Gyeongseong Creature

Gyeongseong Creature

"Behold, the powers of destiny. Beware, the powers of karma."

Gyeongseong, 1945. In Seoul's grim era under colonial rule, an entrepreneur and a sleuth fight for survival and face a monster born out of human greed.

MovieGuys@MovieGuys

September 25, 2024

GyeongSeong Creature is a horror series that taps into a dark aspect of history, not so well known in the West. That is, the Empire of Japans experimentation on human beings.

Shockingly a lot of what is referenced in this series, really happened. This bleak platform is used as starting point to craft a Korean horror series, that's reminiscent of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein and any Lovecraftian tale, you care to name. A story that not only exposes the horrors of forced medical experimentation, on human beings but also other dark aspects, of imperialism.

Whilst the over riding tale is compelling, I felt the monster/creature effects just didn't come across as all that real, robbing the series of a portion of its impact.

Characterisations felt uneven too, with supposedly intelligent, often calculating people, doing inexplicably stupid things.

That said, this series remains a broadly worthwhile horror watch, for those with a stomach for it.

In summary, a reasonable but by no means exceptional series from South Korea, that blends dark aspects of the past with fantasy/horror elements. There is also a dash of social commentary on the price imperialism exacts, from those it oppresses. Worth a look.