In recent years, which type of Chinese drama is most likely to be a dark horse?
’s answer is surprising: unlimited streaming.
"The Beginning" in 2022 was a blast. The next "Twinkle Twinkle Star" was another hit.
But why do these dark horses capture the audience?
The real reason is two words: Dare to break through.
One of the key reasons why current domestic dramas are boring is that the audience tastes the same every time they eat them.
"The Long Season" has become popular, and a bunch of Northeastern suspense dramas have followed suit. An ancient puppet show has become popular, and countless ancient puppet dramas are in preparation.
Can’t the audience enjoy something new?
came as soon as it came.
Last night, Mango TV, "Nineteenth Floor". Sun Qian and Wei Zheming took the lead.
is adapted from Cai Jun's novel "The Nineteenth Level of Hell". However, the extent of the adaptation is subversive: horror and thriller, it has become a Chinese-style infinite flow with the style of Mango Escape.
Does the audience accept the account? The first 4 episodes were broadcast, and the number of views exceeded 30 million. It was the most popular on Mango TV, which is not bad.
word of mouth. Uneven. Some praise and some complain.
However, this may be the fate of those who break the national drama.
But at least, Mango Channel has embarked on a new path for domestic suspense dramas in 2024.
1, Shadow Puppet Monster, Nian Beast, Chinese Infinite Streaming, this drama caught my eye from the very beginning
In the hazy night, freshman Chun Yu "played by Sun Qian" followed his sleepwalking classmates into the abandoned old campus building.
opened the door, and a strange man with red eyes scared her so much that she screamed.
It is clearly written on the door, 19th floor.
A sudden awakening, a dream?
But then, a mysterious man blocks the road,
a car accident,
changes everything directly.
Chun Yu, who was injured and unconscious, opened his eyes in a hazy state, only to find himself in a strange elevator.
Direct access to the elevator - 19th floor.
opened the door, and a fantasy game world appeared in front of him.
's classmate Qingyou, and the gangster Qiang Ge who was in the car accident also appeared in this mysterious space.
What’s even more amazing is that a shadow puppet show started to be performed on the curtain in front of me.
Someone is playing a prank? When I came behind the curtain, I found that no one was controlling these shadow puppets.
The shadow puppet said, "You are already in danger."
A smell of Chinese horror has penetrated into the heart. What is going on with
? Before the heroine could figure it out, the shadow puppet suddenly turned into a real entity and came to life from behind the curtain. It was exuding a cold mist and was full of murderous intent. It held a weapon and rushed towards people.
Are you kidding? Directly piercing a person's body with a single shot, this game is fatal.
This is just the title sequence.
The show has begun. Without further ado, two game levels are presented to the audience.
Level 1: Shadow puppet monster.
Although everyone was rescued by Gao Xuan (played by Wei Zheming) when the shadow puppet monster rushed over, the crisis was far from over.
Shadow puppet monsters are everywhere in the deserted campus, and the shadow puppet monsters in the paintings are still materializing one after another.
Although there is half a structural diagram on the wall, the exits are blocked, and even the windows are sealed, leaving no way to escape.
In a desperate situation, the protagonist group came to the secret room to remove six people and six tools: the other half of the map, matches, flashlights, axes, candles, and pans.
The heroine decisively exchanged the flashlight from Brother Qiang, and the hero also saw through the heroine’s calculation at a glance: the shadow puppet monster is afraid of light.
But with a whole map of the secret room in his mind and a flashlight, it is still not enough to eliminate all the shadow puppet monsters. To be safe, he must turn on the switch in the power distribution room of the secret room and turn on all the lights.
But there are two power distribution rooms. Which room is the main switch in? What's even worse is that the weapons in everyone's hands are not unlimited: flashlights will run out of power and matches will run out.
Even if you enter the correct power distribution room, there may still be no light due to the lack of fuses and the inability to push the main switch.
I won’t tell you how the protagonist team broke through the crisis.
Just want to say one thing: Do you think that if you pass this level, the game will be cleared?
But the game has five levels in total. Even if
successfully passes the level and returns to the real world, at night, the second level of comes again - Nian Beast.
Like the shadow puppet monster, this time the entire Nian beast turned into a physical entity and flew down.
Doesn’t it hurt to look cheerful?
is to open your mouth and eat a living person alive. How does
break the situation? I thought it would explode some firecrackers, but I didn’t expect that if I inserted the identity card corresponding to the Nian beast into the corresponding jack, the Nian beast would be wiped out.
However, in an extreme pursuit and escape, how to ensure that everyone is holding the correct identity card?
The answer is: change the cards.
I must say that the scene where the male and female protagonists exchange identity badges is really cool. Their movements are clean and neat, and combined with the slow-motion feeling, the sense of high-level cp is instantly addictive.
This level is all about teamwork. For example, Chunyu directly gave the safety card to Lao Lin, who was older and had a leg injury.
Even Brother Qiang, who loves to do mischief, joined the team after losing two brothers.
A life and death showdown, the Nian beast passed.
is safe? We all know it's impossible.
The human-skinned people in the deserted village are waiting for the protagonist group in front.
This 19th-floor secret room game has just begun.
2. Multiple story lines go hand in hand, and the suspense lines are mixed but not confusing.
Although "The 19th Floor" has only released four episodes, in terms of appearance and face, it has already achieved adventures that most current suspense dramas are difficult to take.
The so-called lining is a story.
There are a total of five dungeons and 10 levels in "19th Floor". Each level is full of horror and unknowns. In addition to the weird shadow puppets that have emerged from the curtain wall and the huge Nian beast that can devour people, the next one will follow. Next, there will be stitched leather figurines that are reproduced one-to-one, mysterious and weird clowns, etc.
Good unlimited streaming dramas must be because they have a good story. The story of "The 19th Floor" is divided into three main lines.
The first line is the protagonist group’s line to defeat monsters and pass the level. After the
4 episode, it can be seen that the main creators are working hard to create the feeling of an infinite streaming drama, and the rhythm is clean and neat enough.
opens with the heroine going to the university to report. That night she dreamed of the weirdo in the old building, and the next day she had a car accident and entered the dungeon.
The first dungeon is a shadow puppet chase and a great escape. There is no complicated introduction, just go through the level directly. Although the brain-burning feeling is not enough, the sense of reasoning and participation are not weak.
This story line is the basis of "The 19th Floor" and the source of the fantasy charm of the entire story.
The second point is to find the truth in the real world.
The entire story jumps repeatedly between the real world and the game world.
After passing the game, Chun Yu wakes up in the real world. On the surface, everything is as usual, but Hei Er, who was stabbed by a shadow puppet monster in the game, has disappeared.
The fat man who was swallowed by the Nian beast in the game ended up in a coma due to alcohol poisoning in the real world.
It now seems that failure to pass levels in the game does not mean death in real life, but it is likely to fall into a lasting coma.
And as long as the game is not cleared, everyone will return to the game world.
Where is the exit and where is the truth?
What's even more terrible is that even in the real world, there are people in the dark watching their every move in their dreams.
The real world where the protagonist group lives is full of weirdness.
The attending doctor even had the bad guy written all over his face.
But it is said that the whole incident was manipulated by someone.
What is their purpose? When entering the game world, where are the true identities of the protagonist group?
Break through levels in the game world and solve puzzles in the real world. In this way, the grand background of "The 19th Floor" and the story line began to unfold slowly and simultaneously, and the audience also experienced the wonder of gradually becoming involved in the drama.
The third line is the character growth line.In the adventure of
, the dual-power setting of Sun Qian and Wei Zheming is quite exciting.
Unlike many unlimited adventure dramas where the heroine is a drag on her intelligence, the heroine Chun Yu played by Sun Qian in this drama has an aloof character and a very high IQ, and is the intellectual responsibility of the team.
The male protagonist Gao Xuan, played by Wei Zheming, is a university graduate student who knows more about games than the female protagonist and has been looking for the truth in the real world.
It is precisely through the cooperation of the two that the team has been able to avoid danger time and time again.
I have to say that Mango Channel captured Wei Zheming so handsomely.
Sun Qian's acting skills are as stable as ever, not only showing the determination and courage in the game, but also the inner confusion and struggle.
overall looks very impressive and can attract the audience to continue watching.
In addition to the male and female protagonists, the multi-faceted human nature is also the highlight of the series. In the game world, some people do not hesitate to hurt their companions in order to survive and get the most advantageous game props first, but some people are willing to sacrifice for their companions.
The most flattering supporting character currently is Chun Yu’s fan girl Qing You. The sweet girl clings to the cold sister Chun Yu. How will this character grow next and how will he sacrifice himself for Chun Yu and stay on the 19th floor forever?
The supporting cast that will appear one after another will not only bring out new story clues and help the protagonist group solve puzzles, but the growth of the game team itself is also a highlight.
The three story lines run parallel to each other and are organized by the director in an orderly manner. It does not seem chaotic at all. Instead, the puzzles are solved one by one, adding to the sense of decryption like peeling an onion.
has a good reputation, and naturally its reputation cannot be bad.
What we call face is actually the scene. Specifically, in the play, it means the camera operation, scheduling and shooting.
For example, the second level seemed chaotic, but was actually an interesting team battle with Nian Beast, which left a deep impression on me.
The protagonist group gradually understands the rules while avoiding the Nian beast, changing cards while running.
This battle may seem "chaotic", but in fact it is orderly.
centers on the close cooperation between the female protagonist Chun Yu and the male protagonist. The chase and escape set up many intensive tension points, such as the female protagonist inserting cards into the hole at the last moment to kill the Nian beast instantly.
The interweaving and scheduling of different characters changed the flat camera movement of conventional action scenes, allowing each character to have sufficient space to display, and those strange ways of chasing and escaping also made everyone sigh and improve themselves. The experience of watching a drama.
Just like that, "19th Floor" combines good content and face. This is where it truly breaks through as an infinite flow adventure type.
03. Just the right restoration and adaptation, creating a new path for Infinite Streaming adventure dramas
As an adaptation of Infinite Streaming works, the filming of "19th Floor" was not easy. The biggest breakthrough of
is that since it is impossible to copy the original work, which is too scary, it can only be modified.
But how to change it to attract old fans and new audiences, which puts higher requirements on screenwriters.
However, as reflected in the series, in terms of the scale of restoration and adaptation, "The 19th Floor" is actually quite good.
On the one hand, it does not give up the core attraction of the original work: the sense of horror.
As a rare domestic unlimited streaming drama, "The 19th Floor" skillfully integrates various horror elements such as Chinese horror, campus ghost stories, urban legends, etc. into the unlimited streaming setting.
Chinese scenes and plots such as sacrifices in deserted villages, hanging coffins with iron chains, resurrected shadow puppet monsters, and replica leather figurines all give people a sense of the horror atmosphere originating from the East.
Even at the beginning of the story, the abandoned teaching building, a campus ghost story that accompanies us in our student days, has deeply embedded the horror factor into the minds of the audience.
Although it is impossible to copy the settings of the original work, the adapted series is quite thrilling among Chinese dramas.
On the other hand, it has made Chinese unlimited streaming changes to some plots. The biggest breakthrough of
is to integrate traditional elements such as shadow puppetry, opera, and Nian beasts into the infinite flow game.
For example, the Nian beast is a little cute, a little fierce, and a little festive. These settings are creative and have a taste of traditional culture. The creators have put their heart into it.
Since the unlimited streaming type originated in Hollywood, and has become popular in Japanese and Korean dramas in recent years, such as the currently airing Korean drama "Immediate Death", the creators can easily fall into the past model, but "The 19th Floor" fortunately did not blindly copy it The successful model caters to Western aesthetics, but uses Chinese horror aesthetics throughout the copy, which makes it even more exciting to watch.
Chun Yu and Gao Xuan's witty cooperation once again captured the sense of sight of sapiosexuality. Every time they encounter difficulties, the two people's understanding at a glance makes me sour. And this high IQ setting also prevents the male and female protagonists from falling in love foolishly and bringing down the rhythm of the entire drama. Compared with many similar Chinese dramas, it is obviously an improvement.
Of course, "19th Floor" is not perfect, and it also leaves many regrets.
For example, many of the most exciting horror settings in the original work were ultimately unable to be fully presented. The production level of the
series is somewhat lacking. Some of the special effects scenes look fake and resemble web games, and they are frequently complained about by the audience.
Some character settings are unreasonable, especially the red-eyed man at the beginning, leaving the audience confused as to whether he wants the heroine to enter the game world or does not want her to enter.
If he hadn't blocked the school bus and caused a car accident, the heroine would not have been unconscious. When he came, he exclaimed, "Why are you here?" At that moment, I believed that I was not the only one who wanted to hit him.
Also, although the acting skills of the main cast are good, and Qingyou is also very cute, overall, the acting skills of the main cast composed of young actors are still insufficient. Next, it depends on whether the appearance of veteran actors such as Tian Li, Xiu Qing, and Chen Chuang can further enhance the acting content of the series.
Even so, the flaws do not hide the advantages. These shortcomings can be tolerated by me who is looking forward to the breakthrough of domestic unlimited streaming.
Many viewers directly compare the series with mature Japanese and Korean unlimited streaming works in Hollywood, believing that domestic unlimited streaming works are incomparable and have no merit.
As an audience, I am certainly qualified to speak out, but I believe that the development of domestic genre dramas is not achieved in one step, especially for the new genre of unlimited streaming. Currently, only a few works such as "Terminal Brain" and "The Beginning" have achieved breakthroughs. .
Even if "The Beginning" is a hit, it has not accelerated the popularity of this genre. Even "The Beginning 2" seems to be far away. In the final analysis, the unlimited streaming pie is too hard and is far less easy to chew than the mature ancient puppet fairy dramas. .
The cost of shooting is not low, it is difficult to pass the review, and it is easy to be complained about. Who is willing to do such a thankless task?
But breakthrough attempts are the cornerstone of innovation. At least at this point of innovation, "19th Floor" still has a lot to offer.
In a sense, any breakthrough in the mature Chinese drama genre is an endless game of breakthroughs. If you fail once, you have to go back to the starting point and start again.
If you can't pass the first level, how can you pass it?
"19th Floor" is not perfect, but it deserves it, and the audience should give it a chance.
