A disease or a curse? Humans are put to a test as a strange occurrence turns people to monsters.

Sweet Home takes its viewers to a thrilling experience as they watch a group of people fight their way for survival. In this dystopian setting, humankind faces a tough challenge as someone they know either die by the hands of the monsters or become one.

Sweet Home

Title: Sweet Home
Network: Netflix
Length: 10 episodes
Broadcast date: 18 December 2020
Cast: Song Kang | Lee Jin Wook | Lee Si Young | Lee Do Hyun | Kim Nam Hee | Go Min Si | Park Gu Young | Ko Yoon Jung | Kim Kap Soo | Kim Sang Ho
Highlights: Superb Cinematography and Visual Effects | Great Depiction of Humanity | Absorbing Narrative
Overall ratings:
Re-watch value: 
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The ensemble cast featuring Song Kang, Lee Jin Wook, Lee Si Young, Kim Nam Hee and Lee Do Hyun among others, gave faces to ordinary people confronted with a seemingly unsurmountable task. They breathed life to characters whose main goal is to survive in a world where deadly creatures abound.

Remarkable Moment(s) *warning spoilers ahead*

Monster Neighbor (Episode 1)

Holed up in his room, Cha Hyun Su (Song Kang) spends his days playing and eating ramyeon.  A boxed of ramyeon arrives at his door and upon retrieving the delivery, he sees the box open. Its contents scattered on the floor pointing towards a direction. Hyun Su follows the line and gets shocked upon seeing tons of blood on the floor and the head of his neighbor’s cat. A hand snatches the cat’s head and Hyun Su runs back to his apartment. Moments later, his neighbor, looking distraught rings his doorbell asking for help.

Hyun Su answers the telecom and tells the woman he will call the building’s admin for help which upsets the neighbor. He witnesses the neighbor slowly changed into something, while demanding entry to his apartment. A sound of guitar playing distracts the woman and leaves Hyun Su’s front door.

Hyun Su’s encounter with the eyeless and one-eyed monsters (Episode 2 and 3)

The country is placed in a State of emergency and Green Home tenants are in shock as the President displays symptoms while addressing the nation. Military officials shoot him on the spot, as citizens watch the horrifying event unfold on national television. While some residents of Green Home gather on the first floor, Hyun Su remains at his apartment. He tries to retrieve his box of ramyeon but when he opens the door, a monster with no eyes appear before him. He manages to evade discovery as the monster with sharp hearing gets distracted by PA system.

A while later, he hears someone below his unit trying to venture outside. The dad promises his kids he will come back but a one-eyed monster causes his fall. The scared kids cry for help and Hyun Su, unable to dismiss their call, drops a monitor from his window, turning the monster’s attention to him. As the monster grips Hyun Su, someone shot at the monster.

The monster within Hyun Su (Episode 3)

Hyun Su and the guy who saved him meet up and he is surprised to see the man from 1408 on a wheelchair. Han Du Sik (Kim Sang Ho) devises a plan for them to rescue the kids. On his way, he once again encounters the same monster but fortunately he is also able to escape it. He manages to reach the kids unharmed and tells them he is there to rescue them.

On their way out, Hyun Su hears someone speaks and his scars started to vibrate. He has a nosebleed once again while the siblings, Kim Su Yeong and Kim Yeong Su look on. He warns the kids to stay away from him and shuts the door. Inside the monster mocks him as Hun Su struggles.

Cha Jin Ok watches as a monster kills her daughter (Episode 3)

The kids continue to ask if something is wrong when a huge monster forcibly opened the door, pining Hyun Su beneath it. As the monster tries to reach for the children, Hyun Su, with his black eyes, holds on to the monster’s foot telling the kids to run away. With the help of Jung Jae Heon (Kim Nam Hee), Yoon Ji Su (Park Gyu Young) and Im Myung Sook (Lee Bong Run), the siblings safely arrive in Room 1408.

Meanwhile, on the first floor, Cha Jin Ok insists that her daughter is coming so she tries to remove the barricade. They all see Min Ju running towards the Green Home entrance but falls down. The residents hold Jin Ok to prevent her from going outside. Soldier Lee Su Ung jumps out to meet Min Ju but a monster is lurking, killing both of them.

The residents discover Cha Hyun Su is infected (Episode 4)

After falling down from the ninth floor and having no consciousness in three hours, Hyun Su wakes up to find himself with Lee Eun Yu (Go Min Si). The residents are afraid of Hyun Su and some wants him to leave their group. Lee Eun Hyeok (Lee Do Hyun) suggests that the cast a vote to decide whether Hyun Su stays or not. The votes letting Hyun Su stay won and Eun Hyeok wants Hyun Su to get the man from 1408 to help fortify the first-floor barricades.

That heart-wrenching elevator scene (Episode 8)

Jae Hoon confesses his feelings to Ji Su and tells her it is his will not God’s. However, the security guy, now a monster rides the elevator down to the first floor as Hyun Su and Pyeon Sang Wook (Lee Jin Wook) fight off a monster.

With no other choice, and despite his injury, Jae Hoon fights the Security Guy. As the other residents watch, he manages to push the monster and himself inside the elevator. He continues to stab him with his broken sword and shouts for Kang Seung Wan to throw the Molotov cocktail into them. Seung Wan hesitates and Eun Hyeok grabs and eventually throws it in. The flame immediately engulfs Jae Hoon and the Security guard while Hyun Su and the others look on helplessly.

“It’s not your fault.” (Episode 10)

Han Du Sik isolates himself with the rest of the group after they fought off the mercenary group as he starts to display symptoms. Inside his apartment he only wishes to save the kids and the others but tells himself that he fails. Meanwhile, Ui Myeong prevents Sang Wook and Yu Ri from going out, causing the fall out between him and Hyun Su. They fight each other and just as Ui Myeong seems to have the upper hand, the monster within Hyun Su manifests itself.

He quickly turns the table and defeats Ui Myeong. Out of control, Hyun Su staggers forward, making his way to the other tenants. As he is about to strike, Du Sik, already turned, embraces him and tells him it is not his fault. The monster in Hyun Su continues to show its force, drilling into Han Du Sik. But he continues to hold him, saying the same words all over again. Hyun Su eventually calms down and regains control, but Du Sik already lost his life.

Sweet Home Highlights

Eye-catching cinematography and visual effects

Sweet Home not only boasts of excellent acting from its cast, it also reels in viewers with its cinematography. The details in every scene highlighted the emotions and conflicts, making the entire watch fully immersive.

A fair warning to those who gets queasy about blood and other gory sights, because the nosebleeds (which is basically in every episode) may be too much to handle. The cinematography and visual effects are so top notched that everything in it seem so real.

Just Portrayal of Human Attributes

The residents of Green Home are representations of ordinary people facing the toughest challenge of their lives. Each character has a story and motivation of their own, that you can’t help but hate, sympathize with or root for them.

Humans in any given situation have different reactions even if they go through the same problem. The Green Home tenants only have one goal in mind and that is to survive. With so much little information about what is going on, the fear and panic creep in. With it comes the hatred, prejudice and selfness. However, given the time to ponder, we saw the residents came to terms that their safety and survival depend on each other. This realization, despite losing people along the way, indeed help them survive their toughest ordeal.

Gripping Narrative

As the origin of the occurrence remains vague, the series focused on the characters and their struggles. It is fascinating to see how these people cope with the situation they are all in. The way each character is presented together with their story makes you understand where they are coming from. The gut-wrenching and tear-jerking scenes are explicitly written in a way that would ensure you feel the emotions in those moments.

Watching the story unfolds and seeing the characters band together to survive a seemingly impossible situation resonate so much. It just hit you with the fact that no matter what happens, we will find a way to survive.

Sweet Home Series Afterthoughts

Sweet Home did not shy away in depicting aspects of humanity we are not to be proud of. The situation is dire and Green Home residents are desperate. They grapple to understand their current situation. The information they eagerly want to know is not readily available to them.  With the lack of knowledge, people started getting scared. When humans are frightened, we tend to do awful things.

It is not justifiable to be mean and heartless or be selfish while in distress, however, it is understandable. When our backs are pushed against the wall, our initial reaction is to put ourselves first. The characters in Sweet Home did the same and you can’t fault them for that. As humans we get to experience highs and lows in our lives. We make mistakes but what matters is we learn from it and we try to do better.

Balancing out the worst deeds are the best moments humanity has to offer. There are people who looks scary on the outside, but it does not mean they are bad people. Most often than not, they are the ones who step up when the need arises. It is true that there are selfish people out there, however, there are also selfless human beings. Not because they don’t have anything to live for, but rather they see their sacrifice as the meaning of their existence. It does take courage to lay your life on the line for people you barely knew.

I love how the drama played on the idea that the kind of monster you turn into is based on your desire. The drama also reinforce the fact that humans are a lot more frightening than monsters, because we have the free will to choose. Most of our actions and reactions come from the choices we made. We get to choose how to live and treat people the way we want to.

While the overall theme of Sweet Home is dark and desolate, it still raises hope that things for the human race always get better. We may find ourselves in the darkest of hour or at the lowest point in our lives, but at the end of the day, it is our choices that lead the way on how we move forward.

Images and Screengrab from Netflix