Gruesome monsters arrive in new Netflix thriller Sweet Home, here's why it's the next big thing

Don't let the title Sweet Home fool you. Netflix's new Korean thriller series will put you on the edge of your seat.

The highly anticipated series tells the story of a high schooler named Hyun-soo (Song Kang) who moves into an old apartment complex called Green Home, after the death of his family members.

Hyun-soo's plans for his own death is cut short by the arrival of monsters from all over South Korea.

As long-hidden desires in humans turn them into monsters, Hyun-soo and other Green Home residents find themselves trapped in the building, trying to survive while ensuring that they themselves don't become monsters.

It is a race against time and the group has to decide who can stay alive.

Sweet Home features young rising stars like Song Kang, Lee Do-hyun, Kim Nam-hee, Go Min-si, Park Gyu-young and Go Yoon-jung as residents of Green Home, as well as seasoned actors Lee Jin-wook, Lee Si-young, Kim Kap-soo and Kim Sang-ho.

Descendants of the Sun director is back

Director Lee Eung-bok, who is behind hit Korean dramas such as Mr Sunshine, Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, and Descendants of the Sun, is excited on his first major collaboration with Netflix.

"I ensured that the series stayed as loyal as possible to the monsters from the webtoon", the 51-year-old said in a virtual press conference on Wednesday (Dec 16).

The series is adapted from the massively popular webtoon of the same name which has amassed over 500 million views on Korean portal site Naver.

Sharing why he decided to do a live-action remake of the webtoon, the director highlighted the irony of a suicidal boy becoming a reluctant hero to save others while dealing with his own 'monsterisation'.

"Also, working on a new genre allowed me to try new ways of expression", he added.

His previous work has revolved around the romance genre, and while Sweet Home is definitely not your usual romantic story, the director asserts that Sweet Home explores themes of the human condition.

"For Sweet Home, it is mainly between human and monster, still a person-person element, rather than focusing on it being a thriller, I focus on how the relationship among people evolved", he explained.

Impressive visuals and CGI

Such a thriller can't do without scary monsters, and bringing these creatures to life are top-notch visual and special effects teams from around the world. 

Legacy Effects, an American SFX studio which has worked in Hollywood films such as the Avenger series, X-Men series and Avatar, worked on the visuals of the lotus root monster.

Spectral Motion, a global SFX company known for its work on Stranger Things, was in charge of the visual of the muscle monster, spider monster and others.

Meanwhile, Westworld, a visual effects team in Korea, contributed to the series by creating elaborate computer graphics and spectacular visuals.

Actors take on physical stunts personally

Fighting off a horde of monsters is certainly no easy feat.

While you might expect the show to rely on stunt actors, you'd be surprised to know that the physical stunts in Sweet Home were done mostly by the cast members themselves.

Lee Si-young, who plays firefighter and former Special Forces soldier Seo I-kyung, shared her gruelling fitness schedule. "I built a fit physique, worked out hard, did push-ups, pull-ups, roll up tyres, rope activities (climb up)", said Si-young in the virtual press conference.

The 38-year-old actress added that she began learning her action stunts six months before filming started.

"In the series, some parts of my body were exposed, sometimes I am only wearing my underwear", the former amateur boxer revealed. Her efforts seemed to pay off, as seen by her defining back muscles in the series' trailer.

Her castmate, Lee Do-hyun, 25, who plays the brainy and cold medical student Lee Eun-hyuk, also described his experience of a particular scene (spoiler alert!) in an underground parking lot, where he had to resist the chill of winter, fighting off multiple monsters in a confined space with fellow castmates doing their action sequences simultaneously.

"It was extremely difficult but definitely enjoyable", he recalled.

Challenging the actors' conventional image

The overall dark theme of the series is not just a shift in genre for the director.

This is also Song Kang's first time acting in a thriller, and he shared that he felt some pressure after accepting this role.

However, the 26-year-old Love Alarm star was not too worried about this shift. "[This role] allows me to build an enriching experience in my acting career by playing roles which involves a lot of emotions".

For Si-young, known for playing the dainty Oh Min-ji in the hit 2009 drama Boys Over Flowers, is excited for viewers to see her embrace another side of herself.

"In some ways, when a female character is very strong, very powerful and powers through a disaster, I feel that this is something that can resonate with a lot of the audience since my character plays the leader role and goes on to protect female characters who are otherwise marginalised", she said.

When 39-year-old actor Lee Jin-wook, who plays the reclusive former detective Pyun Sang-wook, was asked if there is a message that the audience should take away from the series, he summed up with a thought-provoking statement.

"There are some people who look like humans but are worse than monsters, and some monsters that are better than some human beings".

In a world where many things do not seem to make much sense anymore, his words never ring any truer.

Sweet Home will be released on Netflix in Singapore and worldwide on Friday (Dec 18).

qistina@asiaone.com