A Killer Paradox (Netflix series, 2024)
Adapted from a popular webtoon, new Korean crime series A Killer Paradox tries to find an original spin on the age-old battle between a serial killer and the cop that pursues him.
The eight-part series tells the tale of Lee Tang (Choi Woo Shik), who at first glance is nothing more than an ordinary college boy. He isn’t unlikable, but he drinks too much, he cheated on his girlfriend before he went into military service and at the start of the series he definitely has no purpose in life.
One night, while working a part time job at a local convenience store, he gets into an argument with some rowdy customers. After his shift, he accidentally swings a hammer in the wrong direction - killing a man.
However, as fate would have it, this was no ordinary customer but a serial killer, and Lee Tang himself isn’t as ordinary as he thought he was, but a dark hero with the uncanny supernatural ability to sort out the bad seeds of society.
As more people die, Lee Tang becomes a mix between superhero (Batman by way of the Joker) and a serial killer (think a young Dexter), and so he attracts the attention of a dogged police detective Jang Nam Gan (Son Suk Ku) who makes it his business to bring this killer paradox to justice.
Based on a webtoon by Ggomabi, screenwriter Kim Da Min director Chang-hee Lee try to do justice to the source material and mostly succeed.
Choi Woo Shik is impressive as Lee Tang. The actor is known for his roles in Train To Busan and as the poor family’s son in Oscar-winner Parasite. He infuses the role with a comedic touch that makes the story a little more unpredictable than it otherwise might have been.
It is clear that this series doesn’t reinvent the wheel, as we have seen many variations on the story of cop versus killer. However, the first couple of episodes of A Killer Paradox offer enough of a fresh and suitably dark perspective to warrant a watch.