Hometown: A South Korean TV series which includes a few tropes, serial killers, cults, noir, police procedural, but taken together with all of the violence and death involved it elides into the slipstream of Horror. Set in 2000, 1999, 1987 with shorter flashbacks to other years. In 1987 members of a cult launch a gas attack at a railway station killing hundreds. In 1999, detective Choi Hyung-in who lost his wife in the 1987 attack sees a pattern in seemingly random killings and suspects that the cult is back. Only one person was ever convicted of involvement in the attack, Jo Kyung-ho; his sister Jo Jung-hyun becomes involved in the case after her niece goes missing, The timelines cut back and forth, often in a confusing manner so keep off your phone when you're watching this. Killer cults may have milder cults as fronts but paradoxically this makes it even more difficult to infiltrate them. The use of mind control through mixtapes and video tapes is portrayed in a convincing yet horrific manner. The violence isn't just that of the mass killings, individual deaths are also shown in a traumatic way. There are 12 hour long episodes, the strands gradually weave together as the series reaches a conclusion. It all fits together in the final episode. At least i think it does! Stick with this one and you'll find it rewarding. Directed by Park Hyun Suk,Written by Joo Jin. On Netflix. 8/10.
