English Title: The Frog
Korean Title: 아무도 없는 숲속에서 [lit. In the forest that has no one]
Director(s): Mo Wan-il
Screenwriter(s): Son Ho-young
Studio: SLL & Studio Flow
Released: 2024
Runtime: 8 episodes, 49m – 1h 7m each.
Starring: Kim Yoon-seok, Go Min-si, Yoon Kye-sang, Lee Jung-eun
My Verdict: Moderately intriguing. Pacing can be better but no big deal. Nicely edited. Amusing score. Go Min-si is flipping nuts. But in a good way.
● Jeon Yeong-ha (Kim Yoon-seok) is a widower who owns and runs a rental house situated in a secluded and idyllic forest outside of Seoul. One day, a young woman (Go Min-si) with a child turns up as guests. She then leaves, blood left on the record she was listening to. The bathroom was cleaned with bleach. Yeong-ha suspects she may have murdered the child but has no proof. He keeps quiet about it but she visits again a year later and her behavior gets increasingly bizarre.
● The narrative shifts between the present and the past. In 2001, Koo Sang-jun (Yoon Kye-sang), a husband and father, ran a motel, presumably near Yeong-ha’s property of today. One night, Sang-jun takes in a guest who turns out to be a serial killer. Although he is arrested and convicted, the subsequent publicity destroys Sang-jun’s business and family.
● In simple terms, it is a short mystery thriller about how Yeong-ha deals with this “crazy woman” (미친 여자), which is what he literally labels her on his phone. She paints the exterior and redecorates the interior, everything about her is suspicious if not threatening.
● Thematically, amongst other things, it is about the unintended consequences of certain actions. (The English title is apparently derived from a Korean proverb/saying about this.)
● It is also about indecision and lack of action. Whilst the crazy woman actively tries to get what she wants, Yeong-ha is taken aback and doesn’t even know how to react at times. This obviously allows her to do more damage.
● Apart from the presence of murderers, two elements link the past to the present. The plot does cover Sang-jun’s circle in the present, particularly how his son deals with the serial killer. Also, in 2001, Yun Bo-min (Ha Yoon-kyung) was a rookie cop. In the present, she (Lee Jung-eun) returns to the town as captain of the precinct.
● As is common with this genre, the so-called bad guy conveniently gets away with too much for too long. This is the theme, that the crazy woman keeps on doing what she does because nobody stops her. It is sometimes valid because the location is secluded but sometimes it is not and, to be fair, it does to some degree explain it but not enough. [Minor Spoiler] To provide merely one example, her causing a car crash with no consequence is unrealistic.
● The structure is mostly tight. Although Yeong-ha’s indecision is part of the character and story, he could escalate a bit sooner which would improve the pacing.
● The performances are solid as expected by a mostly veteran cast. As for Go Min-si, she is flipping nuts. It’s a shame the writing and directing do not take her character further. She could also have more screen time in the earlier episodes.
● Although not a comedy, there are a few laugh-out-loud moments. It could use a few more. The music composed by Gaemi takes the minimalist approach typically adopted for horror and suspense but has some quirkiness to it. It is not comical but deliberately has hints of it.
● As expected given the genre, there are a lot of still, wide shots. There is some use of handheld as well. There is enough variety to suit the scene and the film editing is seamless. It is appreciated that it avoids being overly stylized but could use more stylization since the genre justifies it. For example, it could play with weird camera angles.
● On balance, it is an intriguing and amusing series. Although the pacing could improve a little, that is a minor issue and the good production and performances make up for it.
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