The Bequeathed (2024) User Reviews

Emotions clouding judgement

[dumsumdumfai · 7/10 · 12 February 2024]

This isn't a murder mystery or thriller. Nor is this a horror story about shamanism. All those are cover for a study on basic human emotions. With a few murders to fill in the blanks.

People are selfish, people can be greedy, people can hold a grudge and shape a lifetime of experience and impression. The harder question is why can't people change ? Is personality hard wired or is it how one's mind fixated/dwell to much on the past that we can't get out of its trap? Nature AND nuture.

There are two stories to show all this. First the burial ground inheritance between two siblings. Which is also interwoven with land dealings. Second is the history of two detectives.

In both cases, emotions clouds judgement, which limits or hinders communication, and builds walls.

You really must have patience on this one. It has not the usual comedic relief but tension, albeit a slow burning one.

Yet another unsatisfying Yeon Sang Ho creation

[sagelmoon · 7/10 · 19 January 2024]

Another web series written by Yeon Sang Ho. After binge watching the six episodes. I do think that Yeon Sang Ho needs to rediscover his spark while he is doing Train to Busan. It seems that he lose something that was not always present on his previous projects which were Hellbound, Jung E and this current project The Bequeathed. Honestly the plot and story was there, Great actors and all , but watching the series till the end was screaming THAT'S IT? I really hate to invest on a series that I expected to be great cause the material was really there but the execution was a let down. To be fair , the cinematic and sounds were all well executed but then it just not what i expected.

Is it worth watching? In my own opinion Yes, if you're a person who likes mystery and novel like psychological thriller series. But if you're not into slow pace thriller just go to the next kdrama.

A Convoluted Disappointment

[proxy-1004 · 5/10 · 25 January 2024]

As an avid fan of mystery films, I was very disappointed by this drama.

The dialogue is incredibly watered-down, lacks subtlety, and usually overexplains and oversimplifies. The deductions in the film and the motivation behind the criminals are often nonsensical. The murderer can only be found through sheer guesswork. The themes explored in the drama are either meaningless and used solely for shock-value or banal. And, much of the conflicts early on in the drama is completely forgotten or scrapped by the end. I.e., even this seemingly short 6 episode drama is flooded with useless fillers.

It's quite unfortunate because everything else beside this amateurish screenplay was surprisingly good: The actors were great, the music score was on point, and the cinematography was good. Had this been any other genre and it would have most likely been palatable, but as a mystery drama, which requires an intelligent screenplay, it was subpar.

Good Short Mystery "Book"

[Isle1970 · 20 January 2024]

I'm not sure I understand the criticism of this being a slow-burn series when it's only 6 episodes.

That said, this is a "thinking person's" / "mystery book loving person's" drama. If you're more into non-stop action, (nothing wrong with that), this might not be for you.

I thought it was well-paced, well told, superbly acted, and had a satisfying finish. Those are the ingredients for good storytelling through film.

I appreciated the director's choice to not fill up that time with extra flash or gore for excitement's sake.

I liked that even many of the peripheral characters had quite memorable moments.

I liked that the story, while having a lot of cultural elements unique to Korea, still manages to be sadly believable and relatable about how far things can go astray given the occasional perfect storm of unfortunate events that sometimes happen in life.

Without giving anything away, the part pertaining to DNA was hard for me to follow at first. So I also appreciated that the story continued to make things clear in a manner which flowed naturally. In other words, I wasn't spoon-fed, but neither was I left hanging. It's nice to be treated as an adult as a viewer.

Totally recommend and totally would watch again.

Though thrilling, yet couldn't connect much

[UmeshAditya · 6/10 · 23 January 2024]

Another new Korean series! Short n crisp thriller of 6 episodes. A limited series n story ends within one season. Story revolves around a lady who unexpectedly gets her ancestral property post her uncle's death whom she was never in contact n the problems revolving around it. There is definitely good thrilling elements but somehow I couldn't like it n connect to it much though, not sure why. Available in Netflix with Hindi dubbed. My ratings 6/10!

Another new Korean series! Short n crisp thriller of 6 episodes. A limited series n story ends within one season. Story revolves around a lady who unexpectedly gets her ancestral property post her uncle's death whom she was never in contact n the problems revolving around it. There is definitely good thrilling elements but somehow I couldn't like it n connect to it much though, not sure why. Available in Netflix with Hindi dubbed. My ratings 6/10!

Life was cruel to you

[alaningle7 · 7/10 · 23 January 2024]

Kim Hyun-Joo plays Yoon Seo-ha who is exploited by a professor to ghost write his books and also has a husband who is cheating on her. She gets news that an uncle she was unaware of has died and left her a burial site at the top of a mountain. We learn that the land maybe worth a lot of money and at the wake a man turns up claiming to be Seo-ha's brother and then murders suddenly begin to happen in relationship to the land. Investigating events are two detectives who have a back story putting them into conflict. It is a thriller with supernatural overtones as shamans are involved when we have flashbacks in the story. An interesting well acted series with good and bad points and is well directed over the six episodes.

Brilliant Slow Burner

[adrithasage · 8/10 · 20 January 2024]

This is a wonder short series that is well made and leaves you satisfied. Slow burners can be tideous and confusing. But credit should go to the director and writer who do an exceptional job on delivering a solid series. The story revolves around a inheritance claim of a burial background.

The character development is done superbly. You meat the leads and you get to learn of their backstory as the episodes progress on quickly. This is done and executed brilliantly by the director especially considering it's only a 6part series. Flash back scenes of characters can be discombobulated by over dramatisation. But here the director gets straight to the point and you fully grasp the background stories of the characters immediately.

They're twists and turns which leave you wanting more. The kind when you watch a series and every episodes leaves you wanting to watch the next one! The performances of the leads are also a standout,it leaves you fully engrossed. The cinematic back drop and score of the series makes it feel so gritty and real. You feel like this is a tale of something that happened where you live and it's being told.

Those who like darker themes mind find this a little underwhelming. But I feel it has just enough punch to quench the thirst of those of us who like mystery thrillers. The plot is intriguing and very well presented. Slow burner at a decent pace which leaves you more than satisfied if anything else.

Character driven thriller in a smaller scale

[Snownoise · 8/10 · 20 January 2024]

First and most, I noticed that fans of the movie, Train to Busan has unhealthy expectation towards other works from the director, Mr. Yeon. Just like the fans are somehow unable to accept the movie, Peninsular as a standalone movie that was never meant to be a sequel of Train to Busan, they seem to be unable to accept other styles or genres of the shows that Mr. Yeon created. The different show has different story telling. Train to Busan, Hellbound, and Jung E are all different shows, and arguably they all succeeded in their own good storytelling. This show, The Bequeathed also has its own style of story telling, and I haven't found something that lacks so much to be a bad show. It's definitely better than another netflix show, Fool Me Once with a cheesy ending that I've seen multiple times from other movies and tv shows. That was the part I was also worried while I was watching this show, but luckily and surprisingly there was an unexpected turn. The incidents that are driven by the characters are so natural, and that is the highest point of this show. If I need to pick some negative aspects of the show, then it would be the scale which is very small. It's not a world problem, or a danger to a society. It's basically a family squabble which makes me think that this shows meant to be a movie, but split into 6 episodes. Anyway, with this kind of pacing, storytellng, and character development. I'm confident that upcoming netflix show from mr. Yeon, Parasyte: The Grey will be good.

A deep dive into familial relationships wrapped in a thriller

[avabruite · 9/10 · 22 January 2024]

It absolutely baffles me when shows like this get rated below a 7, whereas other completely mindless, horribly written ones with atrocious dialogue and acting get much higher ratings.

Albeit no "Train to Busan," most of Yeon Sang-ho's works post that blockbuster were all compelling in their own rights. Hellbound tackles the issue of religion and the dangers of cultish behavior, Jung-E is a family story packaged in an action drama, and this one, once again tackles familial relationships but in a much different arena. And there's always something humane at the core of these shows that grounds them, despite some of the outlandish scenarios. What happens when absolute devotion to your family pushes you to do irrational things; what happens when lack of devotion creates similar outcomes? This is a wonderful exploration of the complexity of what family means, should be, could be, shouldn't be, is expected to be, etc.

The acting is superb, and the characters are complex and dynamic. Highly recommended.

Skeletons in the Closet ! A must watch !

[itriatay995 · 9/10 · 21 January 2024]

Every family has its own secrets and tragedies. It is just a matter of time when these secrets and tragedies will be revealed. Seon-san (The Bequeathed) is a serie that focus on a family which has secrets and tragedies in their past. This serie also focus on "greed" and it shows us clearly how greed can transform you into a monster. On the other hand, the serie focuses on the concepts of "forgiveness and mercy" and they are very well studied. The acting is great. The scenario is a great. The atmosphere is great. For that reason, I recommend everyone to give a try to watch this serie. I really enjoyed it even though I am not familiar with Korean TV series. I give 9 out of 10 for this serie.

A must-watch!

[deuxdoom · 8/10 · 21 January 2024]

Write a brief summary of your impressions up to episode 3.

First of all, from episode 1, the suspense increased with a compelling plot and the appearance of various characters.

The dark and heavy atmosphere dominated the entire drama, and I felt a shiver run down my spine as more and more mysteries were revealed.

The acting skills of Kim Hyun Joo and the other actors were amazing, which made the drama very immersive.

The storyline was also gripping and kept me watching episode after episode.

I honestly didn't expect Korean dramas to be this good.

Highly recommended if you like the thriller genre.

Beautiful, Thrilling & plausible

[wsskfqy · 9/10 · 24 January 2024]

First, I'm not a film critic. I don't remember the cast from other films & compare performances. I don't know directors. I watch a film for its own merit. Then I usually forget it immediately. I might recognise cast from other films, but I watch films for their own merits and to enjoy them, not judge them. Even horrifically bad films are entertaining in their own way.

So I just try to describe without spoiling it.

We really loved this film.

The plot was good and made sense. The twists in the plot made sense. The tensions between characters had reasons which were explained and appropriate. The leading lady seemed a bit of a doormat, but actually there wasn't a lot she could do in certain circumstances.

I loved watching the scenery of the countryside and culture. It was colourful, beautiful and intensely fascinating. The work culture, however, looked really dreadful, and some of the people were quite distasteful. But they were supposed to be, so that's ok. It was quite nice to see that people who were supposed to be "respectable" as distasteful. Of course, that's real life, but it was a little interesting aspect.

It was a wonderful look into another culture. I'm really glad to have watched it and would highly recommend it!

Oh. The special effects and filming were really good, too!

Very good story telling + slow burn

[hllowerner · 10/10 · 22 January 2024]

As usual for this comment section, dont mind the usual haters or ppl who have zero patience for KR dramas.

Despite this being only a pretty short series over the span of 6 episodes the storytelling is whole and doesnt leave any questions.

Even tho I watched a lot of KR movies/dramas and prefer the crime/drama/thriller range I was quite surprised for the soft "twist" at the end.

As a non-native speaker but with some basic Korean language understanding I had to replay some keys scenes to finally get the plot 100%.

The setting is quite dark, the camera angles and cuts are superb and the cast and acting is very superb.

Kim Hyun-joo, Park Hee-soon, Park Byeong-eun and Ryu Kyung-Soo give exquisite performances. If you liked them in other diverse crime/thriller setups you will enjoy them in this one as well.

Tl;dr : If you like KR crime/drama/thriller :: This one is for you.

A good series to watch

[man_kiet2002-228-952188 · 10/10 · 22 January 2024]

I think this series is good. It creates a mysterious atmosphere from the beginning. Through out the plot we can discover the secret piece by piece. Turns out it has a big plot twist, anyway you should watch it yourself and enjoy the finding along the guessing journey 😁

The cast also did a good job, especially Seo-Ha amd detective Choi actor/actress. They can bring out the intense moment really good, the expression is also done well. Combing the cast the and plot twist storyline, I think it will worth your time. Maybe with some people, it can have a slow start but keep watching it and I think you won't regret.

Mixture of tropes

[Pairic · 8/10 · 29 January 2024]

The Bequeathed: A South Korean series covering an eclectic mixture if tropes, noir, serial killer, police procedural, shamans, mystery relatives, corruption and horror. Would you like to inherit a graveyard from an uncle you didn't even know existed? And along with that a long lost crazy half-brother> To sweeten things your philandering husband is suddenly murdered and you are a suspect. Plenty of savage violence, Shamanistic rituals and an ever deepening mystery with twists and turns along with plenty of red herrings. The tension is kept going but the plot may be a bit too convoluted for it;s own good. Directed by Min Hong-nam, Written by Yeon Sang-ho. On Netflix. 7.5/10.

Great convoluted murder mystery!

[vicknair-66656 · 10/10 · 4 February 2024]

As an English speaking viewer, I had to really work at remembering who was who in the beginning, but as the series developed and the characters became more twisted up it was good to get to the Ah-ha moment as the final couple of episodes played out.

Kim Hyun-joo is always a pleasure to watch, although in this character she definitely was not a charmed princess. Rough life and poor choices with the males in her life! Ryu Kyung-soo is a sad character with an even tougher life! I felt so sorry for him being stuck in a situation he didn't create. Park Hee-soon, well he's just such a man! Haha - his rugged handsome looks go well with his character, the tough and capable detective.

Great acting and spooky shaman scenes keep this drama going!

This was okay I guess.

[kmhlbeavis · 8/10 · 18 February 2024]

The title makes it sound eerie, but I am going to break it down for you. The actress suddenly inherits some burial ground from a supposed uncle who is really her father that the mother took her away from. Then from their a supposed half brother also lays claim to the burial ground and he is a nut job just like the deceased father. So people start dying and then they blame the half brother since he does have a motive for these actions and then you have a third party that is anxious for the lady to get the burial ground so that she can sell it and buy a building from one of the men who make her believe that it is profitable and that he is only selling to finance his daughters wedding. The friend of the seller also gets shot and killed by the mystery killer who turns out to be the half brothers mother. The mother and the father turned out to be brother and sister who had the man out of an incestous relationship they had together when she was kicked out and he followed her to protect her. She kills herself going after the son at the end and that's it.