The devil is in the details. 

The second episode of Wish Your Death... opens with a flashback to Yoo Se-ah’s first day of school in a new city, after we had only seen her as a high school student up to that point. She and her neighbor Kim Geon-woo attend the same school, as we learned in the previous episode, and they usually run into each other in front of the elevator every morning before walking there together — a habit that becomes the genesis of their little teenage romance.

Here, however, they still don’t know each other, and barely even greet one another by the doors. Even so, Se-ah clearly catches Geon-woo’s attention, and he seems immediately charmed by his new neighbor and classmate. On one occasion, when the elevator opens for the pair, an older man is already inside, watching as the two steal glances at each other. The little smile that appears on the actor’s face suggests that, with more life experience, the character has already realized those two are headed for a love story in the future.

The fact that we had already seen this same man (with his hair dyed to look grayer) riding the elevator with Se-ah and Geon-woo in the previous episode, in the narrative’s “present day” — and also picked up that he’s rooting for the couple — makes this absurdly simple little scene immensely satisfying. It’s a graceful touch from director Park Youn-seo (Moving) and first-time writer Park Joong-sub, but it’s also setup. The horror of Wish Your Death, after all, works much better if we care about the people suffering through it.

Or, as I said above: the devil is in the details.

And the new Netflix k-drama’s command of its genre really is relentless. Wish Your Death... makes its first major smart move by choosing to focus on a small group of protagonists, five longtime friends, instead of establishing itself as an ensemble story like, for example, All of Us Are Dead. There are no zombies here, but rather a curse spread through a phone app that begins to sweep through the school, and the series is smart to spend its time establishing each of the five interconnected characters affected by the curse instead of building out a broader context around them.

After all, the plot also depends on how well we know each of their deepest desires. Wish Your Death... walks a fine line between being overly blunt and refreshingly laid-back when it comes to laying out these traits — like any teenager, of course, these characters seek acceptance and belonging, but they also carry fears and dreams that are entirely unique to each of them. The script’s real heavy lifting, in truth, is making each of these characters unforgettable… not just easy to tell apart, but worthy of our support as the curse tears them to pieces.

On top of that, lead actress Jeon So-young (endlessly endearing with her bowl cut and excellent in her expressions of shock) has everything it takes to become the genre fans’ next scream queen. Lean and fast-moving across its eight episodes of just over 40 minutes each — a rarity in the world of k-dramas — and above all crafted with a clear sense of how much and when to use horror conventions, Wish Your Death... is a triumph. Especially in the details.

Se Desejos Matassem...

Created by: Park Joong-sub

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