Somebody (2022)

An uncomfortable PLEASURE.

"Somebody" is gonna be a work that will remain in my memory for quite a long time for it's way of storytelling. Some disturbing scenes but yet so artistic for the cinematography.
It might get a bit boring for those who don't prefer dark and slow paced thrillers. Few scenes were too long and few just ended abruptly which should've been stretched a bit longer. I did feel there loopholes here and there in the story which could;ve been a little more explained.
However, a real nice one! Something absolutely new in the industry. Cinematography...boom! Acting...top-notch! All should really give it a shot I believe... not for the story, but for the amazing performance delivered by each cast!
Kim Young Kwang, Kang Hae Lim, Kim Demi did an absolute wonderful job. KYK is seen mostly in rom-coms, son to rich family and all. But he really showed his A-Class performance by coming out of that zone...hats off to him!
Also, the BGMs all sat so perfectly. If anyone knows the songs that played in the BG, please lemme know TT

OVERALL, I did enjoy the series.

Leia Mais

Creepy Thriller Potential Ruined By Bad Writing

LIKES:
Cinematography, colour palate, location selection and music all well done. [But too many very dark scenes/no lighting.]
Interesting view of how a disabled person can live; apartment and driving. I liked seeing all the tech to make a wheelchair bound person live independently.
The concept of the AI chatbot, was what drew me into the drama in the first place.
I liked the shaman ceremony, but I wished they gave more backstory to her supernatural abilities. The costumes were well done for this too.
The ML was nude frequently, not just all the females. That was a little more balanced than what other dramas have shown in the past.
ML acting was on point and did the creepy killer justice.
Everyone was well chosen for their roles and the acting was pretty good, considering the crappy writing.
For a k-drama the production wasn’t too bad (shaky camera moments kept to a minimum).
FX: The blood and gore were well done, even though the method of killing sometimes was far-fetched.

DISLIKES:
Writing:
Sloppy writing, plot holes, limited back story and character development. No character growth for any of the main characters. Backstory of Male Lead non-existent, and what we did get seemed like an after thought. Overuse of Love at First Message/chat going on, but because there was no substance, the impact was lacklustre and failed. Believability non-existent. Some very stupid moments: a cop going to a very secluded area, without researching the location before going or telling anyone where she’s going. Her cop senses should’ve been screaming at her, long before she got to the final location. She does the same stupid behaviour towards the end of the show too. Make her a weather reporter or something that doesn’t use investigative skills, that would’ve at least made it more believable! Side stories that didn’t add anything to the story, for example the Boss Samantha, was underused. Also for a thriller, a lot of it was so muddled. I figured it out, but I’m sure other viewers were confused.
Directing:
Many times the reaction of characters was way too delayed. Also pacing was a huge issue after the first two episodes.
Production:
Lighting issues and many too dark moments, that felt like lazy camera work or editing.

OVERVIEW: I never read the book, my observations are purely based on the show. I’m glad it was only 8 episodes, although maybe writing would’ve been better if it had more episodes. It’s an okay watch, but I’ve seen a lot better from K-dramas in this genre. I’m on the fence about recommending it, as I won’t watch it again.

Leia Mais

TLDR; great cinematography but deeply problematic

if there's one thing this show does brilliantly, it's messing with your mind. there are so many subtle things that put you on edge, for example the odd pacing between scenes; some scenes literally seem like they've been sped up (i still don't know if they actually are or not) and in others the pauses in dialogue are painfully long. of course there's stuff that's obviously unnerving like the dead cat and well everything the ML does but the characters act like it's totally normal and it rlly messes with your mind. so, in that aspect, they perfectly nailed the concept of a psychological thriller.

HOWEVER, as the episodes went on, it got more and more problematic until i eventually gave up after episode 5. and i don't mean the characters, because well obviously a serial killer is problematic -- i'm talking about the stereotypes it perpetuates, especially about autism, that go WAY beyond typical autism stigma. giving the only autistic character violent tendencies and making it out as though it's because she doesn't have emotions? and then, when she finds out ML was the one who led her into an abandoned building to get r*ped and FILMED IT she's not at all upset, instead she gets more interested in him and says "i've finally found someone who's just like me" ??? on top of detrimentally worsening autism stigma, this is grossly offensive to survivors of sexual assault and all women, and teaches men that stuff like this is okay because some women are into it.

while i would like to hope the remaining episodes that i didn't watch would clear this up, from the other reviews i've read it seems like it just gets worse. what a waste of such chilling cinematography.

Leia Mais

Asperger's Ignorance

The whole team that worked on this show should be ashamed.

They had the FL constantly lying, manipulating, enjoying killing - all contradictions.

Her killing the cat was way out of place and again, a complete contradiction.

Killing the man in self defense I could see - the 'euphoria in her heart' afterward, no.

And then the gruesome way she sliced the ML up at the end .. really?

Individuals with ASD have an increased risk of being the victim rather than the perpetrator of violence.

It's almost like they've never met or interacted with anyone who has this.

The app that was initially introduced in episode 1 was not the appt the show was based on.

The app presented at first seemed like an awesome way for non social people to be more social in chat.

The finished product was nothing more than a cheap knock off of Tinder - swipe left or right for a booty call.

The wheelchair bound detective was one of the most foolish characters ever written.

I was hoping she would get trapped in rubble the second time she rolled somewhere deserted alone. to meet up with the ML

And what was with the comments she kept making about him being a eunuch?

They clearly had sex, he was carrying her for most of it.

That was so off putting too - the whole scenario was not normal.

She (detective) shows up to go 'swim' in an isolated area and there's an empty pool.

ML is clearly not wheelchair bound yet she stays and even lets him remove her from the chair.

Then she is so overcome with passion she wants him t 'eat her'.

None of it made sense - none.

The gang rape set up was ludicrous.

The fact that this man kept going around screwing and killing without any sort of police work being done was laughable.

His DNA and fingerprints were everywhere.

Nothing made sense with his victims (other than the 2 that insulted his work and called him amateur).

We get NO backstory on the ML.

No reason for why he is the way he is, no story on who his first kill was or why he killed, no explanation as to why he 'loved' the FL (which he only proclaims seconds before she slices him up).

And then as if this hot dumpster fire was not already burning out of control, they add a lesbian shaman who drinks, smokes, and parties.

Yeah .. okay.

Netflix needs to have their Kdrama pass revoked.

Leia Mais

Not Good Enough

Korean Drama " Somebody " is a thriller with a mature content.

As an idea, Somebody doesn't stray far from the beaten track and keeps things predictable and, overall, simple. The criminal is known from the start and his crimes are pretty basic textbook, even though he appears to have no pattern as to whom he kills and whom he lets go.

The drama also gets unnecasserily gory and adds some extra scenes more to provoke than to enhance the entertainment value, or, at least, get deeper into the characters' mind.

In the end, along with some other extra plotlines that didn't add up, the drama wraps up everything the way it started things in the first place.

On the other hand, the performances were the best part of the drama.

So, overall, three out of ten.

Leia Mais

Just so very boring

But you know, at first it actually wasn't. Got to give full credit to those amazing Korean production values and the acting chops of literally everybody on screen because all of that propelled me through to about episode 3 before I realised I had no idea what was happening and the whole thing didn't make much sense.

Plot points seemed to repeat endlessly to no purpose and characters did inexplicable things for vague reasons (although rank stupidity did seem to be a factor).

The male lead seems to be able to sign up to a dating app with his own image, lure women in and kill them with nobody noticing or caring - let alone the police. I've seen the whole thing and still have no idea what motivated our female lead, Sum, at any point. The writer seemed to think her being autistic was sufficient motivation and I don't even know where to start on how offensive that is.

Somebody and the titular app, Someone, seem to represent an intense desire for connection between people who leave themselves open and vulnerable in trying to find it and thus end up hurt. But the show's limp, oppressed storytelling left us with nothing but a lot of scrabbling around in the dark and, admittedly, healthy doses of Kim Young-kwang being in equal parts creepy and sexy as fuck.

What should have been menacing ended up being undercut by the serial killer's sheer overwhelming omniscience and everybody's vague motivations. Don't get me started on the drama's annoying detours into mysticism and mentions of 'evil spirits' and 'exorcisms'.

By the end, I was hoping I too could be strangled mid-coitus because that would be a hell of a lot more interesting than this show and I'd still end up stupefied to the same extent.

Leia Mais

Kim Young Kwang’s butt

It is weird. Yes, in a negative way. At first, I kind of feel amazed at how creepy they tried to showcase the storyline, Yet, as it went on, I kind of feel icky about most of the scenes and tend to feel bored from time to time.

The only entertaining thing that the drama has to offer to me is seeing Kim Young Kwang giving his best in nailing a daring role. Full nude scenes are too good for such a popular actor like him. He is indeed a professional. Those intimidates scenes are actually the sole reason why the show is not perfectly bad. They nailed every sex scene with no too much work in camera angles and show us how thirsty the characters are in terms of sex.

Leia Mais

a hit and a miss

somebody (2022) instantly intrigued me the minute i read its synopsis. personally, i love crime thrillers, especially when done correctly, however, i felt like somebody was not in that case, to me it felt rushed, confusing and disappointing as a viewer.

the general storyline is very hooking, the concept we are introduced to is one about a creepy yet charming serial killer that uses an app to find his victims. similar to a concept i've seen in webtoons like 'killstagram' for example which is about a killer that uses social media. we are also introduced early on to the character dynamics between our female lead and the killer, her friends, and her enemies as one could say. this story though doesn't really follow very easily, as there are loose ends left and parts unexplained to the audience. it also moves very quickly during the start but slowly during the middle, making it harder to complete. the ending was well-- boring and expected. also the app aspect?? what happened to it?? our fl leads passions??? idkkk

my main grief is probably the characters, specifically our main female lead kim sum. for one, it's rare for a character to be both female and on the spectrum, which as someone on the spectrum myself, i was happy to see it, but in the case of somebody, i found it to be super lazy writing. obviously yes, autistic people can be killers but with the little to no rep in sk, and the rep there usually being stereotypes and very ableist representation i found it be a letdown because it did nothing to outstand those stereotypes. there was absolutely no reason to make her autistic, especially to 'make' her a psychopath.
the other characters were just okay, the male lead was obviously disturbing but nothing outstanding to be nor shocking. i expected him to be the way he ended up being at the end. the side characters were probably my favorite, i love seeing other reps for disabilities and wlw reps as well. i love that they showed those with those impediments can still have love and desire it just like anyone else.

visually though, somebody is a hit. as someone who studied video composition, wow, these shots are amazing, and it sent chills through my spine during some scenes just by visuals alone. the lighting is cool as well, with blue lighting for distress and more warm for comfort which I enjoyed. the acting was also a hit, it was greattt, ml was so creepy and made me very uncomfortable, but the facial expressions were always on point and the fl also did a good job with what she was assigned.

one thing i will note is on it's portrayal of sexuality. it's uncommon for shows in south korea to show skin so graphically and i was shocked by it's portrayal here, also rarely do you see women talking about this stuff! somebody did do a good job of making it uncomfortable.

so in the end, this show is a hit in an artistic standpoint, the creative directors, set designers and cameramen did well. but god, i could not get over the poor directing and writing, stop making autistic people villains as a way out and goddd find a way to keep the hook going throughout the story, don't ditch it immediately.

Leia Mais

a serial killer who entered the app "Somebody"

(WARNING, LONG REVIEW AHEAD!!)
so i'll really try my best to explain this drama so much since the overall story seems very interesting for me. from an dating app and love, to sexual assault and murder. I also read from an review that this drama has so much potential, most especially this drama was psychological one. But after all completing all the episodes from this drama, that how explains why this drama was complicated but at a same time, giving so much potential to viewers as well. I think this was too far from any kdramas I've watched, but this one feels like a western type of series as well.

Plot:
So it explains about a student from becoming a developer as she invented her called app AI social connecting app "Somebody" where anyone could talk and chat with each other. Well due to sum's communicating problems, she made her invention until Kim Sum was part of the team of the app. Until cases regarding the app was spreading and getting involved from a murderer slash serial killer, Yoon O. From murdering most women who get involved by the app (or like being matched). He has different identity to his personality, where he acts like what women likes, but he acts like his true self to Kim Sum, who was also a murderer. and Kim Sum as she was (kind of) responsible of the case, she get's to know Yun O untill she fell in love with a serial killer. She was so needy to love and sex and at the same time both of them were murderers to begin with. I kinda had a hard time explaining the story because it was pretty messy to begin with. Involving Yun O's story without the background story of his childhood days, and I was thinking maybe because of his trauma(?) or something bothers him that he turned to be a murderer. And with that, Kim Sum's friends got involved due to the dating app. And the problem of the story evolves the app overall that messes their lives from the beginning. So one of Kim Sum's friend who also got involved, Gi Eun as she was a detective, while Mok Won was a shaman as she senses spirits between her friend Kim Sum and her match from the app, Yun O.

And with that, the ending was hmmm very surpising for me. I really thought Kim Sum would ended up falling in love with benefits regarding love and sex with Yun O. But due to her decision making with her friends and for the safety of her colleagues as well, she killed him. And for me, I think it needs more background story of Yun O and Kim Sum and I think its not just me, but there is something really missing, that's why I rated it not a perfect rating but just a good one.

Characters and Cast:
HOOOOO this one was far exceeding so much with my expectations. I was thinking did they tried to be away from their characters because this one was far away from kdrama land haha. The characters from this story (while some of them) were hypocrite and desperate from what they like as well. I guess the characters were something that I was never expecting to be because from the plot itself, it was away from the overall story of the drama. Just the outside background of their lives. Now I'll go with the casts, especially I watched this drama because I was really interested of Kim Young Kwang's choice of drama projects after all this would be my second time watching his role from kdramas.

First of all, Kim Young Kwang acted this role FAR FAR from his previous roles especially my last kdrama that I watched with him was the secret life of my secretary. He made this role far from his career as well! but not to make myself look weird, but he really looks very attractive and all those *ehem* scenes from this drama. He need roles like this especially regarding murder or dark themed genre of kdramas to sum up everything. Kang Hae Lim, I never expected to see her change from her supporting role from Live On kdrama. She turned from her role from being a bully or a mean girl, to a desperate young adult women who seeks for love and sex. I was really surprised by her chosen projects and her acting career path as well. Both of the casts has something that gave chemistry in me. But I was thinking if they were comfortable filming "those scenes" and I saw that they were in touch on instagram since they followed each other as well. kinda sus haha. And also with the other cast, Kim Yong Ji as I a saw her from the last drama appearance of a kdrama I finished watching, The King: Eternal Monarch. But in short, she changed so much as well from this role. With the casts, the bts photos seems like they were happy with their roles and the bond they had with the production team and the actors and actresses who were involved. I'm rooting for the three of them actually.

Overall, this drama was giving me that feeling of darkness and feeling of emptiness in me, But it gave me a creepy vibe on the end haha. I was really surprised as well, but Hoping that these casts would have a greater recognition as well.
I would say this drama was only good for time kill. since I skipped some unnecessary scenes to it, but overall, it was a pretty good one. BUT not for beginners as well since it needs more patience and understanding.

but in a positive side, looking forward to the casts other projects! especially to kim young kwang <33

Leia Mais

majorly missed the mark

This show needed at least 4 more episodes to delve deeper into the backstories of the characters. I was left feeling like I knew none of the characters on a deeper level or their motives. I needed a background on the cop’s accident, the serial killers past, the shaman’s past… this show introduced 5+ half-baked plot lines that went nowhere.

Because we had no background on the killer and no inside look into his motives, I couldn’t understand his change of heart. It was just the guilt and fear of getting caught I guess.

Also, the characters made some incredibly stupid decisions. People, never meet a man for the first time in the middle of the woods by yourself, even if you don’t depend on a wheelchair to get around. And don’t go meet that man again after he abandons you in the woods and destroys your extremely expensive wheelchair. I could not feel any empathy for the cop because she kept getting herself into stupid situations.

The music also felt off. There were multiple times when the music did not match the atmosphere of the scene. The music would be really quirky while the scene was tense. It took away from the immersion into the scene.

On a good note, the acting was awesome. The male lead did a great job being menacing and a little unhinged. He mastered the creepy smile.

Overall, this show failed to keep my attention most of the time and it has 0 rewatch value to me. I almost dropped it after the dumpster fire that episode 6 was, but I figured I could finish the last 2 episodes just for completion.

Leia Mais