Hellbound
Based on Hellbound by Yeon Sang-ho
Written by Choi Kyu-sok
Directed by Yeon Sang-ho
Music by Score: Kim Dong-wook
Country of origin South Korea
Original language Korean
Created by Netflix
Main Cast
Yoo Ah-in as Jeong Jin-soo, a cult leader, the head of the emerging religion ‘New Truth Society’
Park Sang-hoon as young Jeong Jin-soo
Kim Hyun-joo as Min Hye-jin, an attorney
Park Jeong-min as Bae Young-jae, broadcasting station production director
Won Jin-ah as Song So-hyun, Bae Young-jae’s wife[
Yang Ik-june as Jin Kyeong-hoon, detective
Supporting Cast
Kim Do-yoon as Lee Dong-wook, streamer and member of Arrowhead
Kim Shin-rok as Park Jeong-ja
Ryu Kyung-soo as Yoo Ji, priest of the cult
Lee Re as Jin Hee-jeong, Jin Kyeong-hoon’s daughter
Im Hyeong-guk as Gong Hyeong-joon, sociology professor
I didn’t find the opening sequence of Hellbound particularly promising. A nervous-looking sort is in a bistro in a large Korean city, sipping a drink and looking, well, nervous. Planning-to-rob-the-place-or-blow-it-up nervous. Is he planning to commit the sin that gets him sent to hell?
No, apparently that already happened. There’s three distinct claps of thunder, and out of nowhere, the Three Luigis appear. I call them that because being about 12 feet tall and make of some sort of black vapour that must smell absolutely awful, they look for all the world like the sort of muscle-bound thugs you see in second rate flicks about the Mafia, missing only the violin cases and narrow ties to complete the ensemble. All three have “faces” that lost in every boxing ring in the world at least once. They are big, ugly, nasty, and truth be told, a bit silly.
They chase the poor schlub for about ten blocks in heavy city traffic before they finally catch him, beat him to a pulp, cause him to make noises similar to Thanksgiving turkey at the dog pound, before they fry him in a burst of intense white light, leaving only the charred remains of the top half of a skeleton.
If that was the extent of it, it would be a somewhat mediocre creature feature, and in light of recent shows, I would be wondering if there was anyone in Korea whose hobby didn’t involve running for dear life, screaming loudly, and dying horribly.
A review in the Guardian had assured me that Hellbound mopped the floor with Squid Game, so I kept watching. I already had a deep respect for Korean drama before Squid Game.
It comes to light that the Face and the Three Luigis are busy. Word has gotten out. At some point, a huge disembodied and translucent head appears. It intones that the person they appear before is going to hell, and that this will happen at a specific time. That time varies wildly, from thirty seconds to twenty years. The head doesn’t say why, or who has ordered it, but this is humanity we’re dealing with here: obviously the victim has sinned, and god has sent an angel to damn them. Stands to reason, right?
The demise is always the same: three claps of thunder, the Three Luigis appear, and the victim is beaten and then burned. People start referring to them as demons.
A cult, The New Truth Society, springs up, led by a telegenic and charming figure, Jeong Jin-soo (Yoo Ah-in) who formulates a list of sins humanity must avoid in order to avoid a visitation of doom. Given its unique status as a faith backed by actual evidence, it grows by leaps and bounds. On a parallel track, a vicious movement of rabid religious enforcers, the Arrowhead, spring up, the face of which is a streaming presence named Lee Dong-wook (Kim Do-yoon), who is a combination of Alex Jones and the Joker. Societies world-wide are upended as proof of the visitations spread.
Years pass, and the two cults are the main social, religious and secular powers in Korea. At the heart of each lies cynicism and corruption. Cult-leader Lee has been reaped, but the cult hides his death and presumed damnation, claiming he is traveling the world, spreading the good word. Arrowhead is becoming ever more unhinged and violent, and more intent on suppressing dissent, or even questioning of the tenets of the new faiths.
Then the angel visits and condemns to hell a day-old baby. Things start to fall apart, as dissenters try to publicize this visitation while the cults want to conceal its occurrence.
Hellbound has the same strengths as Squid Game—strong characterizations backed by amazing acting—and brings to the fore a deeper, richer storyline, one involving the entire Korean society and dealing in depth with the religious, psychological and sociological dilemmas the visitations create. In less than six hours, the series tells a rich and complicated story, with an ending suggesting much more is to come.
Stuart Heritage wrote in the Guardian, “Hellbound is a truly exceptional drama wrapped in only the lightest of genre thrills. It might currently find itself swept up in Squid Game’s wake, but I guarantee that, of the two, it’s the show that will still be talked about a decade from now.” He’s right.
Now on Netflix.