What It Concerns
A new live-action series called Parasyte: The Grey is co-written and directed by Yeon Sang-ho, a director who shot to stardom with his masterwork on zombies, Train to Busan. Since then, it appears that Yeon Sang-ho has been searching for his next great thing. This time, he has opted to use all the resources available to the South Korean entertainment industry to adapt the seinen manga, Parasyte, written and illustrated by Hitoshi Iwaaki. As a result, the series is asymmetrical, featuring both high and low points.
Jodie Foster, Christopher Eccleston, Finn Bennett, John Hawkes, Fiona Shaw, and Kali Reis in the cast
Put forth by Hitoshi Iwaaki3
Yeon Sang-ho is the director.
Netflix is the streaming service.
Korean language (with subtitles)
Six episodes totaling around an hour in length.
Evaluation of the Script
While Parasyte: The Grey’s plot mostly adheres to the original manga, significant modifications are made to give the narrative a unique feel. The protagonist’s gender has been switched for once, and the high school setting that served as the original series‘ setting has been replaced with a more mature lead and a gritty setting—that of a low-wage worker. Here, Yeon Sang-ho modifies the original perfective entirely by selecting Jeong Su-ni as his protagonist.
There are moments when the writing seems a little sloppy, particularly in the handling of character interactions and expositions. The live-action adaptation of the story should have done a better job of avoiding the cartoon vibe, as it causes the characters to behave in peculiar ways. The actors in the show are excellent, but for some reason, their interactions with one another never felt quite right, and it frequently distracted me from the story. To be honest, writing isn’t the main problem here; direction is perhaps more important.
Star-Studded Performance
Yeon Sang-ho knows the story is about the hero and his parasite, so he chooses Jeon So-nee as his leading lady, and she kills it in a role that demands a lot not only from him but from himself and his actions. strange things, but at the same time the people around them seem to have vanished. So-nee’s take on the dynamics feels authentic, and even though she gives some pretty surprising performances at times, she feels at home in the role she’s in.
Koo Kyo-hwan and Lee Jung-hyun also play important roles in a secret society fighting against these strange parasites coming from the sky. In all other episodes, the two actors would play the good guys of the story, but as we have Su-ni’s thoughts in everything else, their roles become increasingly gray, to say the least. The power between each other and the dynamic their characters share with Su-ni is interesting and fun to watch.
What Is Ineffective
Parasyte: Green knows that the series needs a good level of presentation to adapt this story into live action, and he delivers just that. The cinematography is dark and eerie and fits the mood and content of the show. Meanwhile, the director knows when to rush and when to have quiet moments to allow for clear and transparent character development.
But it would be wrong to say that this is Yeon Sang-ho’s best work, or that the visual effects of this show are the best. Overall, the direction and overall design of the game are good but not great, and I felt like an opportunity to be scary and effective was missed at times. Some of the fight scenes look great, and the camerawork works hard to make everything seem urgent, but the show needs a bigger budget to make everything look and beyond.
Final Words
Parasyte: The Grey is unquestionably not Yeon Sang-ho’s best work, and it looks like it will be difficult to duplicate the success the director found with Train to Busan. Nevertheless, the end product is a series that, despite being uneven in several narrative and technical aspects, is still enjoyable to watch and encourages many people to read the original manga, which is the best way to experience this tale.
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