Neon Genesis Evangelion no longer has the monopoly on shows about divine angels being sent to destroy humanity for its sins. The anime now shares this honour with Hellbound, an upcoming Netflix series from Yeon Sang-ho, director of the international hit horror movies Train to Busan and its sequel Peninsula.
These angels seem to be a lot more specific about who, exactly, needs to die. And unfortunately for humanity, divinely ordained death is only the start of the problem, according to the official description:
“Unbelievable demonstrations of hell take place in the middle of Seoul right in front of crowds. Mysterious beings condemn individuals to be hellbound, and otherworldly beings appear exactly at the specified time to kill the condemned in a brutal burning. Rising above the utter chaos resulting from these inexplicable supernatural occurrences is the commanding voice of Jung Jinsu, the leader of an up-and-coming religious organisation, The New Truth. He claims that only sinners are marked for condemnation and that these occurrences represent divine will to make humans righteous. A group of his followers with blind faith, the Arrowhead, take into their own hands the punishment of those who go against the divine will. The world becomes a living hell.
“Min Hyejin, a lawyer, challenges Chairman Jung by claiming the demonstrations of hell to be simply supernatural occurrences. She joins forces with the few who try to protect the hellbound and return the world to the realm of humans, not gods. They go up against the chaos instigated by The New Truth.”
This premise is intriguing as — pun mercilessly intended — hell, and the trailer doesn’t disappoint either:
I have so many questions. If these things aren’t angels, what are they? By what criteria are they deciding who should die, and what for? Does the cult have some secret connection to the event, because 99.4 per cent of cults are always doing something sinister? If Min Hyejin wins the case, wouldn’t the attacks continue anyway?
I also want answers, but I’ll have to wait until Hellbound debuts on Netflix on November 19. The series stars Yoo Ah-in as the New Truth leader Jung Jinsu, and Kim Hyun-joo as Min Hyejin.