Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Jeong Su-in is a young, lonely woman who works at a convenience store. One day, a disgruntled customer stalks and attacks her, but Su-in somehow survives multiple stab wounds, only to learn that she was saved by a parasitic alien that fails to take over her brain completely. The two then forge a reluctant bond to survive as the police begin to hunt down parasitic creatures like Jeon Su-in (played by Jeon So-nee), while the parasites themselves get organized to take over the world and consider her a mutant that must be eliminated.
Directed by Yeon Sang-ho, the Korean series “Parasyte: The Grey” (Original title: Gisaengsu: Deo geurei) is a spin-off of the hit horror manga series “Parasyte” by Hitoshi Iwaaki. Spanning six episodes, the show begins with the arrival of alien parasitic beings, quietly infiltrating Earth to take over human bodies through their hosts’ brains. “The Grey” is a special police team led by Choi Jun-kyung (Lee Jung-hyun) to hunt down parasites, and soon, Su-in becomes their primary target.
First off, you needn’t worry about having read the original manga or seen any of the Japanese anime and movies to follow what’s happening in ‘Parasyte: The Grey’. This is a standalone spin-off set in the same universe, much like how you don’t need to see Sandra Bullock’s “Bird Box” to watch “Bird Box Barcelona”. That might seem like a random comparison, but hey, they are all about alien creatures terrorizing human beings, just in different ways.
Jeong Su-in (Jeon So-nee), the young convenience store employee, is unaware of a parasitic creature living within her until a small-time criminal named Seol Kang-woo (Koo Kyo-hwan) meets her when the parasite takes over her body. In one of the most comical scenes in the show, Kang-woo explains to her how she has a Jekyll-and-Hyde scenario going on, and he names the parasite living within her Heidi, who is able to take over Su-in’s body completely only for a short while each day. Even though they are strangers, Su-in and Kang-woo find themselves on the run together, and become awkward allies.
Jeon So-nee delivers a subtle but strong performance as Jeong Su-in, who is the most straightforward yet complex character in ‘Parasyte: The Grey’—she has no family or friends, lives a mundane life doing long shifts at the store, and is haunted by childhood trauma from coming from a broken home. Her only acquaintance is a police officer called Kim Cheol-min (played by Kwon Hae-hyo), who is in charge of her case when she is brutally attacked but miraculously survives. It’s a bizarre anomaly that doesn’t escape the cop’s eye, but he lets it slide until the police force finally becomes aware of the parasitic aliens taking over the world. While Su-in tends to evoke feeling of sympathy or even pity in the viewers, Koo Kyo-hwan is comically entertaining as the brazen thug Kang-woo, who is on the run from gangsters due to a botched-up job and meets Su-in accidentally. Lee Jung-hyun’s portrayal of Choi Jun-kyeong, who leads “The Grey” team against parasites, was unnecessarily villainous in vein and quite annoying. From her shrilly voice, to her fake cheery demeanor in many key scenes, her role just didn’t pack the kind of punch it should’ve and it’s a key reason why “Parasyte: The Grey” isn’t as entertaining in the second-half.
The special effects in the series were quite convincing, although some of the fight sequences involving the parasitic creatures were just ridiculous to watch. It’s as if humans with octopi heads are battling with their tentacles, which ends up looking like people just slapping their hands at each other, making it difficult to discern who is winning. Besides, one can’t help but wonder – if the aliens are intelligent enough to adapt to human behavior, use phones, computers, why didn’t some of them just procure guns to kill their prey?
In terms of themes, like the original manga series by Hitoshi Iwaaki, “Parasyte: The Grey” explores what it means to be human and how we are different from the parasitic aliens whose sole aim is survival. And even though the show doesn’t deeply dwell into it, it briefly makes one wonder about the moral question of whether it’s right to kill someone for one’s own survival.
With six episodes to boot, “Parasyte: The Grey” has a solid first half; the first three episodes are completely binge-worthy. However, the second half is bogged down by pacing issues and questionable plot holes. The climactic episode packs in some interesting twists, including a sinister plot by the parasites to expand their power. The show ends with a surprise nod to the Japanese original, which should thrill fans of the manga, and it also promises a strong possibility of newer spin-offs. Overall, it’s a gritty watch for those who enjoy dystopian body-snatcher titles.
Rating: 7 on 10. Watch the series on Netflix.
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