Hellbound

Hellbound is a South Korean dark fantasy streaming television series directed by Yeon Sang-ho, based on his own webtoon of the same name. An original Netflix release set in the then future year of 2022, supernatural beings suddenly appear out of nowhere to condemn people to Hell. The series stars Yoo Ah-in, Kim Hyun-joo, Park Jeong-min, Won Jin-ah and Yang Ik-june. The pilot episode of Hellbound premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival in the "Primetime program of TV series" on September 9, 2021, and became the first Korean drama to make it to the festival. It was released on Netflix on November 19, 2021, and became the world's most-watched Netflix series the next day, surpassing Squid Game, released two months prior in Singapore. Critics were positive of the show, but also cognizant that it followed in the footsteps of Squid Game; nonetheless, they predicted it to be heavily discussed and to have a lasting impact. Premise Hellbound takes place in 2022–27 in South Korea. An otherworldly face called an angel suddenly starts to materialize to deliver prophecies called decrees that condemn certain individuals to Hell at a specific future time, either seconds or years away. Three hulking supernatural monsters appear at almost the exact time to maul and incinerate the person's body in a sort of spectacular show of force called a demonstration. Two organizations in cahoots, the cult-like New Truth Society and the gang-like Arrowhead group, gain power by playing on people's fears. Of the six episodes of the series, episodes 1–3 focus on a detective investigating the supernatural phenomena, the chairman of the New Truth religious order, and a principled attorney. Except for the attorney, the core characters change in episodes 4–6, which take place 5 years later and focus on a television producer and his wife who have to struggle with the fact that their newborn baby is bound for Hell.