Released on April 29, 2022, tvN’s ‘Monstrous’ is a supernatural thriller. Having a dark theme and star-studded cast, ‘Monstrous’ created a buzz among the k-drama fans all over the world. Still pending on many’s watchlists, fans have been looking for ‘Monstrous’ k-drama review to know if it’s worth it. The k-drama stars director & producer Koo Kyo Hwan, ‘The Youngest Son of a Conglomerate’ fame Shin Hyun Bin, ‘Vincenzo’ fame Kwan Dong Yeon, ‘The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim’ fame Nam Da Reum, ‘Penthouse: The War In Life S2 & S3’ fame Park Ho San, and ‘Young Lady & The Gentleman’ fame Kim Ji Young as the main leads. The k-drama is filled with a lot of suspense and thrill as a mysterious phenomenon takes over Jinyang county.
The story of ‘Monstrous’ follows Jung Ki Hoon, an archeologist turned editor and publisher, and his wife Lee Soo Jin, another archeologist & his team member. He’s been searching for strange supernatural phenomena all his life. But one expected case led him to change his path forever. Switching to publishing, Ki Hoon publishes the occult magazine Monthly Strange Story. He also runs the YouTube channel Monthly Strange Story.
Lee Soo Jin, also an archeologist, used to decipher letters and symbols. But as his only child dies because of mysterious reasons, she decides to go to Jinyang County to find answers. Following her footsteps, Ki Hoon had to walk back in his old footsteps. As he goes on to look for “Gwibul” i.e. a Buddhist statue possessed by an evil spirit, the atmosphere starts to change in the county. As the couple searches for the answers in the county, meanwhile, everyone from the common men to the ones who hold some authority has been facing incredibly bizarre phenomena in the county.
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‘Monstrous’ K-drama Review: What Do The Viewers Say?
‘Monstrous’ has received mixed reviews from viewers all over the world. The k-drama is only a good watch in the thriller section when there’s nothing else to watch. ‘Monstrous’ is an average show following a typical story of things going wrong in a village as a godly statue is investigated. Many fans say that the k-drama could’ve been much better. With tvN’s previous release, ‘The King of Pigs’ fans had a lot of expectations. It is a huge disappointment, many fans have called out tvN for trying to be like OCN but without good storylines. The cast members have given their best, but because of the weak production, it doesn’t really show up.
Some fans even call ‘Monstrous’ a cheap copy of ‘The Train to Busan’. But all of them were drowned in the drain. Many fans are also disappointed about the lack of research about the Buddhist statue and the stories and culture revolving around it. They also pointed out that the people possessed by the ghosts were very similar to zombies. While many complained about the bad cinematography and bad CGI effects. Fans have also complained about ‘Monstrous’ being a mini-series. As the k-drama only had 6 episodes, with each having a runtime of 30 minutes, neither the story nor the characters had much time to develop further.
Is The Supernatural Thriller K-drama Worth Watching?
According to most of the viewers, ‘Monstrous’ can be skipped. While it can be a good watch for funny thrillers instead of a horror ones. But even then, it is not a must-watch. On one side, ‘Monstrous’ has done a pretty good job in setting the rules of the curse it was based on. It’s been consistent with it. The k-drama also has a tension-filled closed-door plot line and a great villain. But with a very bad CGI, limited time, and bad music score, ‘Monstrous’ also has the typical characters who are very predictable.
One fan has even pointed out how ‘Monstrous’ is very similar to OCN’s 2021 show “Dark Hole”, a survival k-drama based on the fight between humans and mutants. Many fans believe that k-drama might have a chance at saving if there comes a second season. But even that is speculation.
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