Yoon Seo-ha is a woman struggling to catch a break. At work, she dreams of a full-time teaching role but instead is relegated to ghostwriting books for the professor she assists while her colleagues get promoted ahead of her. Things don’t get any better at home, where she’s just discovered her husband’s infidelity. Her life takes yet another unexpected turn when the police inform her that an uncle she didn’t know existed has died.
However, things quickly take a turn for the macabre in Yeon Sang-ho’s latest K-drama series, The Bequeathed. This limited series is a dark tale that blends supernatural elements with everyday occurrences to create a horrifying experience. In The Bequeathed, Yeon uses shamanism and the occult to build unease as the characters struggle to match that level of ominousness with their actions.
As the sole living relative of her newly discovered uncle’s family, Yoon Seo-ha inherits the burial ground that’s been passed down for generations. However, there are those who contest her claim, including her half-brother Kim Yeong-ho, whom she didn’t know existed until now. As grisly murders start to occur around Seo-ha, Yeon adds more grisly and tense moments to the script to create an unease that permeates the entire show.
Despite an intriguing and suspenseful premise, the series falls short of its potential due to muddy storytelling that rips the power from the eerie opening episode. Except for a single shocking twist, everything else in the series is rather predictable, making the horror aspects seem lackluster and uninteresting. The characters’ motivations are also not developed enough, making it hard to sympathize with Seo-ha as she hits rock bottom.
While Yeon’s previous works have garnered critical acclaim, The Bequeathed misses the mark. Although there are stand-out performances from Park Hee-soon and Ryu Kyung-soo, the series is a far cry from the expectations placed on it.
The Bequeathed is a limited series exclusive to Netflix
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