Vampires live and walk among humans in broad daylight in the South Korean mini-series, Freeze.
Set in modern-day Seoul, wine bar owner and vampire, Joong-Won (LEE Seo-Jin) has simply existed for the last 350 years. He finds no joy in his immortal life and is unable to get over the guilt of his past. His friend, business partner and vampire E-Hwa (SON Tae-Young) maintains the steady flow of blood in their diet - to keep them from having to endure the painful effects of withdrawal before death - and death is something Joong-Won craves. Trouble is, there is a serial killer on the loose whose trademark is to leave 2 teeth marks at the base of the neck... increasingly, this means E-Hwa's supply of blood is hard to come by.
The plot thickens when news of the death of a former love reaches Joong-Won. Hee shows up at the funeral to pay his respects and meets his former lover's teenage daughter Ji-Woo (PARK Han-Byul) and finds out that she had been abandoned by her father, who succumbed to alcohol and gambling addictions. Cold-hearted he leaves her with some money and advice, hoping never to have to see her again.
Disillusioned and angry at her father and the world, Ji-Woo quits school and runs off to Seoul where she finds an interest in learning how to tattoo - and of course, the only person she knows in Seoul is the guy that showed up at her mom's funeral, Joong-Won.
For a story about a vampire, Freeze is a a lot more human than one would expect - especially given how vampires are portrayed in European and North American folklore. Clearly, there are similarities between Freeze, Angel and Forever Knight - where the vampires are good people. The only difference is that Angel and Forever Knight have this sense of duty and a desire to "fighting the good fight", while Freeze just wants to rest in peace and doesn't know how. (Apparently the stake through the heart idea either a) doesn't work, b) is frowned upon by vampires or c) hadn't crossed their minds.
Still, going from wanting to end one's life and then finding a reason to live again is perhaps something universal that crosses over any and all kinds of boundaries. It's a rather refreshing take on the idea of immortal existence - perhaps something foreign to North American and European cultures is the idea of reincarnation and that death is a part of life. That everything has a beginning and an end. And to deliver in the short mini-serial format than the regular 16-20 hour format, is also rather satisfying.
YA Entertainment releases this mini-series in a fold out snap box on 3 discs with Interviews with all 3 leading characters and Behind the Scenes.
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