asmitha chandini
INDIA
This review may contain spoilers
Preliminary 10 STARS.
EDIT: (2021-08-31) Great show. I wish there were more episodes. 10/10 Stars well deserved by the cast, crew, and writers.
EDIT: (2021-08-08) The show maintains 10/10 Stars as of Episode 6. Witch's Diner maintains the plot with more surprises around the corner. The pacing of the show is steady and keeps one interested. Song Ji Hyo, Nam Ji Hyun, and Chae Jong Hyeop (as well as supporting cast) acting is low-key (subdued) yet strong. All deliver excellent performances.
I'm four episodes on in and I don't know where this show is going. That is a good thing. Why? If you can not tell where a show is going, then the show is a SURPRISE. Constantly chasing that surprise around the next corner. Then the next corner. And the next corner. And the next... Some shows end up going nowhere as the meander, confusing, never being coherent in plot and direction. Witch's Diner is not that type of show (so far). Instead, Witch's Diner has direction and plot without the confustion.
I must admit that I had my doubts and skepticism when reading the premise of Witch's Diner. No longer.
CASTING
The cast? Song Ji Hyo exudes and embodies the mysterious. Nam Ji Hyun... becomes the mystery by episode four - the full embodiment of mystery. A mystery hinted out only before in episode three. A mystery, that by episode four, I want to solve. Chae Jong Hyeop... just when I thought I had him figured out... no I don't. Twist o' plot that you will have to watch the show to see. Ahn Eun Jin in the guest role in episode four? Thumbs up to her. Kang Gi Doon makes appearances; again, another thumbs up.
WRITING
Lee Young Sook keeps a steady pace. Dialogue is solid, the twists are low-key yet impactful. I want more. The pace of Witch's Diner, determined by the writer & director (So Jae-Hyun), is enough to keep people coming back for more of the same. So far.
EXCEPTIONS TO SURPRISES
At one point in Episode four, I guessed where the wish fulfillment was going. Hoping against hope that Ahn Eun Jin's - shout out for her excellent portrayal in guest role - character was not going to ask for what she wanted. Yet, the "train kept traveling down the tracks, I had nowhere to go, except to be run over". Even though I had a good idea of what was coming? I was left wishing it was not going to be so. Yet it was.
A SUPERNATURAL PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR SHOW? NOT QUITE.
That last sentence in the paragraph concerning the train is an example of how The Witch's Diner is in some ultra-subtle way, a supernatural psychological horror show. Without the blood - okay, there is some, guts - fingers don't count (I am talking "guts" as in "intestines splayed out everywhere"), without chainsaws & implements of torture... a sort of supernatural psychological horror that is so low-key as to be missed if one is not paying attention. I would like it if further episodes keep up the very low intensity supernatural psychological horror. Perhaps, "horror" is the wrong word; in which something more soft should be considered. Hmmm... living with the consequences... responsibility as horror. With fate mixed in.
PRODUCTION, ATMOSPHERE
Production value? Top notch. The set embodies the show. Somehow mixing, in my opinion, hope & gloom. The sets are not over the top. The few instances of special effects are nice if a little flashy for my taste. Camera work is very, very good.
A COMMENT ON NAM JI HYUN'S ACTING & ROLES
On another website, someone was complaining that Nam Ji Hyun always plays the same characters in different shows. Yet, that commentor admitted to not being able to stop watching the show. Nam Ji Hyun as a certain presence on film. Perhaps a certain expression of method acting. I find that her characters are different enough as Nam Ji Hyun portrays them - from being the "dirty former judo college athlete turned lawyer suspected of murder" in Suspicious Partner to her now playing her role in Witch's Diner. She plays each character with a certain finesse sufficiently enough to make each of her roles, memorable; differentiating each of her roles from show to show. Examples of famous method actors include Al Pacino and Jason Statham. No, I'm not saying that the three are comparable. Here's to Nam Ji Hyun not being pigeon-holed into acting only in one role or style of acting from show to show. She's talented, her characters are memorable, Nam Ji Hyun makes her roles. I look forward to her acting ability in the future.
EDIT: (2021-08-31) Great show. I wish there were more episodes. 10/10 Stars well deserved by the cast, crew, and writers.
EDIT: (2021-08-08) The show maintains 10/10 Stars as of Episode 6. Witch's Diner maintains the plot with more surprises around the corner. The pacing of the show is steady and keeps one interested. Song Ji Hyo, Nam Ji Hyun, and Chae Jong Hyeop (as well as supporting cast) acting is low-key (subdued) yet strong. All deliver excellent performances.
I'm four episodes on in and I don't know where this show is going. That is a good thing. Why? If you can not tell where a show is going, then the show is a SURPRISE. Constantly chasing that surprise around the next corner. Then the next corner. And the next corner. And the next... Some shows end up going nowhere as the meander, confusing, never being coherent in plot and direction. Witch's Diner is not that type of show (so far). Instead, Witch's Diner has direction and plot without the confustion.
I must admit that I had my doubts and skepticism when reading the premise of Witch's Diner. No longer.
CASTING
The cast? Song Ji Hyo exudes and embodies the mysterious. Nam Ji Hyun... becomes the mystery by episode four - the full embodiment of mystery. A mystery hinted out only before in episode three. A mystery, that by episode four, I want to solve. Chae Jong Hyeop... just when I thought I had him figured out... no I don't. Twist o' plot that you will have to watch the show to see. Ahn Eun Jin in the guest role in episode four? Thumbs up to her. Kang Gi Doon makes appearances; again, another thumbs up.
WRITING
Lee Young Sook keeps a steady pace. Dialogue is solid, the twists are low-key yet impactful. I want more. The pace of Witch's Diner, determined by the writer & director (So Jae-Hyun), is enough to keep people coming back for more of the same. So far.
EXCEPTIONS TO SURPRISES
At one point in Episode four, I guessed where the wish fulfillment was going. Hoping against hope that Ahn Eun Jin's - shout out for her excellent portrayal in guest role - character was not going to ask for what she wanted. Yet, the "train kept traveling down the tracks, I had nowhere to go, except to be run over". Even though I had a good idea of what was coming? I was left wishing it was not going to be so. Yet it was.
A SUPERNATURAL PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR SHOW? NOT QUITE.
That last sentence in the paragraph concerning the train is an example of how The Witch's Diner is in some ultra-subtle way, a supernatural psychological horror show. Without the blood - okay, there is some, guts - fingers don't count (I am talking "guts" as in "intestines splayed out everywhere"), without chainsaws & implements of torture... a sort of supernatural psychological horror that is so low-key as to be missed if one is not paying attention. I would like it if further episodes keep up the very low intensity supernatural psychological horror. Perhaps, "horror" is the wrong word; in which something more soft should be considered. Hmmm... living with the consequences... responsibility as horror. With fate mixed in.
PRODUCTION, ATMOSPHERE
Production value? Top notch. The set embodies the show. Somehow mixing, in my opinion, hope & gloom. The sets are not over the top. The few instances of special effects are nice if a little flashy for my taste. Camera work is very, very good.
A COMMENT ON NAM JI HYUN'S ACTING & ROLES
On another website, someone was complaining that Nam Ji Hyun always plays the same characters in different shows. Yet, that commentor admitted to not being able to stop watching the show. Nam Ji Hyun as a certain presence on film. Perhaps a certain expression of method acting. I find that her characters are different enough as Nam Ji Hyun portrays them - from being the "dirty former judo college athlete turned lawyer suspected of murder" in Suspicious Partner to her now playing her role in Witch's Diner. She plays each character with a certain finesse sufficiently enough to make each of her roles, memorable; differentiating each of her roles from show to show. Examples of famous method actors include Al Pacino and Jason Statham. No, I'm not saying that the three are comparable. Here's to Nam Ji Hyun not being pigeon-holed into acting only in one role or style of acting from show to show. She's talented, her characters are memorable, Nam Ji Hyun makes her roles. I look forward to her acting ability in the future.
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