Hometown (2021)

Homecoming

Hometown is a psychological thriller that revolves around three main characters; police detective Choi Hyung In, convicted mass murderer Jo Kyung Ho, and his estranged sister Jo Jyung Hun. The premise is based on the preliminary investigation of a murder case which escalates into the search for a missing schoolgirl and subsequently the mystery surrounding the abduction of her classmate. Both events spark an explosive chain of events with wide-reaching implications for their family, friends and the community they belong to.

Originally an OCN production, it was eventually broadcast by sister channel, TVN. Directed by Park Hyun Suk (Stranger 2) based on the screenplay by Cho Hyun Hoon. Initially credited via his pseudonym of Joojin, the screenwriter was removed from the production credits altogether once his real identity had surfaced which resulted in controversy and public backlash due to his past sexual harrasment case. Choi Seong Gwon is engaged as the composer for the drama.

What to watch out for

The story is set in 2000 with a re-telling of events taking place in 1999 and frequent flashbacks to multiple timelines in the 1980s, particularly to a terror attack on a bus terminal in 1987. The storytelling is non-linear for the most part, which utilises parallel and converging plots based on the shared narrative of the three POV characters.

The eponymous hometown refers to the fictional town of Saju which is located in Gyeongsangnam or South Gyeongsang province. Nearly all characters in this drama speak the distinctive Gyeongsang dialect, as opposed to the central dialects (Seoul or Gyeonggi) that most viewers are perhaps used to.

Elements of mystery and horror are present throughout but, rather than outright terror and fright, the drama projects an overall eerie, ominous and psychologically disturbing aura. By the time the halfway point is reached, if not earlier, viewers should be quite aware of the direction of the story.

Expect trigger warnings in the form of drug references, abuse and bullying, as well as some violence resulting in depictions of blood and gore in certain scenes.

What I Liked

I enjoyed the storytelling approach which feels distinctively neo noir in terms of the visual language, compelling dialogue and the variety of complex characters written in the screenplay. We have the hard-boiled detective who does the nitty gritty legwork, the charismatic yet sinister psychopathic mass murderer and the frantic family member of the victim. Add to that an extremely detailed worldbuilding and a whole host of intriguing side characters ranging from the questionably dubious to the downright bizarre that make their truly disquieting presence felt.

The first 8 episodes of the drama felt the most captivating for me. This is largely because of the mystery surrounding the events at play and the infusion of a rather horrific scene that reeled me in right from the start. It is also during this stage that I found myself still able to sufficiently keep track of the happenings which connect the dots to the grand scheme of things.

The cast is, without question, absolutely outstanding. Yoo Jae Myung’s portrayal of Regional Investigation Unit’s Detective Choi Hyung In is utterly convincing. He made me believe that he truly is a seasoned yet somewhat traumatised cop, in a gripping performance that is reflective of his experience in the industry.

Likewise Uhm Tae Goo delivers a compelling depiction of convicted killer Jo Kyung Ho. This is my first time watching him and what a talent he is. The most nuanced of the main leads, his subtle interpretation of the intricately written role and the delicate articulation of his lines through a deceptively calm demeanour and soothing voice literally enthralled me into a false sense of security.

The drama also features the award-winning Han Ye Ri, fresh from making her Hollywood debut with the critically acclaimed Minari for which she garnered 4 nominations. She provides another fine performance through her captivating portrayal of Jo Jung Hyun, a woman struggling to break free from the burden of truth and her tormented past that threatens to overcome her seemingly bleak and hopeless existence.

I truly enjoyed the brilliant original score composed by Choi Seong Gwon. This is not easy listening music for relaxing with a glass of wine but the kind that elevates the sense of foreboding and completely immerses the mind into the dark and ominous atmospherics throughout. The soundtrack also features two OSTs performed in English that actually sounds more contemporary than the retro settings of the drama.

유라 Youra - Remember
문수진 Moon Sujin - Hide and Seek

What I Didn’t Appreciate As Much

As riveting and morbidly entertaining as this drama was, I would have preferred for the “supernatural” aspects to be the main focus and potential for driving the story development. This would have provided a different spin and a breath of fresh air to the genre. However, although the story takes a more familiar course, the sense of unpredictability still remains and even culminates in a rather surprising and unexpected outcome.

Speaking of unpredictability, either the rationale behind certain plot points or much-needed connecting scenes were sacrificed as part of efforts to induce viewers’ intrigue and suspense as well as, in my case, confusion. Perhaps this was also attributed to the shorter duration of the drama, at 12 episodes. A number of key events shown, particularly from episode 9 onwards, were never fully or properly explained. Without giving spoilers, let’s just say that viewers will have to formulate their own hypotheses as the story unfolds because ultimately the ending does not provide clarity for all the questions asked.

Adding to the air of uncertainty is the countless switching of timelines, sometimes captioned for viewers’ benefit but at times they occur unannounced. It certainly doesn’t help when the disparate scenes are acted by different sets of actors that I end up having to pause and rewind simply to ascertain who exactly these characters are.

Conclusion

On the whole, Hometown is a very good drama with high production quality and a top tier cast whose performances are deserving of praise. The slightly over complicated narrative, uneven storytelling, somewhat surrealistic setting and arguably lack of logical clarification particularly during the final quarter may give rise to bewilderment for some viewers, as it did for me. This perhaps hints at the drama's selective appeal, particularly for those who are fans of the genre rather than the casual watcher. Notwithstanding the issues, I still had an enjoyable (and moderately spine-chilling) time watching this absolutely binge-worthy drama.

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10/10 for creepiness

Trigger Warning: Immense Cult Practice, Killings, Gore, Brainwashing, Terribly Scary and awfully creepy.

Cult thriller trope is not very new for Kdramas and has it's own separate fanbase but what makes HOMETOWN different is the execution and portrayal of real cult shits that might take a toll on your mind, so be careful in case you're sensitive.

HOMETOWN is set up in the fictional small rural town namely Saju (somewhere in Busan irl) in the year of 1999 with a major past of the year 1987 connected to it. Everything starts from a welfare centre that existed years ago, then a series of tragic incidents in 1987 and then in 1999 where a number of serial killings take place, all rooting to a mixtape cassette with mysterious creepy sounds.

It involves MIU Detective Choi Hyung In (Yoo Jae Myung), who has been connected to the entire event all along in his subconscious. He discovers astonishing facts related to his life while trying to get to the root of it, simultaneously dealing with his deteriorating mental health. Jo Jung Hyun (Han Ye Ri) is determined to find his lost niece who is already staged to be dead. In her journey with his old friend, she discovers horrifying truth about her past and finds herself in terrifying situations that might eat her up to the core. Uhm Tae Goo (Jo Kyung Ho) is Jung Hyun's brother and a terrorist who is prisoned for life for killing a number of people at Saju Station in 1987 by releasing toxic Sarin gas. (These ain't spoilers bcs you'll find them in the synopsis.)

These 3 actors are indeed seasoned artists with main acclaimed works & recognitions and their performance surely will surpass your standard, no doubt. Especially, Uhm Tae Goo as a psychopath,who can control mind, served his role so well that you might wish to kill him, every time he comes into the frame. Him sighing is one of the creepiest things I have ever experienced, eww.

Other than them there are also some other good actors in the major role. Choi Kwang Il as Im In Gwan is deeply involved with the cult group. Cha Rae Hyung as Kang Young Taek, Jung Hyun's highschool friend and a part of the magazine club. Jo Bok Rae as Lee Si Jung is a Sergeant and Det. Hyung In's partner. The 4 teen actress were also good; Lee Re as Jo Jae Young and Heo Jung Eun as Kim Moon Suk are major parts of the story.

I must say that this drama needs a lot of patience, even when you're an avid thriller fan, because till the last 2 episodes of this 12 ep drama, the ultimate reason of the entire event is very very confusing. The way everything is unfolded one by one, in an intricate way will make you go crazy to a great deal. For viewers, it's like solving a puzzle to reach the answer whose fragmented pieces are scattered in a disorganized way. It's like you'll have to analyze, compare and relate the information you have and group them in an order first, before you set everything into their rightful places and finally get the biggest picture on the board.

You'll have new information revealed at each episode and there are lots of flashbacks to reminisce and extract out the tiniest of detail from what you've seen till the moment. The plot development is not steady, rather scattered with many flashbacks and revelations, which are not entirely revealed at once. For a 12 episode short drama, the progression along with plot-twists and mystery divulgence is drawn very well by the writer. The writer has done a good job in presenting the character arcs of all the 3 main characters well.

I somehow felt the 6th episode was kinda slow and nothing that interesting of sort took place in there except the ending, though that episode was also filled with revelations and realizations. After binging 10 episodes in 2 goes, I was concerned how they'll wrap it up in the finale week because there were still so many things to be revealed along with the primary force behind everything. Again after the 11th episode revelation, it was a tragic feeling but also gave rise to more anxiety as to what's next but glad they wrapped uo everything without any issue. Also, the seemingly intertwined story and it's details were still to be revealed in the finale, which were surprising ngl. However, it felt a bit slow and was a lil uninteresting in the 1st half. What was more worrisome that the script might have some potholes left but glad it was all fine.

Hometown also stands out for using a different approach in cult thrillers that's Hinduism. Most of the cult dramas rely on Christianity and Shamanism to showcase cult behaviour but for the first time the makers of Hometown has dared to go for Hinduism and has even executed it very well. The ancient tradition of guru-sishya (teacher-student) was basically incorporated with pseudo-religious practises with immense brainwashing and drug abuse. Only thing that seemed funny was the symbolism of that "crossing-hand" mudra, it wasn't well explained I felt. It felt like they were trynna make a scary gesture but it was in fact very funny. Otherwise, they were able to keep up the intense and thrill till the end and I liked it.

Note: This is not insulting to neither Hinduism or the Indian tradition, rather a fictional portrayal involving pseudo-religious practices which give out alternative interpretations of any particular belief. If other religions could be used then why not this. It's not my pov as an atheist rather as a avid stan of dramas & movies and their values.

The sound production is top notch. They knew very well how to make the mood creepy with the accurate use of background scores and the cult mantras. What also accompanied in grace was the rainy weather scenario. The sound of heavy rain was a perfect feather to the thriller cap. Cinematography is also appropriately handled. Since it's a thriller that too investigative mystery and cult group story, the frame is mostly dark and shady. The camera movement focusing the objects and zooming sequences are well edited. The main prop used in here is the mixtape cassettes with creepy and chilling sounds which was the cause of all the tragedy.

The finishing sequences of the story that summed up the entire event was good enough for a decent thriller. There was no philosophy or justification to the acts done but there sure was learning. Ain't gonna say the actual reason but sure only word to describe the force behind it is an action that can be simply described by 2 words, one starting with 'r' and the other with 'v'.

Overally, Hometown surely is a thrilling and catchy watch which will keep you up till the very end. Starting from it's biggest advantage, i. e. to direction, script, production value, etc. have been taken care of well with a lot of effort. Can't say it's amazing though it's one of the creepiest but it sure is a good one in terms of cult thriller mystery. I made sure not to talk about the story a lot because idk to how to explain things without spoiling. Just make sure to remain sane throughout, haha.

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