Akmong Sunsaeng

My wife and I are horror buffs, so we checked this out based on someone's "best Korean horror series" recommendation list.

It's really light on the horror side; probably inappropriate for anyone under 13 years old, but that's the extent of it.

However, we found it was tons of fun (albeit very silly) and we thought all the storylines were pleasantly different enough to keep us going through the whole show. The acting is actually pretty solid, especially from the eponymous Teacher, and the characters are all entertaining in their own ways.

Fun stuff! But don't expect to be scared or find anything remotely highbrow about it. This is a high school drama written for teenagers, probably BY teenagers, and it's mostly just an amusing cautionary tale about the consequences of being greedy little monsters.

I almost gave up watching it, but I'm glad I gave it a chance. I went without a lot of expectations and I was surprised. It's a short drama so the story doesn't have as much time to develop as some do, but I think they did a good job overall. The story is interesting and each episode you are curious about what will happen with each character. In short, it will entertain you if you look for: a not too heavy suspense + school drama, short, not so elaborate, but enough to hook you and stories with reflective (and i would say also teen) themes. And, for example, if it has been a while since you watched your last kdrama, its a great startover. Just a detail at the end that I think could be different to improve consistency. Overall 8.

Spoiler: I think it would be better if they don't forget the dreams at the end, so they could learn the lessons for real.

Initially Nightmare Teacher (or Nightmare High) seems like your typical highschool drama but after the first episode it becomes clear that the story is far more deep and innovative. The plot focuses on personal desires of young people whether it may be popularity, appearance, intelligence etc and the consequences of not being content.

Teachers are meant to lead us along the right path through learning, in some circumstances the only way for one to learn is through experience and consequence and Nightmare High explores this concept in a fantastic meaningful way.

There is a light element of horror mixed in with some mystery. By the end of the series you are sure to have more questions instead of answers, particularly about the antihero. The ending of the series is left largely open to interpretation where the viewer will try to piece together everything and come up with their own unique conclusions. It also stuck with me for a few days!

I thoroughly enjoyed Nightmare High and I hope a second season is being considered. Perhaps with a lot more focus on the mysterious antihero. On the side note, the soundtrack for this series is beautifully composed.

I guess I am watching too much Korean Drama. Picked up on Mr. Han immediately. For those that do not know, he was the infamous Joo Dan Tee in Penthouse-Art of War, a part he played to the hilt who met an appropriate end. If you have not seen Penthouse, do so. It lasted for three seasons condensed and each one was better than the other. Really good stuff-much much better than what the Americans offer.

After the shock of seeing Joo Dan Tee as Mr. Han wore off, I began to compare him to his role in Penthouse which is similar but not quite as bloodthirsty or devious. I wish they had used adults instead of kids because desiring fame is something that is not limited to teenagers. Actually, I thought of Rod Serling and a number of English Short Stories(Devil and Daniel Webster) and even Star Trek as models for this series. So, watch this and let your imagination go to the way things could have been and remember,-be careful what you wish for, you might get it. And, whatever you do, stay out of the counseling room if you won't want to run into Joo Dan Tae.

I do not understand if I loved it or if I disliked it, I only understand that I have a lot to think about, I love that they leave questions floating on air even when we want to know if the teacher is really bad or the students are. I guess, we are all probably wicked and there's only one wish missing to be completely who we want to be