Strangers from hell is a psychological thriller based on the webtoon "Tainen Jiokida" (Hell is Others) by Kim Yong-ki. It combines film and drama formats. It aired from August 31 to October 6, 2019. The title refers to a quote from the play "Huis clos" by Jean-Paul Sartre.
The story
Young man Yoon Jong-woo (Yim Si-wan) arrives in Seoul after landing an internship at a company. While looking for a place to stay, he stumbles upon the "Eden" residence: the only dormitory that happens to be within his budget. Although he is not thrilled with the quality of the place and the presence of the strange residents, including his neighbor Seo Moon-jo (Lee Dong-wook), he decides to take it upon himself until he saves enough money to move to a more decent place. However, things will completely change when mysterious events occur and residents begin to disappear. Despite the heavy anxiety hanging over the dormitory, the young Yoon Jong-woo (Im Si-wan) will get closer to his neighbor Moon-jo who happens to have more in common with him than he thought… (Wikipedia)
Impressions
Without wanting to go too far into this existentialist side of which we would have a serious tendency, Strangers from hell appears, without putting on gloves, as the ideological reflection of the philosopher. Thus, the gaze of others, the judgment, the form of each of the tenants proves to be an image that shapes the fragility of the main character, interpreted to perfection by this chameleon that can be Im Si-Wan. Overwhelmed by his paranoia and by the gaze of others, he sinks into a hell on which he becomes dependent. Justified or not, this paranoia is comfortably encrusted suffocating the little air that reigns in the residence.
Lee Chang-Hee, brilliant director
In the film " The Vanish", a remake of the Spanish film "El cuerpo", director Lee Chang-Hee had more than proven his taste for detail. You really have to give it the ability to keep a steady pace that could become unbearable. But, and this is what makes him such a great director, he does not exceed the limit. Adrenaline, horror, tension take possession of the scenario without suffocating it (or suffocating us with it).
As horrible as it is great, Strangers from hell is quickly soaked in psychological violence that turns our stomachs, and a tension that makes us wonder, in spite of ourselves, why do we inflict this on ourselves. No respite, the pace is like an earthworm that nibbles at us, that prevents us from taking our breath.
Torture, sadism, gore in all its glory. This series is really unhealthy, its perfection immersing us directly into an unbearable malaise. She is meticulous, with a purpose that draws us. To what? We are very afraid to discover it but we still want it.
Because the director took great care to ensure that every detail put us in effervescence. Because keeping that pressure going on for 10 episodes seems unachievable, and yet… No way to let go. No way to relax, even for a few moments. The drama is populated by a whole bunch of elements all as scary as each other, appearing in addition in close-ups that seem huge. The neighbor walking around with a knife, the twins giggling like hyenas, the joy and benevolence of the boss irrelevant, the fear of Yoon Jong-Woo (Im Si-Wan) that we will enter his room. His inability to see his girlfriend for one reason or another. The so-called boyfriend who keeps telling him everything he's done for him… This heavy cloud that makes us understand very quickly that awful things happen in the back room…
It is at this moment that Kafka's novel, "The Metamorphosis", glimpsed at the beginning of the drama, takes on a rather monstrous consistency. Yoon Jong-Woo probably won't become an insect but he's changing. This grain of madness in him germinates at a staggering speed. And it's scary. The story has a side "I could also switch to the other side of the force" that gives goosebumps.
Because Lee Dong Wook is scary just by his presence. Thin as a nail, all pale, in a monotone voice, light years away from our dear reaper. Only good old Jack Nicholson could have equalised it. In an interview, he explained that he did everything possible to put himself in the shoes of each of the characters he played. (Probably using the Stanislavski method, which consists of "no longer imposing one's vision of character psychology on one's actors, but training one's actors to work to find, by themselves, and within themselves, the psychology of the character" (Wikipedia). Which, in summary, would mean that the character accompanies the actor in all the gestures of his life). Lee Dong Wook shared that during a meeting with friends, one of them asked "What is this look? ». He realized that with the character of the dentist, he had to be very careful not to fall into his universe. His way of saying "jagiya" (treasure, darling), as if addressing his wife, is absolutely appalling.
And among all these millions of details, we can not mention Lee Jung-Eun, just out of the film " Parasite " (Role that earned her the award for best actress in a supporting role, in the 40th edition of the Blue Dragon Film Awards, November 21, 2019). This lady, this force of nature, is able to disappear behind her character. We forget the actress to see only her interpretation. His curly hair, his compulsive laughter, his way of insisting and then the rest, which we will not despoil but which confirms our fears.
Each character walks through this drama with a dark nebula species around them. Like pieces of an abominable puzzle, of an endless spiral, they help to create a gloomy atmosphere that oozes horror.
Hell is other people (in case you didn't know…).
No need to say "sensitive souls abstain"
