TIFF 2021: Hellbound Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

Hellbound is attractive for several reasons, but the most important among these is that acclaimed director Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan, Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula) serves as showrunner for the series which immediately elevates it to a certain atmosphere of drama and intrigue. And yet, despite a fascinating premise, iconic showrunner, and well-rounded cast, the series quickly becomes entangled within its own questions of morality so much so it allows the most interesting part of its narrative to be pushed to the margins and away from what viewers will flock to see.

Adapted from a webtoon by Yeon Sang-ho titled, The Hell, Hellbound focuses on a nation rocked to its core by the emergence of demons that notify targeted citizens that they have so many days to live until they are dragged to Hell for the lives they have lived while on Earth. This kickstarts a race against these decrees to better understand why certain “sinners” are being killed above others. These questions fuel a societal inquisition into the lives of those that have been marked for death and gives way to a deeper religious discussion from emerging religious sects such as The New Truth that are thriving off of the mass panic and use it as a recruitment tool. This is further emphasized as, Jin Kyung-hoon (Ik-joon Yang), a police detective investigating the mysterious murders, and his daughter, Jin Hee-Jeong (Re Lee), are both swept up with The New Truth for very different reasons.

As the narrative unfolds (the first three were screened for TIFF), it begins to move away from the actual demons, instead spending the majority of its time wanting to explore each side of the religious argument of free will vs. determinism. While there is an important foundation to the story that revolves around this argument all forward momentum is lost when the series pivots to examine these focal points to the extent where it struggles to get back on form. As previously mentioned, this should not be the case with the pedigree of creativeness that surrounds this project, however, the introspective analysis of characters struggling with themes of forgiveness and piousness are not as interesting as the creators perceive when weighed against supernatural beings from Hell selecting certain humans to die and then brutally dragging them back to Hell. It is apparent what Hellbound is trying to accomplish but it feels imbalanced in its approach and execution.

Hellbound can be entertaining for some but for most, it feels like a missed opportunity to bring to life what began as an animated online short to the live-action space. It has its moments of intensity and surprise early on, however, it quickly drifts away from these in favor of a more grounded philosophical story that does little to make the similar impact of the series’ opening moments.

still courtesy of TIFF

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