Sell Your Haunted House (2021)

More Horror, Less Comedy, Good Lessons

Daebak Real Estate is the kind of rare Horror Kdrama which has more horror side to it unlike many other horror comedy Kdramas where even the ghosts are part of the comedy and the scenes are clearly over-edited. Some horror scenes in this were really scary. In fact, every horror scene felt intense.

About half of the story is about the basic steady plot that's going on smoothly & slowly, gradually involving more characters, one by one along with many connecting plots which are more or less related to the central story.

The story involves 4 major characters: Hong Ji Ah (Jang Na Ra), a skilled and stupendous exorcist, continuing her family business of exorcism through a real estate agency, Daebak Realty. Oh In Bum (Jung Yong Hwa), a conman disguised as exorcist who later turns into a psychic to help Hong Ji Ah. Together they discover the past about their families, that they had forgotten in the course a tragic incident. Joo Hwa Jung (Kang Mal Gum), the real estate agent at Daebak Realty. Heo Ji Chul (Kang Hong Suk), Oh In Bum's partner-in-conning who also joins Daebak Realty as a Chief.

The storyline is a good one and the direction is well-organised. One or two episodes felt a bit slow as they were just busy investing stuffs but manageable. Have some tissue paper by your side as at many instances, it will be too overwhelming because there are lots of crying scenes. Also, watch it with a minor TW because there are some triggering scenes which are obvious for a horror drama. Every character did their acting well, especially Jang Na Ra again proved her skills.

Romance part of the leads in the drama is almost zero yet some conversations seemed like flirting but who is complaining about that? Not me! Hong Ji Ah's character is cold yet very very strong but she's soft from inside too. She'll make you cry more than anything else. I can't just see NaRa noona crying. Also, my Yong crying few times made it worse for me TT.

Another thing to point out is cinematography. In most of the cases, the horror dramas hugely rely on VFX and editing even for the horror scenes to look scary but in this drama, they used cinematography to keep the atmosphere simple and look natural and at the same time give off the horror vibes.

OSTs of this drama aee good too yet it felt under-utilized a bit but I think that's fine because their intention was to keep it intense. The bg themes are thrilling and melancholic I must say. And Jung Yong Hwa's OST is definitely a catchy one.

Note: If you're expecting anything very extraordinary, you've come to the wrong place; but it's not bad at all. It's worth giving a watch because the story is definitely a good one :)

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Easily One Of The Best K-dramas of 2021…

Supernatural K-dramas have been done countless times before in K-dramas, so, just what makes " Sell Your Haunted House" stand out? Well, it’s important to be honest by saying that like most dramas out there, it does have its ups and downs. However, “ Sell Your Haunted House” has a beguiling charm due to its cast, storyline and themes.

As a character, Ji Ah could have easily become irksome for viewers as the archetypical ” angst-ridden orphan female lead adorned in black”, but, actress Jang Na Ra undeniably brought a dynamic ambience around her role as our mysterious psychic. (Which is hard to imagine any other actress being able to imitate.)

This is shown case and point during one of the most emotional scenes of the series when, the emotionally conflicted Ji Ah, comes face to face with her mother Hong Mi Jin (Baek Eun Hye). The battle of tears behind Jang Na Ra’s eyes became one of the most beautifully emotional and poignant moments of acting throughout the entirety of the drama.

Although , it’s important not to turn a blind eye towards some of the show’s downfalls either;not least with Jung Young Hwa’s performance as In Beom. This is not to spark hatred towards the actor as he is undeniably really good. ( As shown in previous roles such as “ The Three Musketeers”.)However , Jung Young Hwa’s performance honestly lacked zest at the best of times- sadly not helping to truly authenticate his character via performance alone .

Every cloud has a silver lining and this certainly became prominent by the character development of Young Hwa’s onscreen persona In Beom. Whilst In Beom’s introduction did seem to establish initial warning bells that he could go down the road as the tiresome " comic relief" , however, the male lead was offered the chance to escape this trope by using screentime to explore his conflicted emotions ( especially over his " gift") and his ambivalent morality surrounding later events of the series . This did not seal In Beom as being ”heinous" or "bad"; he is a kind-hearted person, just refreshingly not a "flawless hero" or the " perfect love interest" either.

On this front, it is important to admit that tastes may vary upon the " romance" between our leads; for the most part, it is incredibly platonic. Without spoilers, the link between our leads is similar to being " soulmates", rather than having a passionately romantic undertone . Admittedly whilst this did serve a refreshing break from the cliche-ridden romanticised relationships of dramas, tastes will evidently vary for viewers. ( Therefore if you’re expecting a particularly passionate romance in this supernatural drama , then " Sell Your Haunted House" isn’t for you.)

Even our side characters grew in different ways. Joo Hwa Jung ( Kang Mal Geum) seems to start off the series as Ji Ah’s pompous and self-righteous assistant, however, the series helped to explore her complicated backstory and bond with Ji Ah . Heo Ji Cheol ( Kang Hong Suk)- the self-proposed “ Chief”- and one of In Beom’s closest friends Kim Tae Jin ( Heo Dong Won), seemed to be established as the " comic dead weights" in the series, however, they did provide themselves to be more than cliches with their actions during moments of tension . However, it was equally entertaining to spend time with our cynical detective Kang Han Suk ( Kim Sung Bum) gradually developing credulity and respect for our psychic Ji Ah’s help during crimes. To top it all off, Kim Mi Kyung’s guest appearance in episode 13 ( as the Blue Salt Owner/exorcism supply craftswoman) was short, but, her added charm and sassy tone during line deliverances helped to establish an unusually respectful relationship between Ji Ah and the craftswoman.

Yet whilst "Sell Your Haunted House" had some formidable tour de force moments and characterisation , it did seem to struggle with establishing a more profound antagonist. Now, arguably ( without spoilers), there are two major antagonists here, however, the one which should be mentioned is certainly Do Hak Sung ( Ahn Kil Kang). Let’s be honest. Yes, he did serve his purpose as the " driving force" of events in the series. But , for our trio of screenwriters ( Ha Soo Jin, Jung Yeon Seo and Lee Young Hwa) to have otherwise created profoundly-developed characters , Hak Sung was the ultimate anomaly by fitting the trope as the "moustache twirling villain" of the series.

On the other hand, the one thing which ‘ Sell Your Haunted House’ truly authenticated was tackling difficult subjects as a social criticism of the South-Korean housing system through the differing backstories of the dead.From a vengeful spirit yearning for unearned incomes, property evictees and more , " Sell Your Haunted House" builds onto a fresh premise with a mixture of horror, supernatural and thriller genres.

The ending was fairly appropriate for the genre. It’s easy for some viewers to feel a little underwhelmed by the anticlimactic battle, however, the series did use time in between to wrap off storylines and permit an appropriate farewell to our main characters.

So, is it worth watching? In between a spine-tingling OST and a generic villain," Sell Your Haunted House" offers an oddly dynamic take on the supernatural genre. It isn’t without its faults or flaws, but, its intriguing characters and a fairly stellar cast easily establish it as one of the few good dramas to have come out of 2021, so far...

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