Sweet Home (Korean: 스위트홈) is a 2020 South Korean apocalyptic horror television series starring Song Kang, Lee Jin-wook, and Lee Si-young. It is based on the Naver webtoon of the same name by Kim Carnby and Hwang Young-chan, which recorded over 2.1 billion net views.
The first season was released on Netflix on December 18, 2020. The second season was released on December 1, 2023. The third and final season was released on July 19, 2024.
Synopsis
Season 1
After an unexpected tragedy kills his entire family and leaves him as the only survivor, Cha Hyun-su leaves his family home and relocates into the run down apartment complex known as Green Home. One night, horrific monsters begin appearing and ravage the city. Hyun-su and some of his fellow residents band together within the confines of the complex and must fight for their survival against the new, otherworldly threat, while others from the apartment turn into monsters based on the things they desire. Hyun-su starts having monster symptoms and develops the ability to turn into a winged monster whenever he desires.
Season 2
The survivors of Green Home venture out into the ruined world beyond its walls. Meanwhile, governmental bodies and scientific institutions continue in their efforts to study the monsters, hoping to find a cure.
Season 3
The survivors continue to face new threats and challenges as they explore deeper into the characters' backgrounds and the origins of the monsters. Cha Hyun-su grapples with his monstrous transformation abilities, playing a pivotal role in defending the survivors and uncovering the mysteries behind the monstrous outbreaks. New and more dangerous monster types are introduced, including human-like creatures emerging from cocoons. Yi-kyung's child, possessing special powers, becomes a significant part of the story. Lee Eun-hyuk returns as a transformed monster, posing a serious threat to the remaining survivors. Efforts by governmental and scientific bodies to understand and possibly cure the monstrous transformations continue, adding another layer of intrigue and hope for the characters.
Cast
Seasons 1–3
Season 1
- Lee Do-hyun as Lee Eun-hyuk, Eun-yu's adoptive older brother and a former medical student. Leading with a composed mind and logical decisions, he becomes the de facto leader of the residents, though many view him as cold and distant.
- Kim Nam-hee as Jung Jae-heon, a Korean-language teacher and devout Christian armed with a jingum, a traditional Korean sword, to protect himself and others. He struggles with alcoholism, relapsing due to the events unfolding in the series.
- Kim Sang-ho as Han Du-sik, Hyun-su's disabled neighbor and a skilled blacksmith who supplies the residents with weapons and defenses.
- Kim Hyun as An Seon-yeong, Suk-hyun's timid but kindhearted wife.
- Woo Hyun as Kim Suk-hyun, a convenience store owner notorious for his short temper and abusive treatment of his wife.
- Go Youn-jung as Park Yu-ri, Gil-seob's caregiver who has medical training and asthma.
- Kim Kap-soo as An Gil-seob, a terminally-ill senior living with his caregiver Yu-ri. He serves as an inspiration to others, having surpassed the life expectancy of his unnamed disease.
- Lim Soo-hyung as No Byeong-il, a humorous resident and friend of Suk-hyun.
- Lee Bong-ryun as Im Myung-sook, a resident who lost her infant daughter after her stroller rolled away and collided with a truck.
- Go Geon-han as Choi Yoon-jae, a resident who is viciously hunted by Sang-wook throughout the series.
- Kim Sung-cheol as Jung Ui-myeong's first human guise, whose body once belonged to a scientist before Ui-myeong killed him and assumed his form.
- Ahn Dong-goo as Lee Su-ung, a young military soldier living in Green Home
- Park Jin-soo as Park Min-joo
- Jeong Ha-dam as Kim Ji-eun, Hye-in's neighbor and friend
- Kim Ji-eun as Han Yu-jin, a military sergeant
- Lee Ji-ha as Moon Hyeon-suk, Hyun-su's mother
- Kim Yi-kyung as Cha Soo-ah, Hyun-su's younger sister
- Lee Ki-hyuk as Hwang Seung-jae, the arsonist behind the fire that killed Sang-wook's father and left Sang-wook with burn scars.
- Yoon Ji-on as Hae-rang, Yoon Ji-su's deceased boyfriend
- Ham Sung-min as Park Ju-yeong, Hyun-su's classmate and fellow victim of bullying
- Park Ah-in as the Hyun-su's unnamed neighbor, who transforms into the "glutton" monster.
- Dane DiLiegro as the "Protein" Monster
Season 2
- Yu Oh-seong as Master Sergeant Tak In-hwan, leader of the Special Forces and the commander of the Guard Corps, also known as "Crow Platoon".
- Oh Jung-se as Dr. Lim, a researcher of vaccines.
- Kim Mu-yeol as Sergeant First Class Kim Young-hoo, a UDT/SEAL, and the second-in-command of the Guard Corps.
- Jung Jin-young as Private Park Chan-young, a soldier in the Guard Corps.
- Kim Shin-rok as Chief Ji, the general manager of facility management.
- Kim Dong-young as Oh Jun-il, a new stadium resident.
- Yoon Se-ah as Bong Seon-hwa
- Byun Jung-hee as Oh Jun-il's mother
- Yang Hye-ji as Jung Ye-seul, Chief Ji's daughter.
- Kim Si-a as Seo Yi-kyung's mutant child
- Ki So-yu as the young version of Seo Yi-kyung's mutant child.
- Hyun Bong-sik as Wang Ho-sang, a street survivor, with a shotgun.
- Chae Won-bin as Ha-ni, a street survivor with Wang Ho-sang.
- Kim Jung-woo as Father Peter
- Hong Su-zu as Jin-a
- Jung Suk-won as Gunnery Sergeant Min Seo-jin, a Marine Recon in the Guard Corps.
- Yook Jun-seo as Staff Sergeant Bang Jin-ho, a Special Forces soldier in the Guard Corps.
- Heo Nam-jun as Staff Sergeant Kang Seok-chan, a UDT/SEAL in the Guard Corps.
- Jeong Jong-hyun as Staff Sergeant Jeong Jong-hyun, a UDT/SEAL in the Guard Corps.
Episodes
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Production
Development
Director Lee Eung-bok "roughly" knew the ending of the Line Webtoon on which the series is based before the webtoon's finale in July 2020, though he decided to "differ a bit from the webtoon because [they're] showing on different platforms." Ultimately, the live-action adaptation deviates dramatically from the original.
The series spent most of its budget, with each episode costing ₩3 billion. Choreographer Kim Seol-jin and contortionist Troy James were chosen to record the monsters' movements through motion capture.
Casting
Although filming had already started, Netflix officially announced the series' lineup on December 18, 2019, with Song Kang, Lee Jin-wook and Lee Si-young in lead roles, and Lee Do-hyun, Kim Nam-hee, Go Min-si, Park Gyu-young, Go Youn-jung, Kim Kap-soo and Kim Sang-ho as part of the ensemble cast.
Lee Eung-bok revealed that, during Song Kang's audition, the actor reminded him of Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands: "an image of someone who has a pure and innocent soul but is holding a spear in his hand." The actor was recommended to Lee Eung-bok by the director of Netflix's Love Alarm which propelled him to fame in August 2019. Lee Si-young's character does not appear in the original webtoon but the director "wanted to add a female character who can pull off really cool action scenes"; the actress being a former amateur boxer. She trained for six months prior to filming the series. Park Gyu-young admitted that she did not have high hopes about being picked for the series but "as soon as [she] left the audition set, the director called [her] and said to leave with a script."
In September 2022, actress Bibi withdrew from filming due to timing and filming schedules, and an actress replaced her role.
Filming
Principal photography began in September 2019 and filming was completed in February 2020.
Visual effects
Designers from Legacy Effects, VFX Studio Westworld and Spectral Motion, who worked on films such as the Avengers and Avatar as well as the television series Game of Thrones and Stranger Things, were recruited for Sweet Home.
Release
On November 18, 2020, Netflix released a trailer for the series announcing that Sweet Home would premiere on December 18. In June 2022, the series was picked up for two additional seasons.
Reception
Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 83% based on 6 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The second season has an approval rating of 80% based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10.
Kavya Christopher of The Times of India gave a rating of 4/5 and said, "One does not need to be a lover of the horror genre to enjoy this series, thanks to the many underlying plots of the various characters – both big and small. The action is superb, to say the least, and the drama is endearing at various levels."
Joel Keller of Decider said that "despite its flaws and a premise we've seen before, Sweet Home distinguishes itself by its setting and its monsters. We will see if the drama between the survivors will keep us watching."
Pierce Conran of South China Morning Post gave a rating of 3/5, saying that "despite a breathless opening episode and some grisly fun throughout, Sweet Home does not provide much of a story for viewers to get hooked on."
In another mixed review, Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting said that "what sprints out of the gate and sets up an exciting creature-filled horror series quickly comes to a slow crawl zombie apocalypse that we've seen many times before. It just swaps out the zombies for monsters."
Viewership
Sweet Home was the first South Korean series to enter Netflix's Top 10 in the United States, reaching as high as third. Three days after its release, the series ranked first in 8 regions and was within the Top 10 in 42 regions. The show was viewed by 22 million paid subscribers worldwide in the first 4 weeks of its release and appeared in the Netflix top 10 in more than 70 countries.
It was praised by viewers for its "high-quality visual effects" and "the deep human connections among the characters." However, many criticized the soundtrack which they believe did not fit with the story, as well as the lack of monsters in the latter episodes of the season. On this, director Lee Eung-bok said that "[he] know[s] some of the viewers were anticipating more gore, but [he] hope[s] they will understand why monsters were absent from some parts of our drama."
Awards and nominations
References
External links
- Sweet Home on Netflix
- Sweet Home at IMDb
- Sweet Home at HanCinema
- Sweet Home 2 at HanCinema
- Sweet Home 3 at HanCinema
- Sweet Home at Naver Webtoon (in Korean)
- Sweet Home at Naver Webtoon
