Parasyte: The Grey Review: Cocktail of Horror, Science Fiction and Extreme Violence
Cast: Jeon So-nee, Koo Kyo-hwan, Lee Jung-hyun, Kim In-kwon
Created By: Yeon Sang-ho
Streaming Platform: Netflix
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3.5/5 (three and a half stars)
Netflix continues the successful wave of manga and webtoon transpositions with Parasyte: The Grey, a series based on the cult manga by Hitoshi Iwaaki. The new Netflix series is the typical horror story that is so successful both on the printed page and on the small screen: between disgusting transformations, violence, and all-out blood, the story created by Iwaaki (which is modified but remains unchanged) is an engaging mix of action, drama, and horror. Over time, interesting themes also come to light, particularly an unexpected ecological discourse that sees humans as parasites who condemn the planet to extinction. The “human parasites” are contrasted with real parasites. This species appears from nowhere feeds on human brains and takes total control of the host individual (endowing it with disgusting and incredible abilities). The sole aim of the new arrivals is to survive, and there seems to be no middle ground: to exterminate or be exterminated.
As we will see in this review of Parasyte: The Grey, different factions are created right from the start: on the one hand, we have the soldiers willing to do anything to exterminate the invaders, on the other the creatures with mysterious origins who try to impose themselves and finally there ‘is a girl, whose body has changed due to the presence of the parasite and now their consciences coexist. Who will have won? Which of the species will be exterminated? The first thing that stands out about Parasyte: The Grays is that it is not created under the same structure as other live-action adaptations, since it does not follow the original material to the letter. Yeon Sang-ho, director of Train to Busan, one of the most acclaimed zombie fiction in the history of cinema, collects the pages and vignettes of Hitoshi Iwaaki to move away from the story of Shinichi Izumi, the high school student who starts the work inspired and referenced by Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Don Siegel’s classic. Yeon Sang-ho thus unleashes a story parallel to that popular manga with a basis of horror and genre cinema, focusing his script on an elite force, The Greys, whose objective is to end the invasion. alien that is taking place in South Korea.
Parasyte: The Grey Review: The Story Plot
One day, suddenly, a strange species of parasites falls on Earth, in different places. These insect-shaped parasites enter the human body and, after eating the host’s brain, take control of it. In Korea, the first parasites find themselves in the middle of a concert and exterminate dozens and dozens of unfortunate people. From that moment on, a special team was established with the sole task of exterminating the parasites, a military team led by Jun-kyung (Lee Jung-Hyun). But what is the purpose of these beings who came from who knows where? Survive and feed, on human flesh. They can be killed if hit badly enough (especially with firearms) and are easily recognizable, contaminated individuals being completely expressionless. The big problem is that they are really difficult to exterminate because when they take control of a body they transform it into a real weapon of war: fleshy membranes that become blades, clubs, or even wings, all gathered around the monster’s head.
At the same time, we also meet Su-in (Jeon So-nee), a young woman with a tormented past who, after being attacked by a madman, is “involuntarily” saved by a parasite. The parasite that finds her dying, treats her wounds but is unable to take control of her brain, and is thus forced to live with her. The parasite inside Su-in can transform at will, but not for long, without the girl remembering anything of what happens when the monster’s consciousness takes over. Su-in becomes a target both for Jun-kyung’s special team and for the parasites, who are organizing themselves to exterminate the human race in an increasingly efficient way. Helping her, however, are Kang-woo (Koo Kyo-hwan), a delinquent willing to do anything to avenge his sisters killed by parasites, and a kind policeman (Chul-min) who helped her when she was a child. How does Su-in fit into this battle between forces, mankind, and monsters? The young woman could be the key to a completely different future for our planet…
Parasyte: The Grey Review and Analysis
Combining the classic Hollywood police investigation about a series of murders and disappearances, Yeon Sang-ho erects a live-action full of references postulated as highly recommended fiction within the abundant Netflix catalog. With a total of six episodes in total in its first season, the work has good technical and visual workmanship and captivating characters who manage to engage thanks to their peculiar and particular stories, which gradually become intertwined as the story progresses. In feature films like Train to Busan, Peninsula or Seoul Station, Sang-ho has already shown that he has a special way of giving his fiction an admirable rhythm and Parasyte: The Grey once again shows off that ability as part of the South Korean filmmaker with a succession of agile and well-conducted sequences, turning this first season into a breeze.
Being able to have a filmmaker with such an identity and authorial seal at a time when the film industry seems to have given up on great directors in favor of the excesses of the mainstream and the formulas for success, is without a doubt one of the best points and keys of Parasyte: The Grey. Beyond the success of this distancing due to the material already seen and known for more than a decade, the carte blanche that Yeon Sang-ho has received from Netflix has been a vital factor for the new live-action production of the company can, at least, stand on its own without making constant comparisons with the films, for example, of Takashi Yamazaki. You must keep in mind that Parasyte: The Grey is not a completely faithful adaptation of either the manga or the anime created by Hitoshi Iwaaki. Given this small detail, how can it still do justice to the source material?
To do this, those responsible for the series, including the director of ‘Train to Busán’, use a careful visual aspect, dialogues that delve into the consequences of the arrival of the Parasites and characters who, although they usually fall into the melodrama, they are also interesting. Without ever being as complex as the starting manga-anime, Parasyte: The Grey condenses into 6 hours of an interesting horror and science fiction story reminiscent of ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’. Although ‘Parasites’ was already violent and extreme, Parasyte: The Grey takes everything to the extreme, this being its main strong point and Achilles heel at the same time. On the one hand, this excessive violence and gore work perfectly in Korean productions, especially if you have Yeon Sang-ho, director of ‘Train to Busan’. Impossible sequences that transform into authentic paintings of the grotesque. On the other hand, it is a handicap because in many cases there is cheap CGI that can take us out of context. Especially in close-ups, where the animation is not perfectly integrated on the screen.
Finally, I am not going to deceive you. Being quite independent of the manga-anime, ‘Parasites’ was characterized by the psychological depth of both its characters and their conflict. And Parasyte: The Grey is committed to rewriting its lore to adapt it to a broader audience. This results in chapters that are more boring than others, especially those that function as a transition. The positive thing is that since it is a season of only 6 episodes, this defect does not extend too much. As we anticipated at the beginning, Parasyte: The Grey is one of those stories that immediately strikes you for how it manages to mix horror, action, and human drama: the viewer is immediately involved in the narrative, which develops through twists and turns moments of very high tension. The numerous characters are interesting and well-developed and provide numerous facets to the struggle for survival involving both humans and parasites. We, like them, arrived on this planet with the same motivation, to continue living, it’s a shame that we too, as a human race, have turned into real parasites for the world in which we live. Are we really that different from the monsters that invaded us?
The Korean series, as we are used to with most of the products available on the platform coming from this country, is a product made with a great expenditure of resources. The special effects – which have to be used to great lengths given the multi-faceted appearance of the creatures – are convincing and don’t fall into too much of a trap. The direction is capable of building the right atmosphere for a story of this type and the action scenes are very well orchestrated. From the point of view of the screenplay, however, the story sometimes seems to flow a little too quickly, taking certain fundamental passages on the nature and objectives of the parasites for granted, as if previous knowledge of the manga was taken for granted.
Parasyte: The Grey Review: The Last Words
Parasyte: The Grey is a science fiction and horror series with a wide range of possibilities. Sometimes it remains at half throttle, and sometimes it greatly exceeds expectations. However, the final result is more than positive, exceeding expectations and becoming a very good adaptation of Hitoshi Iwaaki’s manga-anime, with plenty of creative liberties and licenses. Parasyte: The Grey is another yes for Netflix, but also another great product from Yeon Sang-ho. We are not facing any revolutionary series nor are we facing one of the most notable series in the horror, thriller, or suspense genre. But the project correctly combines its ingredients, giving rise to an enjoyable story that also serves as an expansion of what Hitoshi Iwaaki signed. Even with its occasional defects regarding its special effects, let the live-action party continue along this path.
Parasyte: The Grey Review: Cocktail of Horror, Science Fiction and Extreme Violence - Filmyhype
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Date Created: 2024-04-05 18:39
3.5
Pros
- The story is immediately engaging
- The plot is unique and interesting
- The characters are well constructed
- The atmosphere is tense at the right point
Cons
- The narrative at times flows too quickly, skipping important passages
