[TV] "Others is Hell": Everyone has a dark side

Original work: Kim Yong Ki "Thriller Examination House"
Director: Lee Chang-hee Screenwriter: Jung Yi-do Actors: Im Si-wan, Lee Dong-wook, Ahn Eun-jin, Lee Jung-eun

"Others is Hell" comes from the existential philosopher Sartre's play "The Chamber of Secrets", to the effect that "people cannot reverse other people's opinions after death", but it has been interpreted by most people as "the conflict between people is inevitable." " , because people can't live on their own, but they are constantly influenced by others, so others are my hell, and I am also others' hell, and this inevitable state of being unable to break free is the biggest problem of human existence in this world.

"Others Are Hell" is adapted from the web cartoonist Kim Yong-ki's work of the same name. It tells the story of Yoon Jong-woo (played by Im Si-wan), a newcomer in society, who is forced to move into the examination house in the suburbs of Seoul in order to make money at the senior company. It is eerie and eerie, which makes him live with anxiety every day. Only the tenant Xu Wenzu (played by Li Dongxu) likes crime novels as much as he does, and it is not impossible to communicate.

This drama is the second work of the Korean channel OCN's "Dramatic Cinema" project. The project emphasizes the production of high-density drama dramas with film-level textures and specifications, so that the technical aspects of the drama, such as photography, lighting, and art are all equivalent. Excellent, it perfectly creates a depressing and treacherous exam house atmosphere, and the precise and excellent casting of actors also vividly restores the horror tenants in the comics, which is extremely infiltrative.

Through the perspective of a young man from a small town, Yin Zhongyu, the audience will soon be able to see the difficulties of urban life. Young people who are self-made, in addition to facing high rents and low-quality living environment, also have to overcome indifferent and alienated interpersonal relationships, work hard Achieving a psychological balance between social conflicts, and South Korea's social norm that attaches importance to rank and seniority has become a source of psychological pressure for Zhong Yu.

Different from the setting of the comics, Zhong Yu in the play is a crime novelist with a dream of being a writer, and the protagonist of the novel he wrote is a murderer, and the murderer likes to strangle the victim himself and feel the victim's body temperature gradually losing. the process of. This setting undoubtedly increases the rationality of Zhong Yu's blackening in the second half of the plot, and also gives Xu Wenzu, the murderer of the examination house, more reason to "fall in love" with Zhong Yu, thinking that they are the same kind of people.

In the early stage of the play, the audience will soon find out that the protagonist Zhong Yu is not a perfect person . He is accustomed to being depressed and violent, always silently blaming others, and complaining about his brother who is physically and mentally handicapped. Although Zhong Yu attaches great importance to his mother and girlfriend, he rarely confesses his innermost thoughts to the two of them. Even if he finally speaks out, he is misunderstood because he cannot explain clearly, which makes his condition worse and worse. The same is true.

So, when Zhong Yu was forced to face the harassment and threats from the tenants of the examination house, he began to feel fear, and he subconsciously defended himself, so that the potential instinctive aggression could be reasonably released, while the company's seniors, seniors, and his girlfriend's accusations And the lack of understanding has continued to grow the dark side of Zhong Yu's heart, causing his character to gradually distort and the bright side of his heart to be swallowed up.

Therefore, for Zhong Yu, meeting people in the exam house is actually just releasing the dark side of his heart , and when Wenzu saw Zhong Yu kill him and even kill himself, he was quite satisfied with the creation of his own hands. The "perfect work", and believe that the crazy spirit of liberating body and mind can be passed on by Zhong Yu.

If we carefully examine the plot of "Others Are Hell", we can find that rather than the horrific murder plot, the director actually wants to focus on working life and further explain the harmfulness of "repressed emotions" , and the existence of Wenzu is precisely the An extreme figure against repression.

Whenever Zhong Yu couldn't help but conflict with Wen Zu, or confessed his suspicions to others, Wen Zu would satisfactorily encourage Zhong Yu to speak his heart out, and then challenge Zhong Yu's repressive habit . Social etiquette is the unspoken anti-humanity rule that both comics and TV series try to criticize. However, if people like Wenzu or the tenants of the exam house, by constantly killing others to liberate their emotions, would it really be more beneficial to the body and mind? The answer of the original author and director may be "other people are hell".

Nonetheless, "Others Are Hell" still reveals the possibility of seeing hope. The only female policewoman in the play who believes in Zhong Yu's words is his important reliance in facing the horror test house, and the only mother who cares about Zhong Yu unconditionally is the key person who can ease his emotions. The existence of these two characters gives Zhong Yu trust and care, respectively, so that he will not collapse immediately. Unfortunately, one of the two is because of his identity and the other because of distance, so Zhong Yu cannot express his emotions in a timely manner. in hell.

Looking at the whole play, "Others Are Hell" is a great thriller with texture and depth. It criticizes repression, does not favor liberation, and even ridicules the fragility of human nature. Caring is also evident in the details of the plot, so that the audience can not only empathize with his source of stress, but also see their own shadow in him, and then reflect on the way to deal with negative emotions.

Perhaps, when we know how to keep ourselves away from high-pressure environments and properly accept negative emotions , we can ignore the fact that "others are hell" and focus on the beauty of this world?