Extremely successful Korean shows and movies seem to be the norm with every new release from the country. With a string of critical acclaim coming from the likes of Train to Busan, Parasite, and the more recent Squid Game, Hellbound had lofty heights to reach. Hellbound quickly became the most-watched show on Netflix after its 2021 release, beating out the previously mention Squid Game.

Based on the self-titled webtoon created by show director Yeon Sang-ho, Hellbound is full of creativity but doesn’t quite execute the ideas presented. Yeon Sang-ho is a very well-decorated director, creating live-action movies such as Train to Busan, Psychokinesis, and Peninsula. Sang-ho’s fascination with the supernatural has always been at the forefront of his films, but he changed the formula for Hellbound.

Set in the very near future, there have been rumors across the world that an angel appears before people bound for Hell and decrees when they will die. There hasn’t been any proof of the demonstration until the year 2022 in a South Korean coffee shop. A man bound for Hell tries to escape his fate, but 3 otherworldly monsters chase him down and make an example out of him in broad daylight.

We meet our first main character in a debriefing at the local police station. He is then tasked with investigating the scene of the crime and the enigmatic leader of the New Trutch Society, Jeong Jin-soo. The detective, Jin Kyeong-hoon, tries to get answers from the New Truth Society but gets wrapped up in trying to hunt down an elusive man with a zealous following. The first half of the season focuses on the New Truth Society’s rise to prominence during the events of Ep. 1-3. The series then enters a 5-year time skip and follows new characters for the remainder of the season. The first half had some compelling parts but also suffered from bad acting at times. The biggest offender was when the Jin Kyeong-hoon had to interact with a mob of zealous extras. It felt like they were trying to force an emotional scene on the audience, but it just came across as desperate.

When the 3 monsters are first introduced, I couldn’t help but think how the CGI is as laughably bad as Sweet Home. The monsters are supposed to demonstrate the torturous pain that victims in Hell will experience, which would’ve been cool if they actually did. It honestly didn’t look like the actors had any physical reference to react to. When the monsters are “torturing” the victims, all they’re doing is throwing punches and throwing them around. It looked more like “Hell in a Cell” than actually being in Hell.

Picking up from the time skip, we are now following production director Bae Young-Jae. 5 years have passed since the events of the first half of the season. There are a few returning characters that appear or are mentioned, but a majority of the previous characters have been scrapped. The plot for the 2nd half revolves around the newborn child of Bae Young-Jae receiving a decree to be sent to Hell.

This decree would undo everything the now powerful New Truth Society has worked for. Someone without sins being sent to Hell would throw the world into disaster. With the assistance of the violent Arrowhead gang, they hunt down the newborn to prevent the demonstration from being observed.

I personally found the 2nd half of Hellbound to be much more entertaining. They were able to build out the world some more since the demonstration was a known commodity at this point. It also showed the progression of the New Truth Society preachings starting as a cult and turning into the de facto religion across the world. The 2nd main character also had a much better script to work with and didn’t have to overact during his screen time.

The best way to describe it would be that the show is trying to be a parody of what it wants to be. The 2nd half does such a great job of making everybody feel like they belong in the world. There isn’t as much emphasis on the monsters, but it works because the show doesn’t make any attempt to give us answers about their origin. They are just an inevitability.

Hellbound is a tale of two halves, where one half is significantly better. Episodes 1-3 are used as a stepping stone to set up episodes 4-6. The first half feels like a parody and the 2nd batch of episodes were able to find momentum. The acting was solid for the most part. Only one scene greatly offended me with the desperation to tug at heartstrings.

The trio of demons and the angel have terrible CGI. The actors look like they didn’t have a physical prop reference since they’re just flailing randomly. I felt like the monsters could’ve done more to sell the torture fantasy instead of just jumping the victims. The cliffhanger setting up a second season gives me hope that we may actually learn more about the demonstration and the demons.

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Hellbound

7

Score

7.0/10

Pros

• Strong 2nd Half
• Interesting Themes

Cons

• Weak 1st Half
• Very Poor CGI
• Slow Pacing