Zombie Detective is a South Korean television series that consists of twelve episodes about a zombie who comes to Gangrim, assimilates as a human being then assumes the identity of a detective, Kim Moo Young, to survive and uncover his past, who he is and how he became a zombie. A television tabloid reporter keeps crossing his path, and she is not the only one drawn to him even though he is doing his best to stay away from people who terrify him. Will he gets answers to his questions, and will he be able to survive all this attention and scrutiny? Will the people of Gangrim want to kill him if they discover his real identity?
If Zombie Detective initially sounds a lot like iZombie, you would not exactly be wrong, but it is sufficiently different and take a completely different narrative path that you will soon stop making comparisons. It is a comedy drama that emphasizes the practical aspects of survival even for a zombie. Everyone needs a job and money to eat, especially a zombie who recoils at the idea of hurting people and is actually scared of them. Everyone is concerned about money and has bills so a fantastic phenomenon is immediately relatable as a comedy of errors about the absurdity of life requiring money. Hard core zombie enthusiasts may find this bit tedious, but I enjoyed it though I did get frustrated when characters shrugged off such concerns to be melodramatic and angsty. Do not throw away perfectly good food! Don’t you remember how hard it was to get it?
Jin-Hyuk Choi, the titular character in Zombie Detective, breaks the rule of never working with kids and animals and successfully holds his ground. His acting style is so nuanced that he manages to convey tremendous emotion in the slightest moment even while playing a character who is supposed to be numb to emotion and physical sensation. It is a tricky balancing act to play a traditional, taciturn hero in a way that seems sensitive and touching without being overbearing or saccharine. It does not hurt that God gave with both hands, and Choi is ridiculously attractive even in the zombie makeup! The wardrobe person clearly loved dressing him up, and he served look after look in a single episode. He can sing, dance and act! I need him to be in everything.
Joo-Hyun Park has a harder job as the overbearing tabloid reporter, Gong Seon Ji. Zombie Detective was probably aiming for a Lois Lane type, but with the unfortunate rise of Qanon supporters obsessed with child abuse, she served as an unfortunate and probably unintentional reminder of dangerous, real life vigilantes for this American viewer. As the series unfolded, and emphasis on her investigative skills overtook her zeal and physical aggression, I could begin to focus on her unswerving loyalty to her family and friends, but I hate people on a self-righteous mission who do not respect boundaries, constantly make false accusations and have the nerve not to pay their bills. Also she is saddled with a wardrobe that screams eighties in the worst way possible, and I love the eighties. Fortunately she is surrounded by many zany loved ones such as her filmmaker, zombie obsessed brother in law, her hard working, disciplinarian sister who is the only one practical enough to make sure the household stays afloat and her adorable nephew. Y’all, I am not a fan of kid actors, but all the kids are good actors and adorable plus they have a cute dog.
Even though Choi and Park are the stars of Zombie Detective, it really is an ensemble cast as we delve into the lives of their neighbors and fellow business owners. I really loved the communal approach to the narrative and characters as they struggle with their rivalries and relationships to each other while eventually forging bonds to make their communities, themselves and their businesses better through the relationships that they make with each other.
Like a lot of CW series, Zombie Detective suffers from not having shorter episodes and seasons. If the cast was not so affable and charming in any ridiculous situation, I would have probably accused a lot of the content to be filler in between the exciting, more gruesome, action infused bits, but they are. The entire cast really goes all out to hit the punchline, and all but one seems to have a bit of vaudeville entertainer in them—an absence of vanity and self-importance and a shameless commitment to squeeze as many laughs as they can from the viewers. The comedic portions began to lose their potency in the final third of the season, but by then, I was committed to hanging on. Each character is the star of his or her own show blissfully unaware of the larger picture, and it is delightful. At its worst, it is a Saturday Night Live skit that goes on too long and hurts the momentum of the show. By the end, you will feel as if you are watching Lord of the Rings as the story never wants to end and shamelessly begs for another season.
There are three overarching stories in Zombie Detective: a corrupt cult and two different murder mysteries. Two of the stories are satisfying though one of the murder mysteries is effectively emotionally manipulative on Steven Spielberg ET levels, which is a compliment. The villain of each story escalates the tension though the first one manages to infuse humor in his depiction, which is missing in the subsequent two stories, which feel as if there are real high stakes and someone could die. The second one is deeply disturbing, and that actor actually seemed as if he could kill anyone. Unfortunately the actual story betrayed its prejudice towards unmarried couples, adopted children and victims of trauma as innately suspicious and undeserving of trust or kindness.
Unfortunately Zombie Detective ends on its weakest note with the second murder mystery because it rests on the weakest actor in the cast, and the series suddenly creates scenarios that are frustrating as people act as dumb and slow as a stereotypical zombie that the titular character strives not to be. Do-kwon Ha is not a great actor, and unfortunately his character requires Rutger Hauer levels of nuance to evoke mad scientist intelligence, brute physical force and obsessive, relatable love while he only delivers a maniacal life and thug vibes. Also his character is inexplicably able to overpower groups of people effortlessly. The makeup for his character in the final episode is exquisite in a 30 Days of Night vein, and the special effects gave me chills as the show made allusions to demonic aesthetic, but it did not work because the story was a bit too dumb, and Ha was not captivating.
I enjoyed Zombie Detective, but because it ended on a weak note, I think a single season is fine. If it did have a second season, I would want a shorter run with tighter episodes because it began to feel as if the creators were treating the show like an ATM and trying to milk it.
