Strangers from Hell: When You Don't Know You're Dead

I don't usually watch Korean tv shows.  They'll never show a gay character, and there is an annoying emphasis on boy-girl romance.  But I watched Strangers from Hell because it had an intriguing premise: a rundown hotel from which there is No Exit.

Prologue: Two men walk down a narrow hallway, red-lit, draped in darkness.  Very dark color palette, hard to see anything. The young, attractive Jong-u (Im Si Wan) narrates: "I thought the world I lived in was hell, but this place is the real hell."

Wait -- is he lying in the room with blood on his face?  Is he dead?

Scene 1: Jong-u rides a bus across, I assume, Seoul, gets out his stuff.  .A guy accidentally crashes into him, then walks off without a word.  He exclaims "My goodness!"  Really weird translation of a common Korean expletive.

The Girl calls to make sure he's gotten there ok, ans says "You don't sound well."  Uh-oh, he's dead.

Scene 2: Jong-u looks at residences (like dormitories, with single rooms and shared baths).  A nice one costs 550,000 won ($417) per month.  "My goodness!  That's too expensive!"  The next costs 450,000 won.  A crappy one costs 270,000 won.  "My goodness!  Still too expensive!"

Scene 3:  Finally he walks up a long, steep hill and then a long, steep staircase to the Eden Residence, where a cheerful "My goodness!"-spouting lady offers him a room for only 240,000.  The building is going to be torn down for redevelopment, so only a few residents are left, long-term, crazy. 

She leads him down the dark, red-lit, decrepit hall, past three residents: Surly Guy snaps at him; Staring Guy stares; Giggling Guy giggles maniacally.  Plus it's a horrible, dingy room, with filty walls.   "It's cheap because a resident committed suicide." My Goodness says.

You know, the other room was only about $20 per month more.  Why take this one?  Unless you already took it, and you're forced to live your horrible death over and over.

Scene 4: Up on the roof. Jong-u calls The Girl and asks to hang out, but she's busy with her boss's birthday party.  My Goodness appears and tells him to be careful, some of the floors are decrepit.  Ya think?

Scene 5: Jong-u tries to sleep in his horrible room, where he can hear the screams, moans, and arguments of the other residents.  He gives up and starts to write a story about a man with an "odd gait" and a maniacal laugh, who carries a plastic bag full of....dead cats?  Gross!

Scene 6: We switch to the Cat Guy -- is this still a story Jong-u is writing?  He meets and is threatened by his superior, who carries a sinister suitcase.   "You have to be more quiet at night."

After stealing some iced coffee, Cat Guy goes into the Eden residents, where My Goodness nags him for killing so many cats.  Then he talks to Staring Guy about how, if someone dies in the residence, no one will care.

Scene 7: Jong-o wakes up in the morning, and decides to explore.  He hears a noise from the off-limits Fourth Floor, and is about to investigate, when Cat Guy interrupts him, carrying a gun. "My Goodness!" he exclaims.  But Cat Guy isn't planning to shoot him; he's going off to get shot.

Scene 8: Two cops are investigating all the plastic bags full of dead cats that keep popping up all over the neighborhood.   They're worried because the last time, the dead cats were followed by dead people.

Scene 9: The lady cop goes to the dentist.  I don't know why, except to give the dentist the opportunity to say "My Goodness, your cavity looks bad."

The dentist, played by Lee-dong Wook  (left), is important to the plot.  He gets second billing.

Scene 10: Jong-o is having a beer with Jae-ho, his new boss (it's just an unpaid internship)  Out on the street, he sees two guys fighting and flashes back to a fight of his own, when he was in the army (all Korean men serve for 1 to 2 years after their 18th birthday).  So, is this how he died?

Jong-o intervenes.   Afterwards, Jae-ho wants to continue their drinking, but Jong-u excuses himself and leaves.

Scene 11: Back at the residence, he meets Laconic Guy, another resident, who tells him that they're all in a long tunnel from which there is no escape (ya think?).

He goes down to take a shower, and is completely shocked by the sight of Cat Guy showering. Cat Guy actually doesn't have a bad physique.

He cooks dinner -- ramen.  Surly Guy warns him about the other residents. They're all crazy.  Who knows what they are capable of?

Later, everyone congregates in the hall.  Staring Guy stares, Cat Guy giggles, and Surly Guy yells.    Jong-u is most upset over Staring Guy, and yells at him.  Narrating, he says "I shouldn't have done that."  We see that Staring Guy is holding a meat cleaver behind his back.

Scene 12: Jong-u is trying to sleep amid the screams and giggles and scuffling.  Staring Guy stands in front of his door, trying to decide whether to kill him.  Surly Guy plays with a knife of his own.

Scene 13: Jong-u gets up in the night.  Staring Guy is asking "Do you want me to kill you now, or what?"  He goes to Staring Guy's room, and gets stabbed.  His life flashes before his eyes.

Wait -- he wakes up in bed.  It was a dream.  Or a flashback to his death, which he's reliving over and over.

Out in the hall, Surly Guy is arguing with Cat Guy.  But then Cat Guy comes walking down the hall.  Huh?

Surly Guy is just as confused as I am.

Laconic Guy comes out of his room, and calms everyone down.

The end.

Beefcake: Jong-o and Cat Guy showering.  Most of the actors are quite hunky.

Other Sights:  Some of Seoul.

Gay Characters:  Probably not.  But no one expresses any heterosexual interest.  It's not even clear whether The Girl is Jong-u's girlfriend or sister.

Weirdness:  I have no idea what's going on.

Will I Continue Watching:  Probably not.