Hellbound: How to watch and what to know about this Netflix series
Looking for the next Squid Game? This South Korean horror series will rattle you in its own ways.
- Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year" award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Season 1 of Hellbound is now on Netflix.
Want to watch an unnerving, well-reviewed South Korean horror series that surprised many by its intense and immediate popularity on Netflix? Believe it or not, we aren't talking about Squid Game.
Hellbound, which arrived on Netflix on Nov. 19, is the streaming service's new darling. Here's what you need to know.
Warning: Some plot spoilers ahead.
What's Hellbound about?
In an alternate reality version of Earth, South Koreans are told the exact time they will die and that they are condemned to hell. Then the decrees come true, both horribly and violently.
Early episodes focus on Jin Kyeong-hoon (played by Yang Ik-june), the police detective assigned to investigate these creepy murders, which seem to have a connection to a cult called the New Truth Society run by Jeong Jin-soo (Yoo Ah-in). The detective's own daughter, Jin Hee-jeong (Lee Re) is involved with the cult.
Later episodes focus on a production director named Bae Young-jae (played by Park Jeong-min) and his newborn baby, who is apparently hellbound. But since the people previously condemned to hell have been declared sinners and criminals, how can a newborn fit the bill?
How to watch Hellbound
You're going to need Netflix to tune in to the six-episode series. (Read more about Netflix and how to get it here.) Hellbound is a Netflix original drama, made in South Korea but dubbed into English.
Warning: It's very violent and disturbing -- maybe more so than Squid Game, where the violence somehow felt less personal. This trailer gives you a sense of the show's shock level.
How to read the Hellbound comic
Hellbound began as a webtoon, or a digital comic. You can read the first six parts for free on Webtoon.com -- just head over to this link. It's not exactly the same as the show, but it's pretty close, so if you prefer not to be spoiled for anything in the streaming version, don't read the comic until you've watched the show.
Will there be a season 2 of Hellbound?
It seems very likely, but show creator Yeon Sang-ho (who directed Korean zombie movie Train to Busan, which starred Squid Game's Gong Yoo) told Variety that nothing is confirmed yet.
"Because Hellbound is based on the original webtoons, my partner Choi Kyu-Seok and I have decided that the story afterwards will be told first through the webtoon and, as for whether we would want to turn that into another live-action series, that's something that we will need further discussion on," he told Variety.
We'll keep an eye on any second season plans and keep you updated.
