up a funeral although the whole chaos is still going on)
And the fact that the characters are so heavily outnumbered but hope really kept each other going.

Ok..the end must come. And i just want to say that hyun soo is gorgeous and handsome. Im running out of ideas, please just watch it. I am hungry and can't think any gorgeous words to describe this drama. I shall eat now :3 sayonara


COnclusion: watch it :]

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Good survival show

I’ve been putting off watching this show since it came out, despite the fact that my friends kept telling me to watch it because when I recommended it to my mom, she told me the show is stupid so I took her word for it and just never looked back.

But today my friend told me to watch sweet home for them because season 2 is coming soon, and i was like eh why not, I have nothing to watch right now anyway, and WOW!!

This show does NOT disappoint. There were certain things that confused me at first like, why did the virus effect you when it wanted, or how come some viruses are more powerful than others and why are they using headphones and what not. (Google helped me out with these questions lmao) The reason I put it as 9.5 is because the show itself is AMAZING, world building and character development as well as relationships and the action scenes, everything is so well done, but the aspect that I found the most goofy were the monsters.

I don’t know I just can’t take the monsters seriously at all. The CGI isn’t bad but it’s just that they look like they came out straight out of a kids show, so it took the seriousness out of the show for me a bit. But otherwise I enjoyed the show a lot, despite the monsters being funny looking, it’s worth sticking around. I’ll start season 2 now!!

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LOVED IT, but i understand it may have some flaws...

Ok so the central story and format of this story isn't particularly unique or never seen before, and its gorey, and sometimes the cgi is a teeny weensy flop, (but only sometimes, and the actors make up for all of that ASTRONOMICALLY), and the selection of imagine dragons WARRIORS was a little questionnable, (and broke immersion for me sometimes LOL) BUT

BUT.

All of those are just nitpicks because this show is, wow, it was a savior for me when i was starved for a GOOD kdrama to watch this season.

And my gosh, netflix sure makes some flop kdramas but this was not one of them thats for sure.

hearts for Lee Do Hyun, he was a scene-stealer for this show, and thats on period. ?‍♀️♥︎♥︎♥︎
Anyways lemme make this more comprehensive for people who can't read brain vomit.

PROS

1. The cast
fuck the cast was very good. i haven't read the full webtoon, and to my knowledge lee si young's character was never a part of the story, but I don't mind her addition. I love the minor changes they made with each character, eg. sang wook (played by lee jin wook) was slightly less of a meathead/is much more grim (at least from what i've seen in the first 5 episodes of the webtoon). Same thing with lee eun hyuk (played by lee do hyun), the director specifically told him to be more serious and smile less, from what I've heard. and it works. with the kind of things eun hyuk has done, if he did it smiling it would seem.....i dont know, the fact that he always has such a grim and cold face tells me more that he is trying his best to restrain himself and sacrifice emotional thought, for the benefit of everyone in the group. but many fans still think he's selfish, but this isn't my manifesto on why you shouldn't hate on eun hyuk LOL

2. The themes/story
honestly what more is there to say than, this is a story of human relationships and human conncections, and all of the spheres and....sadly, the repercussions of it when u have evil people involved :( it tackles grim themes, but doesnt really force feed you, or take a moral highground/responsibility with it. I like that.

3. Production quality
idk much abt cinematography, but the fact that I don't have a single complaint should be testament enough. this was a high quality production crew, both int terms of the makeup, set design, and cinematography, I'm impressed. ofc some scenes can seem a little less good in comparison, but the key word is comparison. everything was kept to a high quality.

CONS
1. HeRe WE Aare DOnT TurN AWyA NOW
I didn't like use of imagine dragons. it could because im an English native and it was jarring , or that whenever i heard english in a korean drama where im specifically wanting to hear korean audio, the switch of language kinda jolts me. Nothing against iamgine dragons? but maybe they could have used more epic music

2. CLIFFHANGER
the season ended on a cliffhanger. honestly not sure if there will be a second season.

3. ADAPTATION CONTEXT?
I never read the full webtoon. i only read about the first 7 chapters at MOST. According to people who have read the full webtoon, as an adaptation, this series falls short. they destroyed many of the relationships with the characters, and I did catch on at some point that they tried to make all the characters a lot more grim and ?, and that could potentially be chopping out some fuzzier dynamics. but it's netflix, the same company that wanted to add blood and sex to avatar, a beloved children's show, im honestly not surprised with the change here. It's unfortunate, but I guess we'll just have to read the webtoon if we want to see hyuk and hyun being friends.

HOWEVER

as someone who didn't have that webtoon to be comparing the show to, if you look at this as a standalone, it's a good drama. Its not some STELLAR, INFALLIBLE SHOW, (and which show is?) but it's not awful either, and it measures above the rest. I'm biased of course, but, it all depends on your outlook if you'll love this, or hate it.

ANYWAYS, this was a lot of typing.

TL;DR: GIVE THIS SHOW A WATCH, AND YOU WONT REGRET IT! the horror never gets TOO scary, I watched this at 3am in total darkness by myself and yes, i was scared, but i wasn't shitting bricks??? so there's that :3

also lee do hyun is here what reason do u have NOT TO. kmt

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Sweet Home

Much anticipated series, although i had not read the webtoon itself. The star-studded cast was enough to draw me in. The plot itself was straightforward: humans turned monsters. However, i think the story itself really make us wonder what draws the boundaries between good and evil, human and monsters. We are shown that human itself can be more barbaric than "monsters" when thrown into dire situations while beings we deem as "monsters" can be more humane that the humans we define ourselves.

The story itself was tight at the start, and was paced just right, right til the end. The acting was stellar, with excellent cinematographic and special effects. While it started as a thriller, it ended up being more action & suspense at the back. We are shown human relationships and the choices they make in face of extreme conditions. I find the characters interesting and some of the choices they make noble. I mean, let's be true to ourselves, we may not be able to make the same decision if we are given the same state. It reminds me of a mixture of Stranger Things & Money Heist, which i absolutely enjoyed. While we are shown the dark side of humans, we also see that humans itself are beautiful creatures. I was especially touched with the characters whom sacrificed themselves, for fellow humans whom they had no blood relations to! The romance aspect was minimal but warm enough and touching to see, especially for Jaeheon & Jisoo and Sangwook & Yoori, though both couples didn't make it in the end.

At the end, i am convinced a season 2 will happen. There are so many questions left unanswered. If this wasn't a disease, what was the cause of this "infection"? Why is Hyunsoo immune? How did Sangwook managed to rescue Hyunsoo at the end? And is Eunhyeok even alive? (I mean why did he have to leave behind?) What happens after Yikyeong joins the military?

All in i all, i believe it's a good watch and probably because i am biased over such genres. I can't wait for season 2 to happen already :)

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This is one of the best Korean webtoon adaption amazing cinematography and acting I'm trying to be as honest as i can be. Is is this the best drama of 2020 ? no but definitely in top 10 or 15 its worth watching it believe me i don't know for sure how many have read the webtoon ? But i did not read it all and that's why i think i could enjoy it more with out any high exception. The special effects and CGI were amazing and its shows how far South Korea has come in the movie industry my advice for everyone watch it with a laid back vibe don't think to deep in it or to big just enjoy it as it is. Last but not least i want to sincerely think the actors, director screen writer and all of the crew for their amazing and hard work.

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Elaborate and Intricate

My favorite characters in this series were Jung Jae Heon (Kim Nam Hee) with his samurai sword, Han Du Sik (Kim Sang-Ho) with his makeshift crutch gun, Cha Hyun Soo (Song Kang) with his electric spear/knife sort of thingy, and Pyeon Sang Wook (Lee Jin Wook) with his sheer anger and power. I love the creativity, innovation, and detail put in the storytelling, the characters, and the monsters alike. The monsters are not only elaborately done but quite intricately. It's almost like they mirrored each character's fear and apprehension. And in that sense, I liked that all the characters were flawed, each fighting not only literal monsters but the monster within, scars of life, scars if left to fester could turn them into the very monsters they fight in all its forms, be it the fear of loneliness, biases, anger, selfishness, grief, loss, injustice, prejudice, and everything else in between.

They say, sometimes human places create inhuman monsters. That's so true in that each of the characters starts out trying to survive the best way they know how individually, even if it meant using others for their own benefit or furthering their own survival. Still, along the way and in their fight to survive, they come to realize that they as humans are capable of the worst things possible and that they weren't just trying to survive but fighting for the survival of humanity, to not turn into the very monsters they were trying to survive. As said, it’s not the strongest or the most intelligent who survive but those who can best manage change. I truly enjoyed this show and the accompanying OST; very well done.

Character-wise:
Lee Shi Young was exceptional in her role, but that's nothing new as she’s always great at whatever role she plays, but I have to say I was very impressed by how fit she looked as Seo Yi Kyung, the firefighter fighting her own demons. There were quite a few hard to stomach characters; Lee Eun Yoo (Go Min Shi) and Eun Hyuk (Lee Do Hyun) were among those. The two of them were the most selfish, each for their own struggles but at the same time, were the ones with the most character development, in my opinion. However, I must note Eun Hyuk embodied the leader role very well towards the end; seeing that development in him made me realize he was so selfish but more pragmatic in his bid to protect their only shelter from the dire world outside.

The most inspiring character was Jung Jae Heon both for his grounded belief in what's right but also for his courage and conviction in not once wavering between what was right vs. what was wrong. In a way, Sang Wook was a mirror of Jae Heon in his determination paid or otherwise to brutally dispensing justice. The two characters that brought the most depth to the series other than Sang-Ho were Kim Gab Soo as Ahn Gil Seop and Go Yoon Jung as Park Yu Ri Gil Seop's caregiver. Indeed a great source of inspiration and motivation to the struggle. On the other hand, Sang Ho's character was the most profound, not just for the powers he amassed from being infected but also for breaking the chains and labels society consciously and sometimes unconsciously puts on everything and every one different out of fear or ignorance. He was the doorway to the true examination of human monstrosity and humanity's embodiment from a monsters' perspective.

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Très chère Violence, je vous dis BONJOUR !

Avant de commencer cette critique, il faut savoir que j'aime beaucoup le genre trash/gore ainsi que l'horreur (Comprenez que j'en ai donc vu pas mal, asiatique comme américain). Par contre, j'ai plus de mal avec la science-fiction (Oui, parce que pour moi "Sweet Home" est clairement une situation "Postapocalyptique" et donc de la S-F), mis à part la dystopie (Et oui, je préfère le fantastique ou la fantasy à la S-F, chacun ses défauts hein !).
Concernant le drama, encore une fois, je n'ai jamais lu le Webtoon (comme la plupart du temps, car l'original étant souvent meilleur, je préfère voir le moins bon d'abord x'D). De ce fait, mon opinion ne sera pas influencée par une autre source que le drama.

Rentrons enfin dans le vif du sujet en montrant les éléments forts du drama :
• Un décor "postapocalyptique" assez représentatif de ce qu'on attend du genre ! (C'est à dire de la destruction & des survivants)
• Des survivants des plus sympathiques... (ba oui, il faut savoir qu'être sympas est synonyme de mort imminente... Donc bien sûr, les gens préfèrent être sans cœur et laisser des gens mourir pour les sauver.)
Je retiens particulièrement le passage où "Sang-Wook" (Lee Jin-Wook) tabasse à mort un homme (bon, d'accord c'est un meurtrier mais quand même !) et finis par le jeter dehors pour qu'il soit dévoré par les monstres... Quatre personnes voient ce spectacle mais personne ne bouge !
Cela m'a rappelé un "syndrome" que j'avais vu en cours alors que j'étais adolescence : "Le syndrome de Kitty Genovese" aussi appelé "l'effet du témoin". Il s'agit de l'effet de plusieurs personnes qui voient un drame mais se dédouanent de toutes responsabilités car ils espèrent que quelqu'un interviendra... Ce drama montre bien cet effet perfide.
• De la violence à gogo !
• Une tentative de viol... (Bon sérieux ? C'est obligatoire de prendre les femmes pour des objets ?)
• Effets spéciaux plus que... inégaux ! (J'ai malgré tout aimé la transformation de Hyun-Su) Et ne parlons pas de cette hémoglobine à tout va ! (Bien sûr, nous sommes dans du trash... Mais du trash non convaincant avec du sang qui coulent en cascade, ne m'inspire pas des masses :D)

Je dois dire que ce drama m'a laissé un gout amer par moment... J'ai souvent trouvé qu'on nous montrait le pire de l'être humain. Les situations étaient peu reluisantes et horribles humainement parlant... (Oui, car visuellement je n'ai pas vraiment été dérangée bien que cela soit des scènes glauques à répétition)

Et le casting dans tout ça me direz-vous ? Netflix a peut-être un peu trop misé sur la notoriété de son casting... (Car il est rare que je connaisse autant d'acteurs dans une production...) Néanmoins, j'ai trouvé qu'ils se débrouillaient malgré tout pour se démarquer. J'ai d'ailleurs été convaincue par Hyun-Su (Song Kang), le désespoir qui l'habitait ne pouvait être manqué.

Pour finir, c'est un drama que j'ai apprécié visionner. Cependant, l'effet américanisé est beaucoup trop fort, je suis loin d'être habituée à ce genre de production par des pays asiatique qui misent souvent plus sur le psychologique que sur le trash des situations !
Ha oui, j'oubliais... C'est quoi cette fin sans queue ni tête ?! Est-ce un indice pour dire qu'il y aura une suite ? Nous verrons bien =D !

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Wow. Um. This show is a lot to handle. Both visually and emotionally. It starts off strong and I think it even gets better as it goes along, though there were parts that got a bit muddled towards the end. This show is very stressful to watch, but is certainly worth watching, especially if you’re a fan of zombie/survivor type shows. It is super violent and hits about every trigger warning (suicide, self harm, bullying, etc.), so be warned. The biggest strength of the show is its well written and compelling characters and their relationships. The show does an excellent job of developing these characters amidst all of the action. Though I actually did appreciated that this show didn’t go too in depth with the psychological aspect. There was nuance to the characters, but it didn’t feel like the show was trying to impart any deep messages. I think that works well for a show like this that has so much plot to cover. But it still managed to sneak in quite a lot of character development without you even noticing. It’s really well written, and the characters are a diverse group. Their situations in life, their baggage, their attitude towards the monsters and each other are all different. It’s also great to see how people’s opinions about the monsters change over time. I enjoyed the monsters too. They’re quite creative, and finding out about them is interesting since you have no frame of reference. A complaint I have is that there are still quite a few things that are unclear, which is certainly intentional in some places, but I think the rules may have applied a bit inconsistently so I wasn’t 100% certain about how to kill them, etc. I think the show could have used a few more episodes to explain a few things, and a few of the character/relationship development felt like it skipped forward a bit, but that was likely due to lack of time. Oh, and the music occasionally didn’t feel like it fit the scene, so I had to dock some points there.

Don’t expect everyone to survive, do expect to be emotionally devastated when they die, and good luck surviving the end of episode 8.

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