The Bequeathed (Netflix series, 2024)
The Bequeathed (or: Seon-san) is a slow burning but fascinating Korean mystery series, that looks to Nordic Noir for inspiration.
This six-part mystery thriller series was created and written by Yeon Sang-ho, the filmmaker behind the international zombie horror hit movie Train to Busan and the successful Netflix series Hellbound, that is in the middle of getting a second season.
Yeon Sang-ho left directing duties on The Bequeathed to his (former) assistant director Min Hong-nam, but it still looks and feels very much like one of his creations.
The story tells the tale of a young woman, Yoon Seo-ha (Kim Hyun-joo), who has to travel from the city to the countryside, because she stands to inherit from a paternal uncle she doesn’t remember. It seems he bequeathed her with an old family graveyard, where a lot of bodies (and secrets) are buried.
It soon gets more complicated when the police informs her that her uncle was possibly poisoned and her own life may be in danger too. So what is it about that graveyard that people actually want to kill for so badly? And why doesn’t she sell the damn thing to the boss of a construction company, as the local village chief helpfully suggests?
Well, when we meet Yoon Seo-ha she is at a crossroads in her life. There is not much love left between Seo-ha and her husband, who is already cheating on her. Still, he would like to benefit from Seo-ha’s new inheritance.
Seo-ha is also suffering professionally. She is an assistant professor, who has done everything to become a real professor, even ghostwriting a book for her boss, but she still can’t get the promotion she feels she deserves. So she might just want to get away from it all.
But that’s not all. At her uncle’s funeral Seo-ha is confronted by her freaky half-brother Kim Yeong-ho (Ryu Kyung-soo) who claims his part of the inheritance and the graveyard. At first glance, he seems rather mad, but is he crazy enough to kill?
It’s a lot to process for Seo-ha, but fortunately the filmmakers take their sweet time to develop both the story and its characters.
What also helps is that Kim Hyun-joo is a fascinating actress, both beautiful and mysterious, and she successfully carries this series.
The second lead character, detective Choi Seong-joon (Park Hee-soon), is also very interesting. He has a problematic relationship with his superior, who used to be his junior partner. Choi likes to run his own investigations, like the one that has to do with the construction of a golf course, involving the aforementioned village chief, who appears to be a bit of an odd duck.
I must admit, that The Bequeathed is right up my alley. It flirts with the supernatural but it feels more like a serial killer thriller series than a full on horror show. It seem inspired by Nordic Noir, if you look at the lonely, snow covered landscapes and the sense of isolation that permeates the village and its inhabitants.
At times The Bequeathed burns so slow that it feels more like a psychological drama than anything else, but based on the first couple of episodes, I would suggest you give it a try, cause it looks like it has some surprises in store.