South Korean thrillers have at all times finished properly on Netflix. I imply, look no additional than the sustained recognition of “Squid Sport,” the hit international sensation that’s now getting the Hollywood adaptation remedy. Not each South Korean present can attain “Squid Sport” ranges of recognition, however some style entries have made a mark, resembling Kim Seong-je’s crime movie “Bogotá: Metropolis of the Misplaced,” which topped Netflix charts again in February. Now, there is a model new serial killer present that’s steadily making waves on the streaming platform: Byun Younger-joo’s ongoing “Queen Mantis,” which melds customary crime thriller tropes with a slow-burn police procedural format.
It’s price noting that “Queen Mantis” is predicated on one other Netflix sequence, specifically the French thriller “Le Mante,” the place a serial killer dubbed “The Mantis” turns into the topic of a chilling thriller (replete with advanced familial trauma). Whereas “La Mante” executes some worthwhile concepts, additionally it is problematic in its remedy of gender id, which negatively impacts a number of the intrigue it cooks up all through the miniseries. As episodes of “Queen Mantis” proceed to roll out, one can solely hope that this adaptation will in the end take a extra tactful and nuanced strategy to the subject material.
So, what’s “Queen Mantis” about? Police detective Cha Soo-yeol (Jang Dong-yoon) desperately needs to flee the previous, however the fact about his mom’s id comes again to hang-out him. His mom, Jung Yi-shin (Go Hyun-jung), is the notorious Mantis, presently serving time for 5 horrific murders. Hassle begins brewing as soon as a killer mimics the Mantis’ modus operandi, compelling Soo-yeol to contact his mom to seize the offender. What ensues is a tense, anxiety-inducing recreation of cat and mouse, making “Queen Mantis” a must-watch for crime thriller aficionados.
Queen Mantis makes use of delicate intrigue and convoluted motivations to additional the plot
Spoilers for “Queen Mantis” comply with.
Authorities enlisting the experience of a serial killer to catch one other serial killer just isn’t a novel idea inside the crime thriller style. Fritz Lang’s German thriller thriller “M” pulls this off to nice impact, the place legal organizations band collectively to catch an elusive little one assassin after the police fail to take action. There’s additionally Jonathan Demme’s “The Silence of the Lambs,” the place rookie cop Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is pressured to play a twisted recreation of quid professional quo with the terrifying Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) to search out a killer earlier than it is too late. “Queen Mantis” provides intriguing layers to this trope by establishing a familial relationship between the negotiating events, and Soo-yeol’s vulnerabilities are doubly pronounced within the proximity of his mom.
Soo-yeol’s makes an attempt to trace down the copycat inevitably result in a confrontation with the previous, as he must dig deep into his personal trauma to have the ability to perceive the copycat’s mentality. This additionally means permitting his notorious mom to entry his innermost emotions, which embrace each deep resentment and a repressed craving for maternal affection. There are additionally layers to Yi-shin’s motivations, as she had solely focused male sexual predators throughout her killing spree, hinting at the truth that there’s extra to her predicament than meets the attention. Nevertheless, this doesn’t suggest that Yi-shin is incapable of manipulation — actually, her relaxed existence inside her jail cell proves that she has neatly negotiated concessions over time.
As you may’ve already guessed, “Queen Mantis” sports activities darkish overtones, which go hand in hand with the grimness of the style (together with the psychological mayhem it guarantees to ship). That stated, the eight-episode format may yield a enjoyable and fast-paced crime thriller if the present momentum is fleshed out and sustained.
“Queen Mantis” is presently streaming on Netflix.
