Dorama is a name that was originally used exclusively for Japanese television series. Today, serials of Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese production are popular and are called dramas.
They are valued for a variety of genres (historical, romantic, sci-fi, mystical, detective).
Strangers from Hell is a South Korean psychological thriller. The drama was released in 2019. The title of the series is a reference to a quote by Jean-Paul Sartre from the book Behind Closed Doors.
The peculiarity of the drama is its literary character. Actors in speech often use quotes from various works of world famous writers. Many plots from literature are also traced inside in the form of scenes.
Cast members
Starring
- Lim Siwan (Yoon Jung Woo) is a writer in the series. He came from the village and now lives in the hostel “Eden”.
- Lee Dong Wook (Seo Moon Jo) is a dentist who works near the dorm and is Yoon Jung Woo’s neighbor. He is a kind and helpful person at first glance.
In the drama, many actors take on secondary roles. These are neighbors in the dorm and colleagues in Yoon Jung Woo’s company.
Dormitory roommates
- Lee Jung Eun (Eom Bok Soon) is the owner of the Eden Dormitory.
- Lee Hyun Wook (Yoo Gi Hyuk) is a mysterious resident.
- Pak Chung Hwan (Byung Deuk Jeon / Byun Deuk Soo) are twin brothers. One of the brothers is mentally retarded.
- Lee Joon Ok (Hon Nam Bok) is a porn addict.
- Hyun Bong Sik (Ahn Hee Joon) is a bandit. Wants to leave and start life anew.
Colleagues
- Cha Rae Hyun (Shin Jae Ho) is Jung Woo’s boss.
- Kim Han Jung (Park Byung Min) is the main leader of Jung Woo.
- Oh Hye Won (Song Yoo Jung) is a colleague.
- Park Ji Han (Go Sang Myung) is the department head of the company where Jung Woo works.
What is the drama “Strangers From Hell” about
Yoon Jung Woo is a young guy who writes literary works and lives in rural areas of Korea. His friend invites him to Seoul to work for the company and he agrees. But he doesn’t have much money and has to live in a city in a hostel, where he has only a small room.
The series is about the life of a 27-year-old man in a big city. He has to live in a terrible and strange hostel, where everyone behaves inappropriately. However, the hero does not have time to move out of this place, as he gets into complicated cases. Mysterious events take place there, because of which Jung-woo begins to be afraid of the local inhabitants.
Meaning of movie “Strangers From Hell”
The genre of a drama greatly affects its content and meaning. In this case, several important life problems are considered: the loneliness of a person in a huge city, the indifference of loved ones.
The main character really begins to feel that he is going crazy. After all, his life takes place in a place where everything is mystical and frightening. However, he remains alone. After all, his girlfriend and friends from the university, who are now his colleagues, do not believe his words. Jung Woo decided to move to another city in hope. But in the end he was left alone, he stopped believing in his salvation and in a better outcome. So he had to change. He seemed to let go of control over himself and released his demons into the real world. Because of such a sharp turn in personality, one can judge: the drama shows that maniacs are not born, but become.
The series also shows the viewer that all people are social. And communicating with different personalities, they do not remain the same, but change under the influence. It can also be a positive impact. And negative, as in our example. So it happened with Jung Woo, and with the guy from the 302nd room, and with the twins, and with Moon Jo himself.
There is a character in the drama that strikes – Moon Jo. This is a true “screen” psychopath. At first glance, the hero is friendly, charming, calm and attractive. At the same time, no one knows what is going on in his head. So in Strangers from Hell, Moon Jo led the protagonist according to his plan, which no one could guess. He has no conscience and no remorse. Such a person is not familiar with empathy, he is not interested in people as individuals.
The drama reveals the identity of the real serial killer. How does he live and what drives him. Therefore, Moon Jo works as a dentist. He decides what to do with patients. He is not permanent. Therefore, when viewed, it seems that this is not an existing person. After all, how can you simultaneously fit in yourself a balanced doctor and a maniac. He has no drives, he has no dirty deeds. He looks like a good person.
Moon Jo is more of a demonic character that leads the true protagonist on the path, rather than a realistic killer.
Ending “Strangers From Hell” explained
Hell is not a dorm or a physical facility, it is a psychological torture that traps the protagonist.
Jung Woo is tormented by the other tenants in the dorm. He’s cornered. Here is the whole trap of life, which is like hell. He is alone, without friends. His girlfriend is moving away, because the guy seems strange to her. He’s in the corner because he can’t get out of this life. He is now dependent on the hostel, its residents and hostess. At the end of the drama, we understand how a person can open up in a foreign environment. And the viewer sees that the hero has always been like this, but such a frightening and forcing situation exacerbated his dark side. Now the guy is in real hell on earth.
There is no happy ending in a psychological thriller. So here. Not all of the characters in the drama survived. And those who survived will never be themselves again. They have changed forever.
The main thing to understand at the end of the drama. Hell is not outside. He is within ourselves. This is what happened to the main character. Such an outcome required a special set of circumstances. Absolutely everyone around seemed to be preparing Jung Woo for his breakdown. Ajumma drugged him, after which he was already a time bomb. And Moon Jo deliberately broke the guy.
Jung Woo actually killed four. Moon Jo was not fiction, but real, and he is also dead. Moon Jo, due to his nature, prepared Jung Woo for such a role all the time. He wanted the guy to become a killer himself and do everything.
The question arises: what is Moon Jo for? In fact, he was also lonely, but given his life, ordinary people would not understand him. Therefore, he wanted to make Jung Woo his successor and friend. Then they would be able to kill together.
Jung Woo’s hidden identity killed Im Bok Soon, Yoo Ki Hyuk and Ben Deuk Jong when he came to, he can’t remember what he did. This behavior may be associated with a protective reaction of the psyche. In order not to feel such a trauma. Jung Woo imagined it was self-defense. Perhaps it was just a way to calm himself or justify himself.
At the same time, the expression on his face during the murder is different from the expression during the fight with Moon Jo. This could mean that the character isn’t really aware of their dark side and didn’t kill people on purpose. However, with Moon Jo there was a part of him that protected himself. This was a real guy with no beast in him.
It may seem that Jung Woo did not kill Moon Jo, because at the end, Jung Hwa saw him. However, this is misleading. The girl was already injured. Even earlier, it seemed to her that Moon Jo was chasing her. But she did not know his essence. And against the backdrop of post-traumatic stress, she saw him in her imagination.
An attentive viewer understands that over the course of the drama, Jung Woo has not changed for the better and actually killed all the people. However, ordinary people will not be able to believe that such a timid and calm person who just wants the best for himself could commit a crime.
