South Korean thrillers have always done well on Netflix. I mean, look no further than the sustained popularity of “Squid Game,” the hit global sensation that is now getting the Hollywood adaptation treatment. Not every South Korean show can attain “Squid Game” levels of popularity, but some genre entries have made a mark, such as Kim Seong-je’s crime film “Bogotá: City of the Lost,” which topped Netflix charts back in February. Now, there’s a brand new serial killer show that is steadily making waves on the streaming platform: Byun Young-joo’s ongoing “Queen Mantis,” which melds standard crime thriller tropes with a slow-burn police procedural format.
It is worth noting that “Queen Mantis” is based on another Netflix series, namely the French thriller “Le Mante,” where a serial killer dubbed “The Mantis” becomes the subject of a chilling mystery (replete with complex familial trauma). While “La Mante” executes some worthwhile ideas, it is also problematic in its treatment of gender identity, which negatively impacts some of the intrigue it cooks up throughout the miniseries. As episodes of “Queen Mantis” continue to roll out, one can only hope that this adaptation will ultimately take a more tactful and nuanced approach to the subject matter.
So, what is “Queen Mantis” about? Police detective Cha Soo-yeol (Jang Dong-yoon) desperately wishes to escape the past, but the truth about his mother’s identity comes back to haunt him. His mother, Jung Yi-shin (Go Hyun-jung), is the infamous Mantis, currently serving time for five horrific murders. Trouble starts brewing once a killer mimics the Mantis’ modus operandi, compelling Soo-yeol to contact his mother to capture the culprit. What ensues is a tense, anxiety-inducing game of cat and mouse, making “Queen Mantis” a must-watch for crime thriller aficionados.
Queen Mantis uses subtle intrigue and convoluted motivations to further the plot
Spoilers for “Queen Mantis” follow.
Authorities enlisting the expertise of a serial killer to catch another serial killer is not a novel concept within the crime thriller genre. Fritz Lang’s German mystery thriller “M” pulls this off to great effect, where criminal organizations band together to catch an elusive child murderer after the police fail to do so. There’s also Jonathan Demme’s “The Silence of the Lambs,” where rookie cop Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is forced to play a twisted game of quid pro quo with the terrifying Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) to hunt down a killer before it’s too late. “Queen Mantis” adds intriguing layers to this trope by establishing a familial relationship between the negotiating parties, and Soo-yeol’s vulnerabilities are doubly pronounced in the proximity of his mother.
Soo-yeol’s attempts to track down the copycat inevitably lead to a confrontation with the past, as he needs to dig deep into his own trauma to be able to understand the copycat’s mentality. This also means allowing his infamous mother to access his innermost feelings, which include both deep resentment and a repressed yearning for maternal affection. There are also layers to Yi-shin’s motivations, as she had only targeted male sexual predators during her killing spree, hinting at the fact that there’s more to her predicament than meets the eye. However, this doesn’t mean that Yi-shin is incapable of manipulation — in fact, her relaxed existence inside her prison cell proves that she has smartly negotiated concessions over the years.
As you might’ve already guessed, “Queen Mantis” sports dark overtones, which go hand in hand with the grimness of the genre (along with the psychological mayhem it promises to deliver). That said, the eight-episode format might yield a fun and fast-paced crime thriller if the current momentum is fleshed out and sustained.
“Queen Mantis” is currently streaming on Netflix.
