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Parasyte – The Grey (Drama Hangout)

Welcome to the Drama Hangout for Netflix sci-fi horror Parasyte – The Grey, where Jeon So-ni and Gu Kyo-hwan deal with a parasitic invasion of earth. With Yeon Sang-ho at the helm, it’s sure to be a wild ride.

This is your place to binge and chat about the drama.


Beware of spoilers! This thread is for discussing the entire series.

 
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Synopsis: A grocery store worker (Jeon So Nee) gets into an altercation with a thug when he gets upset at her request to get the meat he picked up from the butcher price-tagged. The man is thrown out. Enraged, he follows her in his car and attempts to murder her.
Right when she is about to die, a parasite invades her body.

Thus, she starts her journey of symbiotic cohabitation with a monster inside of her that failed to take over her brain due to her severe injury. So now she has the power of the monster but the brain of a very simple, down-to-earth girl who considers herself unlucky in life.

Accidentally, Su-in ends up teaming with an on-the-run gang member (a delightful Koo Kyo Hwan), who hides in his hometown to lie low after a botched assassination attempt on some gang leader. His sister is missing, and the quest to find her has him stumbling into a horrifying ordeal that changes his life.

The parasite happens to be part of a large-scale invasion of organisms whose aim is to invade people's brains, kill them, and eat them. To survive, they must find a host.

One of the parasites invades a random oppa at a musical festival, turns into a flowery monster, and goes on a killing rampage on camera. This exposes it to a few intense individuals who now embark on a mission to eradicate it and its kin by forming an elite team called Team Grey.
I haven't read the source material, but it's nothing original. It's a regular zombie story where humans turn into monsters and prey on people while people with guns hunt for them.

What's great :
Execution. It's not over the top, screaming gore with blood flying everywhere for no reason. The underlying theme: Who are parasites? How are we different from them? Instead of telling us, the director shows us, and he has been able to make quite a compelling case. The action is done tastefully, the VFX is great, and none of the monsters are remotely scary. Most look like a cross between a botanical garden specimen and a Monster-Inc character. A few even turn into pretty flowers.

Gore-O-Meter : A couple of scenes might be a little disturbing for those who avoid crime thrillers, but as someone who has always tried to dodge blood and gore fares unless genuinely invested in the story, I was able to watch it all without the ff button. There are no useless torture or slashing scenes just for cheap thrills. And there are no creep factor or jump scares either.

I would peg the gore at 5/10.

Performances:

Jeon So Nee is excellent. She is terrific as the dual personality of Sui In and Heidi. Sonee evocatively blends the pathos of a struggling girl who is always trying to find a hand to hold on to and the apathy of a monster who does not understand her point of view but has little option but to go along with her choices. Their internal fights are subtle, and she manages to give an individual voice to each character with aplomb.

This has to be the...

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- Cont

This has to be the performance of the year so far. I would not be surprised if it catapults her into the top bracket. It's charting No. 1 on Netflix worldwide, and as a fan, I could not be happier.

Koo Kyo Hwan: This man is a delight on screen. He effortlessly embodies the spirit of a man who makes a living by beating and killing other bad people but still has managed to retain a wobbly moral compass (the number of times he mumbles - not my problem - is hilarious). However, he does what he does because he has little choice. When the heat gets too much, he runs. Until he realises running would resolve little. His dilemma when he starts running towards the problems serves some subtle humour breaks.

There is no romance, but these two turn up a solid pairing that leaves you wanting more. Their chemistry is fantastic, and by the end, you might end up shipping them. I did.

These two effortlessly carry the narrative on their capable shoulders.

Lee Jung Hyun: I was impressed by her on Battleship Island. Here, not so much. She goes overboard and, at times, looks like a caricature, almost like Roomi Rapace gone wrong. However, she does deliver some very sensitive scenes that make up for her flawed, though honest, performance.

The rest of the cast gives capable performances, though none of them are memorable.

What hinders:

Pacing: At times, it's choppy. The editing is good, and the camera angles are fantastic, but sometimes, it meanders a little without being productive. But don't give up. It's worth the patience.

Lack of depth in side characters: I love that it's a quick watch of six episodes, but I feel some of that could have been spent building up the side characters. The older sister's arc is choppy, and the actress either does not know what to deliver or has no clue how to deliver the assignment. She is the weakest link.

Verdict: A solid 8.5/10. It's entertaining, has depth, has gore/horror but is neither gory nor horrifying, and has a pair of delightful leads who deliver a stellar performance. Go for it.

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Nice review. I agree with most of it. And I laughed at this: “None of the monsters are remotely scary. Most look like a cross between a botanical garden specimen and a Monster-Inc character.”

On the whole, I’d recommend the show. Not quite at the level of YSH’s Hellbound or Train to Busan, but a worthy addition to his oeuvre. I was most impressed by KKH’s performance. It takes real talent for us to believe and root for the transformation of his slimy, cowardly character. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

I’ll add some add’l things I didn’t like. So many glaring logic fails. Also, some of the moralizing was heavy handed and the characterizations simplistic. Some other things I liked: Kwon Hae-hyo, the actor and the twist to the character in the show. My god that man is hardworking. I’ve seen him back to back now on FxC, Wedding Impossible and Parasyte. 😅

I also loved that we got to see SKIN, like real human skin. I don’t mind the pretty but it’s a welcome break when the filters are turned off now and then. Stars, they’re just like us. 😂

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Also, some of the moralizing was heavy handed and the characterizations simplistic.

Agree. The lack of layers to the side characters reduced the depth the show could have achieved.
Kwon Hae-hyo - I liked him too, though his range didn't come through that well. I felt they needed a better actor for this role. The emotional bits between him and Jeon So Nee were really well done, and I think the director aced those parts. But his villainous turn was not as convincing. Or perhaps it's simply difficult to play robotic villains.
Filter or not, Jeon So Nee is absolutely beautiful. I missed her smile though.

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Jeon So-Nee really is, freckles and all. Actually, so many K-actors are incredibly beautiful. They really don’t need so much touching up—and it might ease up the weight of these beauty standards on the rest is us.

Anyway, back to the show. Yeah. All the human hosts were played similarly. We often complain of flat acting, but I think they were directed this way in Parasyte! I did like him in the human interaction and was surprised at the turn of events.

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fun little show! i love the anime but it's been years since i seen it so i can't recall much lol.

appreciated what they pulled from the source material but i also love the changes made! like shinichi and migi have such a different relationship than suin and heidi but both work so well~

i am praying for a season two with shinichi!! >_<

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They have tons of material left for season 2.
# They only addressed the monsters in one city.
#There could be more mutants and not all would be as sweet as Heidi (I loved the name and its origin)
# Suin will probably join the team
# The hand behind it all; who started it?
#The Japanese actor at the end - a relevant character from the anime?
#A love story maybe?

If the success of the first is anything to go by, second season will be in soon. It's holding strong at #2 in US which is very very rare. Worldwide it's at #1.

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Oh good. S2 seems more likely then.

I was wondering at that appearance at the end, not knowing the source material. I’m guessing he’s another mutant, then?

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yes! the last scene is a cameo with the source material's main character~

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Thanks for confirming that. Do you know the actor?

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hmmm, personally i'd prefer if they skipped any romance or love story. i would really love co-workers to found family though~

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hm not sure why i can't reply your other msg. but the actor for shinichi is masaki suda!

shinichi and his parasyte migi have a larger difference than suin and heidi, so there's potential that migi might be voiced by a different actor?

also his fighting style would be very different from anything we've seen so far. parasytes go to the host head but migi is in shinichi's hand (hence the zoomed in final shot) so i'd love to see what they do with this~

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Oh wow! How interesting. I would love for Jeon So Nee to continue in the next season too.

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I love the Easter egg at the end with Shinichi making an appearance and zooming in on his hand (Migi).

Bring on season 2!

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Ok, I know I am looking for logic in a sci-fi/alien movie, but it bugs me as to why the "worm" was able to make the body of the conniving police man move and talk when it had left the body. That is a huge plot hole which is the only way they can make the whole final battle work, so that was a little disappointing. I also find it funny though how the human bodies have to swing their head around to wield the alien tentacles. Does make them look a little silly at times, so that actually makes the aliens seem less intimidating! But still, a fairly fast-paced quick watch.

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