Goedam: Season 1 – Netflix Review (3/5)

GOEDAM (2020) is a Netflix horror anthology from South Korea. Each episode has a runtime of around 5-10 minutes. Essentially, they’re bitesize horror snacks featuring ghost stories and urban legends. Read our full Goedam Season 1 review here!

GOEDAM is a Netflix horror anthology featuring bitesize episodes that are around 5-10 minutes in runtime. Also, many of them are connected in smaller or bigger ways.

I was thoroughly entertained by this anthology from South Korea. However, I do feel like I’m missing out quite a bit since I’m not familiar with urban legends or classic ghost stories from Korea.

Continue reading our Goedam Season 1 review here and check it out on Netflix. The first season has just 8 episodes and we’ve watched them all for this review.

Urban Ghost Stories from South Korea

The title of “Goedam” which sounds either Dutch and makes me think “Goddamn!” actually means “urban ghost story” in Korean. And that’s exactly what this new horror anthology on Netflix is all about. Various ghost stories and urban legends.

All episodes are entertaining and not a single one really falls through. However, as a whole, I always feel like I’m missing the big picture. For this anthology to work better for a Western audience, a few title cards explaining the various urban legends or ghost stories would have been a huge help. Just to tie it all together.

In the next segment of this review, we’ll go through each episode and just give a few words on the plot. Nothing to spoil you but rather to get you started. Because you really should watch this new Netflix addition!

The 8 Goedam episodes of season 1

The eight episodes of season 1 managed to deliver quite a lot of different plots and scares. In general, it works extremely well when practical effects are used. When CGI is used, it definitely doesn’t come across very well. Also, most episodes feature quite a lot of blood and often have body horror and gore as well.

Let’s go through the short episodes of Goedam with a quick rundown.

Crack is episode 1

Crack offers a solid start that sets the tone pretty well. Also, it’s a nail-biting ghost story. Literally!

The opening episode offers both ghosts and blood. Lots of it!  

Destination is episode 2

With Destination we see a classic “taxi-driver at night”-plot that could easily be an urban legend, you find strangely familiar.

Special Guest is episode 3

To me, Special Guest immediately reminded me of the Tutorial episode of Two Second Horror Stories (read our review here). Since it was my favorite episode of that other bitesize horror anthology, I was an instant fan. Special Guest, however, has a very different plot twist, so any comparison isn’t a spoiler.

Curiosity is episode 4

Episode 4 of Goedam is the first one to really incorporate the iconic Train to Busan moves. At the same time, Curiosity also features a character reminiscent of “Sadako” from the Japanese Ringu (The Ring). Finally, we get to deal with some truly nightmarish happenings.

This episode also features the K-Pop star, Seola. 

Red Shoes is episode 5

With Red Shoes the story turns more to the teacher, who we’ve already seen a few times. Something sinister seems to be going on. The walking in red shoes at the end of episode 5 should make most women squirm!

Dimension is episode 6

This might actually be my favorite episode. Dimension has the kind of story that I could easily imagine a whole movie built around. With this short episode in a horror anthology, we get both true body horror, blood, and gore plus a twist worthy of M. Night Shyamalan.

The plot of Dimension? Well, it’s about interdimensional travel… via elevator! Yes, apparently it’s more common than you think.

Threshold is episode 7

Threshold is a short episode that packs a lot of horror, but also some subpar CGI. Still, it has a plot that includes something along the lines of Build-a-Bear meets Resident Evil. Also, the practical effects towards the end are really good.

Birth is episode 8

The final episode of Goedam season 1 is Birth. While I might want to watch the Dimension plot turned into a feature film, I want the main character from the Birth episode to have a whole TV series!

She has the most awesome face and can give crazy eyes better than anyone. The story was brutal and intriguing, but nothing extraordinary. However, she definitely was. Just a perfect performance from her!

Watch Goedam Season 1 on Netflix now!

You can watch all episodes of Goedam season 1 now and it’ll take you less than an hour, so just jump right into it. This South Korean anthology series is incredibly well-produced and I am certainly keeping my fingers crossed for a season 2 of Goedam.

We can all help make sure Netflix knows we want Goedam season 2 by watching this quickly. Let’s go horror fans!

Season 1 of Goedam is out in most countries worldwide from August 20, 2020.

Details

Director: Hong Won-ki
Stars: SEOLA, Song Chae-yun, Lee Hyun-joo, Han Ga-rim, Shim So-young