[This review contains spoilers]
A Bloody Lucky Day offers an interesting premise: a taxi driver met a mysterious man who offered him a too-good-to-be-true deal but there’s a catch: the passenger turned out to be a psychopath killer. The premise is interesting from the get-go and I’m curious how it will be executed as a ten-episode drama.
This series, which is based on the webtoon of the same name, started like the usual road trip thriller – introducing one transparent easy-to-predict character while the other is filled with mystery. Oh Taek (Lee Sung-min), as the main protagonist, is easy to root for. He was falsely accused in the past and is currently struggling to prove to his family they can depend on him. Our antagonist Geum Hyuk-soo (Yoo Yeon-seok), on the other hand, appears to be ordinary at first but as the series progresses his true menacing self slowly shows up. The two actors’ performance together with Lee Jung-eun, who played the role of Hwang Soon-kyu, did so well in heightening the sense of dread in the first half of the series. The directing also compliments the script in executing the big reveal at the end of Part 1.
Episode 6’s plot twist was perfectly crafted, I can even say that it is a jaw-dropping revelation. I could feel Soon-kyu’s confusion once she finally came face-to-face with Hyuk-soo. Everything that previously happened also made more sense after episode 6. It answered my question on why the police couldn’t catch this serial killer, who seemed not to be hiding at all. The revelation also raised the excitement for the second half of the series.
I was already impressed at how good Lee Sung-min and Yoo Yeon-seok are in the first half but I must say they gave their a-game in the second half as well. From being an innocent taxi driver, Lee Sung-min portrayed how the traumatic ride with Hyuk-soo changed him to the core. He maniacally follows Hyuk-soo’s traces to get revenge for his daughter and wife. Despite his frustratingly grim plan, the viewers will still find themselves rooting for Oh Taek because Sung-min can show his character is just a grieving father.
It is a shame though that we didn’t get to see more of Lee Jung-eun in this series. The short scene she had with Lee Sung-min and Yoo Yeon-seok proved how the casting director made the right choice to pick these three talented actors as leads for this series. It is also worth mentioning how good the supporting casts are as well. One supporting character I enjoyed watching is Yoon Se-na (Han Dong-hee). Among “Hyuk-soo’s” lovers, Se-na played a big part in his killings. I actually could say that she is probably the start of “Hyuk-soo’s” obsession. Spoiler alert: all women “Hyuk-soo” got involved with looks similar to Se-na. I think the final confrontation of those two is also a confirmation that “Hyuk-soo” has been thinking of Se-na all along. This is not romantic at all! It is so creepy for a viewer to watch but it is a needed confirmation of how narcissistic and evil “Hyuk-soo” is.
Yoo Yeon-seok said in his interviews that the reason why he did this type of role was to remind his fans and the public of his roots. Early in his career, he was typecast in villain roles but after getting his break in Reply 1994, he had been playing endearing roles (yes that included Gu Dong-mae, his anti-hero character in Mr. Sunshine). Here, as “Hyuk-soo”, Yeon-seok has proved again how versatile he can be. His portrayal of soulless and nasty evil psycho played a big role in why A Bloody Lucky Day is one of the best thrillers of 2023. I think it is also right to give kudos to the original webtoon creator and this series’ screenwriter for coming up with this kind of terrifying antagonist and for not giving him any kind of redemption arc (he doesn’t deserve one!).
The series’ screenwriter also deserved to be appreciated. The whole storyline is actually packed with tense-filled encounters and intriguing cliffhangers (I strongly recommend watching this series in one sitting!). The directing also doesn’t shy away from showing gruesome scenes which would make this an exciting watch for fans of this genre. Overall, A Bloody Lucky Day is a thrilling ride from start to finish with suspenseful plot twists at every turn that would keep you at the edge of your seat.
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