Widescreen Online Review Plus: ‘Tale of the Nine Tailed’

Friday, August 28, 2020

‘Tale of the Nine Tailed’

You remember Lee Dong Wook, the South Korean actor, who starred in the 2016 international hit ‘Goblin’, in which he played a reaper, and more recently, in the 2019 series ‘Strangers from Hell’, in the of role Seo Moon Jo, who I was never able to pin down as just plain evil to the bone, or the devil himself. Now Lee Dong Wook is back in another supernatural story, but this time he stars in ‘Tale of the Nine Tailed’.

In Japanese folklore there is a fox that has nine tails and is a destructive trickster. Fans young and old of the animated series know that Naruto had a rampaging nine fox implanted in him at birth the save the Hidden Leaf Village and that Naruto and the beast had to come to terms with each other in order to survive. And there is also the 2010 series ‘My Girlfriend is a(Gumshoe) Nine Tailed Fox’ which proves that having nine tails does not necessarily mean you are an evil creature.

So what does this revelation of Lee Dong Wook playing the nine beasts entail?

Well, according to Lee Cox at MyDramaList, the story features a mythical nine-tailed fox, or gumiho, Lee Yeo who has just settled in the city. Able to transform into human form, he goes about cleansing human spirits, all the while creating havoc. Are his needless acts of havoc enacted on purpose? Or, do they occur as an inescapable part of his nature? Either way enters Nam Ji Ah, a talented television producer whose current show features urban myths.

Unknowingly she doggedly steps into the dangerous world most people view as myths. She sets her sights on Lee Yeon who appears just too good to be true; irresistibly handsome, intelligent, and fits the ideal portrait of a guest for her show. But his heartlessness will render doubt in her that he is really of this world. Moreover, step-brother to Lee Yeon is the captivating Lee Rang, reputed to be the most dangerous of all gumihos living among humans. Despite being half-human himself, Lee Rang harbors a deep-seated contempt for all people. For sport, he will unleash his seductive prowess upon his human-du-jour, by promising to grant them their wishes, only to trick them into paying a hefty price for their earthly desires.