| Director | Lee Chang-hee |
| Screenwriter | Kim Da-min |
| Based On | A Killer Paradox by Kkomabi |
| Cast | Choi Woo-shik, Son Suk-ku, Lee Hee-joon |
| Korean Title | 살인자ㅇ난감 |
| Episodes | 8 |
| Genre | Crime, Thriller |
– No Spoilers –
This nifty little thriller is just such an insanely wild ride that you forget what you’re watching after a point because the story flows from something totally insane to something completely different, but equally insane. A Killer Paradox follows Lee Tang, who, after murdering a man one night, realises that he can instinctively figure out if a person is evil or not. Eventually, he goes on a killing spree to rid the world of evil, being closely followed by an eccentric detective called Jang Nan-gam.
The series follows a chaotic cause-and-effect format where Lee Tang’s actions’ consequences take him from place to place and to different situations which end in him getting more and more tangled in his own web. Although his character also transforms throughout the runtime in rather dramatic ways, the story keeps on giving some very interesting twists and turns that stop it from becoming a boring, run-of-the-mill thriller.
A Killer Paradox is also a funny series that is really dark with its implications. With a really good background score, the series arrests your attention for the most part and is entertaining for most of the runtime. There’s some significant tension as you follow Tang and his odd choice to jump from one murder to another… can he stop himself from murdering people or can he not? I guess one needs to wait till the end to find that out.
It’s the performances that really shine in this series and make it stand out. Son Suk-ku, the cold-hearted detective, looks impersonal and unhappy with the world around him and stops at nothing until he figures out the case relying on his instinct. He’s great to watch and almost looks like a bloodhound out to sniff out clues. Meanwhile, Choi Woo-shik, as Lee Tang, is delightfully unhinged and naive at the same time and handles the precarious balance like a champ.
That being said, the series really doesn’t know what it wants to be for the most part. The series shifts from one thing to another constantly and for a long part of the runtime, it is quite slow and twisted, so much so that it becomes a chore to follow. It also doesn’t explain a lot of what is happening and takes very long breaks in between the action part that tests your patience. During these moments, it loses its thrill and suspense factors a lot and you wonder whether or not you’re watching a drama or a thriller.
As the series nears its end, it gets more and more bizarre and honestly, it doesn’t end the way it starts at all. When you start the series, the gritty and dark comedy aspect of it will grip you and the intensity of Lee Tang’s actions will make you curious about what is happening to him. But, after the fourth episode, the series just goes in a very different direction. Sure, it might be a good thing for many shows, but this one doesn’t benefit from it at all.
A Killer Paradox Review: Conclusion
In spite of the crisp and witty editing and a thrilling base premise, A Killer Paradox loses itself in the avenues that it creates for itself. There are moments in the series that change course in such a way that it loses its own self in the myriad of plot points and we sort of forget Tang as well. I think cutting the runtime down would’ve been a great idea because it would’ve gotten rid of the fluff that slows the thrills down drastically. That being said, the series creates some good thrills that hold on to you for some time in between and is a stylish entry worth a watch regardless.
A Killer Paradox is streaming on Netflix.
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