6ixtynin9 The Series – Netflix Review

6IXTYNIN9 on Netflix is a new series from Thailand. It’s a crime, thriller, comedy hybrid, but the comedy is very dark. Also, there is a lot of brutal violence. The series has six episodes, so it’s a fairly quick watch. Read our full 6ixtynin9 series review here!

6IXTYNIN9 is a new Netflix series from Thailand. It’s called a “comedy” first and foremost, but all the warnings involve violence of various sorts. That should tell you a lot. In fact, while this is a comedy, it is a very dark and brutal comedy. Including many violent scenes with no hint of comedy.

I found crime and thriller to be more accurate primary genres. Of course, it does also vary from one episode to the next. There are six episodes in the series with five 45-minute episodes and the series finale being just around the one-hour mark.

Also, make sure you stick around for the information just before the end credits. There are some real-life series issues that are also covered in this series, and I always appreciate using the arts to get the message out to the world.

Continue reading our 6ixtynin9 series review below. Find all six episodes on Netflix from September 6, 2023.

The reimagining of a 1999 movie

If the story in the 6ixtynin9 series is familiar, it may be because you’ve watched the 1999 movie that this is a series version of. Hence the full title of this Netflix production is actually 6ixtynin9: The Series.

The story in both the movie and the series does follow a similar plot. Here, we meet Toom (Mai-Davika Hoorne), who loses her job right at the beginning of the series. In the 1999 movie, it was due to the Asia crisis, and in this 2023 series, it’s because of the pandemic. An easy and obvious update that most viewers should be able to relate to.

For the record, the scene where Toom and most of her colleagues are fired is brutal. The boss is kind enough, but the method is absolutely crazy.

In any case, very soon after being fired, Toom stumbles on a mysterious box filled with cash. It has been left on her doorstep, but obviously isn’t for her. The reason this box of cash (a lot of cash) lands on Toom’s doorstep is that a loose screw keeps changing the number 6 on her door to number 9.

This is actually a running joke, as she keeps changing and it keeps falling down.

More violent than amusing

Before the end of episode 1, we see two gangsters arriving at Toom’s apartment. They seem to have discovered their mistake and things get very violent. In fact, it’s part of the core plot that she ends up killing these two gangsters to save her own life.

Obviously, having a box full of cash that belongs to criminals and killing two criminals has a very negative influence on her life. It starts a chain of events that are as brutal as they can be darkly amusing. To me, the life of Toom is much more brutal violence than it is “darkly amusing” (an official description), but the series does have comedy as well.

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For me, the funniest part (and even one of the best parts) is when someone dies and is confronted with an angel.  She’s one sassy angel and isn’t shy about telling them a few truths. Even punishing them a bit, when she sees fit. Especially in the sixth and final episode, many people die, so we see the angel quite a lot.

Watch 6ixtynin9 The Series on Netflix now!

The writer and director of the original 1999 movie is Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, and he is also the one adapting the 90-minute film into a six-part series. Obviously, this has enabled the creator to delve much deeper into both the various characters and storylines.

Another really cool fact is that nearly half of the original film’s crew (including cameramen, line producers, wardrobe personnel, and editors) were able to return for this series. During the challenges of the pandemic, I’m sure this has been an important job for them. The cast, however, is entirely new.

You may also be familiar with other productions by Pen-Ek Ratanaruang. He wrote and directed the 2011 movie Headshot and also directed an episode of the HBO Asia horror anthology series Folklore.

Having just recently watched the Thai horror-comedy The Murderer, I expected this series to have lighter comedy as it’s first and foremost described as being a “dark comedy”. I don’t think this is fair to the series, as it is much more and much darker than this indicates. I certainly needed to let go of my expectations in order to appreciate what it is.

Check it out for yourself to see what this series can offer. With just six episodes, it’s a series you can watch in its entirety quite quickly.

6ixtynin9 The Series is on Netflix from September 6, 2023.

Details

Director: Pen-Ek Ratanaruang
Stars: Mai-Davika Hoorne, Patara Eksangkul, Pruet Nakprad, Foei-Patara Eksangkul, Man-Trisanu Soranun, Mine-Thanaporn Rattanasasiwimon