A new day in the never-ending content cycle, a new Netflix series to add to the watchlist! This time around, the one everyone’s talking about is not Squid Game, but another South Korean thriller that’s rocketed to the top of the platform’s ‘Most Watched’ list in under a day. A mean feat achieved by very few, and one that took Squid Game eight days to achieve. The new show? It’s name is Hellbound.
There’s a reason folks around the globe seem to be going mad for this one. It’s the latest project from cult South Korean director Yeon Sang-ho, known best for his brooding animated feature King of Pigs and, more recently, the drastic and violent zombie thriller Train to Busan: a movie that debuted to critical acclaim and has since been shopped for an English language remake. The reviews seem to be helping too. As it debuted yesterday, The Guardian called the show a “South Korean deathfest that wipes the floor with Squid Game” and will be “spoken about for decades”.
So what’s the deal? Well, Hellbound sounds marginally more fucked up than Squid Game, which certainly helps. The show is also thought to be a slightly more cerebral affair. In it, earthbound beings are forced to face their doomed fate after spirits materialise to warn them of the date and time of their death, upon which a brooding muscular beast will arrive to slam them into the pits of hell. Predictably, it’s a catastrophe that no one on earth has the answers to — except a select few who are subsequently risen to messiah status. But while people pin their hopes on these seemingly knowledgeable people, a QAnon-esque sub-sect try to make sense of the situation, contemplating its murkier meaning in modern day society.
Haven’t watched Hellbound yet? Well, it’s now available to stream on Netflix obviously. Catch a look at the trailer below before you tune in.