GENRE: This drama is a full package psychological thriller - one that focuses on psychological narratives in a thriller setting. Acting, writing, directing, cinematography and music all monstrously good. One is totally missing something if one just thinks it's a mere crime-solving / detective / find-the-culprit drama. Beyond Evil tells the story of the pain, sorrow and wounds of the families and friends of the victims who are left behind. Its key message is to bring out how the selfishness of one person could have a knock-on effect to turn everyone into a monster, how one mistake can grow into multiple bigger ones which inflict pain on people, as they find ways to cover things up (hence the title "monster" - the name of the drama in Korean, "gwemul", means "monster" literally. "Beyond Evil" is the official name of this drama in English). It also explores various issues like the loopholes and injustice of the legal system, and "necessary evil".
STARTING: It is one of those rare dramas that lingers long after it's ended. The first few episodes are slow-burning, focus on setting the scenes, laying the leads meticulously (so if you re-watch the first few episodes after finishing the whole series, you will find that all the dots are amazingly connected).
ACTING: The chemistry between Shin Ha Kyun and Yeo Jin Goo is no joke. The intense gazes, "hate-to-heal" dynamics just keep you on the edge of your seat! Shin Ha Kyun won the best actor award for his role in Baeksang Arts Award and Yeo Jin Goo, who is just 23-year-old now, is critically acclaimed for his mature performance in the drama. Han Ju Won played by Yeo Jin Goo is a complex character - someone who appears calm and cold about everything on the surface, someone who has a somewhat broken childhood, who holds up to his belief in justice, who is extremely startled but not shaken when the truth is unraveled. Yeo Jin Goo, who has been an actor for over 15 years despite his young age, shows you the change and growth in Han Ju Won with his excellent and natural acting. There is a heavy use of close-up shots - the director explained it is to show the subtle changes in gazes and micro-expressions of the actors/actresses such that various subtexts could be understood by viewers even they are not explicitly depicted by way of dialogues.
SCRIPT: Even though the "main dish" of the drama is the deeper psychological narratives, Beyond Evil delivers perfectly in the crime-solving side as well. There is a plot twist in basically every episode. But note that the twists are not unnecessary at all for the sake of creating suspense - every twist is meaningful and if you watch till the end you will marvel at how meticulously the dots are tied together so well. Even the seemingly "not-so-important" scenes embody certain subtexts! The amount of careful design is just breathtaking. Beyond Evil thrives so much on subtexts and deeper meanings which makes it so fun to watch.
DIRECTING: I usually prefer movies over dramas for the better cinematography (in general) but Beyond Evil really surprises me - excellent camera movement and mise-en-scène (roughly, the stage design and arrangement of actors). For example, in the scene where Han Ju Won learnt of something important, a train passed by at the backdrop quickly, as if Han Ju Won's complicated emotions were splashing out at that very moment. There are countless metaphors and stage-setting like this - one has to watch it to find them all out!
MUSIC: The OST just match very perfectly with the theme, from the song "That Night" which conveys loneliness and sadness to the instrumental background music designed for various scenes (especially the opening title - that's my favourite. To add, if you review the opening title after you have finished the whole drama, you will find a lot of clues and hints in it. Yes, this is how meticulous the whole production is!!!).
CONCLUSION: Beyond Evil is a masterpiece of acting, writing, directing, cinematography and music which carries very meaningful messages. It totally deserves the awards and positive reviews it got. I have watched it 3 times to date and every time I re-watch it, I find something new (either something I missed in my previous watching, or a metaphor/subtext that I come to realise a certain scene is getting at). It is definitely my "YOLO" drama and I would highly recommend it to you.
