Slipping From Reality
Back for another dose of maniacal horror, Strangers From Hell returns for a more introverted episode this time around as we see the effect Eden Studio has had on Jong-Woo. With more tension and less outright horror, Strangers From Hell delivers another good episode, even if it’s not quite as dramatic as what we’ve seen before. We begin with Jong-Woo racing back to Eden Studio while Ji-Eun heads inside, only to be stopped by Bok-Soon who leads her by the hand further into the apartment building. Jong-Woo arrives soon after and races into the building, grabbing Ji-Eun and taking her outside where they discuss their future. After the commotion, Jung-Hwa discusses Eden Studio’s past with her colleague while inside Moon-Zo tells Bok-Soon he’ll take care of Unit 302 this time. As he heads downstairs, he confronts Deuk-Jong after hearing Jong Woo confront him and Nam-Bok about their antagonistic behaviour. Heading up to the roof for air, he messages Ji-Eun before watching the CCTV footage from the night before. As he watches in confusion, the footage shows him blind drunk and squaring up to Nam-Bok before calling Deuk-Jong a punk. Realizing he may be in danger at Eden Studio, he heads out to view other apartments while Jung-Hwa tries to get to the bottom of what’s going on. During her investigations, she learns that the Studio passed to Bok-Soon after her husband passed away but suspiciously occurred after a fire broke out, giving a handsome insurance money pay-out for the family. Distracted, Jong Woo meets up with Ji-Eun the next day but when he sees Moon-Zo in the distance, he immediately begins to act erratically. Unable to deal with Jong-Woo’s mood swings and paranoia, she leaves him to his own devices as he continues to slip from sanity. Returning to the studio, he overhears commotion coming from upstairs, prompting him to head up and see exactly what’s going on. As he creeps through the hallways, Moon-Zo stabs Deuk-Su and tells the others if they can’t keep quiet or interfere with his work again then that’s what will happen to them. After a fruitless search, Jong-Woo heads back to bed, only to awaken in the middle of the night to hear strange noises coming from the unit next door. As he creeps out into the hallway, he sees himself sitting on a chair with blood spatters up the wall. Grinning maniacally he tells Jong-Woo to run before laughing, leaving our protagonist standing in frozen fear. With a cliffhanger ending and the door wide open going forward, Strangers From Hell leaves things hanging in the balance for the final four episodes of the season. For the most part, the show has done well to keep things tense and although there are changes made here compared to the webtoon, for the most part Strangers From Hell has maintained its tense and uneasy tone throughout the show. While this episode isn’t quite as dramatic or exciting as what we’ve seen before, the ending should be enough to keep you coming back next week to find out what’s going to happen.
