author | Wu Luzhi
editor | Xiang Wanwan
Recently, Tencent X Theater launched a new suspenseful criminal investigation drama "Black Earth Silent ".
The story takes place in a quiet northeastern town, and unfolds due to a bizarre murder case.
During the in-depth investigation, the police gradually revealed a past event that spanned 15 years in the 1990s.
Does this plot look a bit familiar?
Many viewers who love suspense dramas immediately thought of the ceiling of "Northeast Suspense" " The Long Season ", and their expectations were once full.
However, as "Black Soil Silence" was aired, its reputation continued to decline.
Some netizens complained that the film was riding on the popularity of "Northeastern suspense" because it neither arranged the suspenseful rhythm of multi-line narrative nor told the Northeastern story in the context of the times.
Since it is so sought after and expected by the audience, what exactly is the top line in this suspense drama - "Northeast Suspense"?
"Northeast Suspense", as the name suggests, tells stories that happen in the Northeast.
In the 1990s, Northeast China was experiencing changes of the times, with a dilapidated economy and industrial decline. Workers who originally thought they could retire in factories were facing a "tide of layoffs."
Abandoned factories, desolate urban and rural areas, exhausted people, and unpredictable human hearts have made small towns in the Northeast a hotbed of crime and a bunker for unsolved cases.
People are forced to rewrite their destiny and lose their loved ones. Even if they retain the unique bold humor of Northeastern people, the endless depression and embarrassment are still the background of life.
The individual's fall is intertwined with the tragedy of the times, creating a unique rhythm of "Northeast Suspense".
today shares with you 5 high-scoring Northeastern-themed suspense dramas. Let’s experience the charm of “Northeastern suspense” together!
01 "The Long Season": the most beautiful
The most "god-worthy" TV series in 2023 is undoubtedly "The Long Season", with a Douban score of 9.4, making it the highest-rated domestic TV series in recent years.
The story begins in 2016 in a northeastern industrial town called "Hualin". Taxi driver Wang Xiang was eating lunch and waiting for his brother-in-law Gong Biao to take over his shift.
Gong Biao drove a "new car" to show off to Wang Xiang. After a little inspection, Wang Xiang found that the car had been soaked in water and the engine had been overhauled.
Gong Biao was cheated.
Unexpectedly, there was something worse. Not long after they started driving, they were stopped by the police and taken to the traffic police brigade.
Surveillance video shows a taxi with the same license plate number as Gong Biao's "new car" hitting someone in Tiexi and then escaping.
But at that time, Gong Biao was transferring the ownership of the "new car", and it was obvious that the car had been registered.
Because the victim of the hit was still in the hospital, the car had to be impounded.
As a big brother who is good at "keeping things in order", Wang Xiang took Gong Biao to the hospital to find the victim, but found that the victim had pulled out the needle and ran away.
The two could only continue to search. In the process, Wang Xiang gradually suspected that this man was related to the murder of his son Wang Yang eighteen years ago, so he found the retired police cavalry team to investigate the truth of that year.
As the investigation deepens, more clues surface. The truth about a corpse dismemberment case that happened eighteen years ago and a dusty past about a boy and girl were gradually revealed.
"The Long Season" is another masterpiece by director Xin Shuang after his hit debut "The Hidden Corner".
uses three timelines in 2016, 1998, and 1997 to tell the story alternately. Director
did not mark the time deliberately, but the superb transitions, closely connected clues and the actors' delicate micro-performances made the timeline switching very smooth, while adding suspense and freshness to the narrative, making people unable to help but shout "advanced" ".
"The Long Season" also breaks the stereotype of "Northeast Suspense".
There are no dark skies, icy snow scenes, or depressing atmosphere in the play. Instead, they are replaced by the golden and warm late autumn scene of a small northeastern town.
After people are crushed by the wheels of the times, even if they have regrets, grievances, and unwillingness, they still have love, hope, and perseverance in their hearts, and spend every "long season" in a serious life. .
"Look forward, don't look back!" is a sentence echoed from the beginning to the end of the play, and it is also Director Xin Shuang's attitude towards continuous creation.
Xin Shuang did not deliberately follow certain definitions, he just wanted to continue to do new things.
The novelty of "The Long Season" lies in its treatment of crime suspense themes in a life-oriented way, integrating the story into people's daily lives and fully mobilizing the audience's emotions;
It also lies in its treatment of modern social issues such as the elderly who lost their only child and the plight of women. The attention and discussion inject richer and more vital emotional clues into the story.
The success of "The Long Season" is essentially about telling a good story in a good way.
In line with the Northeastern comedy performance method of "three sentences and one gag, five sentences and one comment" in the play, Fan Wei, Qin Hao and other veteran drama stars' down-to-earth character creations finally created the "sealed" version of domestic TV dramas. God's work.
If you feel after watching "The Long Season" that it is too warm and not "hard-core", then don't miss this "Northeast Suspense" criminal investigation drama.
02 "Undocumented Crime": the most hardcore
In an ordinary northeastern small town, on an ordinary cold winter night, an ordinary mink man walked into an ordinary alley.
I don’t know how long it took, but a young man driving a tricycle slowly drove into the alley.
The young man saw a snowman on the roadside and a person sitting behind him.
Perhaps he was worried that someone would freeze if he was drunk on the roadside late at night, so the young man got out of the car and went to check.
This didn’t matter, the boy was so frightened that he screamed and rolled away.
The man died, strangled by a skipping rope, and the two ends of the skipping rope were tied to the snowman's "hands".
There are four big characters on the snowman's body: "Please come and catch me."
The reason why the murderer is so arrogant is that this is already the third victim in the "Snowman" series of murders, and the police have not yet had enough clues.
In order to solve the case as soon as possible, the police force transferred back the detective Yan Liang who had been demoted and transferred to a lower level.
Yan Liang quickly identified the suspect - his once most trusted partner, forensic doctor Luo Wen.
All clues point to Luo Wen being the Snowman, but there is no direct evidence.
Luo Wen used superb technical means to trap Yan Liang, but at the same time he was trapped by Li Toyota, the murderer of his wife and daughter's disappearance.
Luo Wen tracked down Li Toyota in his own way and wanted to avenge his wife and daughter, but unexpectedly he was killed instead.
Li Toyota also destroyed evidence and created another undocumented case.
"Undocumented Crime" has a Douban score of 8.0 and is adapted from the novel of the same name by the famous suspense writer Zijin Chen.
But this is not a drama that attracts people with its "suspense".
In the first half of the plot, the murderer has already appeared, and his motives have been clarified early.
"Undocumented Crime" focuses on human nature, how people deal with themselves in the center of the whirlpool, how to make choices between good and evil, and how fate plays out.
In addition to the protagonists with high IQ and superb skills, an ordinary supporting character also impressed me deeply.
Guo Yu, a trainee lawyer who just graduated from university, was involved in a murder case because he wanted to protect his lover.
In order to escape guilt, he accepted the help of "Snowman" and erased the evidence of murder.
But he never thought that he would be drawn deeper and deeper into the game between Yan Liang and Luo Wen.
He went from an inexperienced boy who was impulsive, had a sense of justice, and wanted to protect his lover. He was gradually eaten away by the dark desires in his heart and turned into an extremely selfish and ruthless "big boss".
His ordinaryness and fragility have been transformed by the temptation of the chaotic social environment.
"Undocumented Crime" was filmed in Harbin, truly restoring the cold, embarrassed, depressed and struggling life of "Little Paris of the East" in the era of gradual decline.
Some netizens once commented that some of the plots about the social atmosphere in "Undocumented Crime" are too absurd.
Immediately, a netizen who lived in Harbin in the 1990s came forward and said:
"When we were squeezing into the bus, we had a conflict, and the upper elbows were lightly slapped.
Often when the car stopped and opened the door, the two people grabbed each other's hair and rolled away. Come down and slide a few meters on the glistening ice, even if your hair falls off, you won't let go."
"Undocumented Crime" is not only a "hard-core" suspense criminal investigation drama, but also a drama depicting the past. A realistic drama about the social atmosphere of Northeast China.
03 "Coward": the most youthful
"Coward" is adapted from Zheng Zhi's novel "Swallowed Alive", with a Douban score of 7.7. Its uniqueness lies in its "youth".
's original work "Swallowed Alive" is known as "the light of domestic suspense novels".
uses the perspective of the "second generation from the Northeast" and tells the story of youth pain belonging to that era around the "foursome" of Qin Li, Huang Shu, Wang Di, and Feng Xuejiao.
The title of the book "Swallowed Alive", the author explains through the mouth of the protagonist: "Only suffering is treated equally, and no one is allowed to chew slowly."
Suffering is a portrayal of the lives of the protagonists Qin Li and Huang Shu, and it is also a reflection of the lives of thousands of people. The real situation of children born in an ordinary Northeastern family in a difficult and confused era.
Ten years ago, the beautiful 17-year-old girl Huang Shu died on a snowy and cold night.
She was naked and abandoned in a "ghost building". There were suspicious patterns carved on her belly and she had been violated before her death.
The heavy snow covered up all the clues and made the girl's death a mystery.
Ten years later, another girl's body was found in the "Ghost House", also naked, with the same suspicious pattern.
Interpol Feng Guojin, who had been involved in the Huang Shu case, launched another investigation and found Qin Li, discovering that he was inseparable from the murders of these two girls.
The sufferings imposed by the times are imprinted on children through their parents.
Qin Li's father was a murderer and robber, and was sentenced to death.
Qin Li, who lost the mainstay of his family, was not only called the "son of a murderer" but was bullied by his classmates. He also went from being a Mathematical Olympiad genius to a deaf disabled person because he had no money for medical treatment.
Huang Shu’s mother has mental illness and started a pyramid scheme in order to make money. She is wanted by the police.
Huang Shu, who was fostered in her uncle's house, had to earn money by dancing in bars to save for college tuition.
's premature exposure to the dark side of society paved the way for Huang Shu's tragedy.
Wang Di’s father accepted a settlement of 5,000 yuan from the other party after his son was unreasonably abused and chose not to pursue the case.
The originally talented literary young man began to understand that money and power are the laws of social operation. He turned to associate with rich second-generation classmates and developed a rift with Qin Li.
later chose to become an accomplice when Qin Li was framed by the school and dropped out of school.
Feng Xuejiao's mother went south to do business and was good at calculations. Her father, Feng Guojin, was obsessed with investigating cases and didn't care much about family affairs.
The spoiled Feng Xuejiao has a weak character and no independent opinion.
At the request of her mother, as the initiator of Qin Li's frame-up, even though she felt guilty and uneasy, she never had the courage to tell the truth.
Friendship fell apart, and fate once again struck an unbearable weight.
In order to buy Qin Li a hearing aid, Huang Shu took a lucrative job singing with her boss.
ended up being imprisoned in the boss's private club, violated by many people, and eventually died.
The suspense of "Coward" is also created using multi-line narrative. One is the warm and bright youthful memories of the foursome, and the other is the dark and cold investigation and solving of the case from the police perspective.
The repeatedly switching perspectives, the strongly contrasting fates, and the repeatedly reversal of the plot make the audience’s hearts unable to truly fall into place until the last moment.
However, when the cloak of suspense is removed, when the truth is revealed, what remains in the hearts of the audience is the sadness of the protagonists' youthful separation, the regret of succumbing to the rules, the bravery against fate, and the tragedy of fighting back against suffering.
04 "Moses on the Plains": the most literary
To say that the most "promising" Northeastern suspense drama must be "Moses on the Plains".
It was shortlisted for the drama unit of the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival, bringing the Northeastern suspense style to the world.
"Moses on the Plains" is adapted from Shuang Xuetao's novel of the same name, which is one of the masterpieces that reflects the scars of Northeast China's transformation at the end of the last century.
The protagonists of the story, Zhuang Shu and Li Fei, are childhood sweethearts and neighbors. Their parents were both employees of Qingcheng Cigarette Factory.
The two families have a good relationship. The children grew up together and spent a carefree childhood.
Later, when the state-owned enterprises were restructured, all the original employees were laid off.
Father Zhuang contracted the old factory and suddenly became the boss; Father Li received severance pay and worked hard to make a living all day long.
Personal destiny has taken different paths in the changing times, and the situations of the two families have also begun to change dramatically. A few months after
moved out of the factory, Zhuang Shu and Li Fei met again by chance.
The two agreed to meet in a cornfield in the suburbs on Christmas Eve and set off fireworks together.
But that night, Zhuang Shu did not wait for Li Fei, and at the same time, a murder occurred not far from the agreed place.
Li Fei disappeared from Zhuang Shu’s life.
When they met again, Zhuang Shu was a criminal police officer investigating the murder case that year, and Li Fei was a participant in the case who lost his legs in a car accident.
The beautiful childhood and the obsession in my heart disappeared forever due to the twists and turns of fate.
"Moses on the Plain" was shortlisted for the Berlin Film Festival because of its literary and artistic quality.
With just 6 episodes and 420 minutes, "Moses on the Plain" is more like an extra-long movie.
"Suspense" is just the lead in the play. Director Zhang Dalei did not use cross-narratives, but used documentary lenses to slowly narrate each moment of the present.
The drama rarely has the tense and exciting atmosphere of a suspense drama. The slow shots, beautiful pictures, and real settings make you feel like you are witnessing the quiet flowing time at the end of the last century.
There is less suspense and more literature and art, which makes the evaluation of "Moses on the Plain" divided into two levels.
Some people complained about its bland narrative and sloppy reasoning; others were amazed by its hidden emotions and lingering aftertaste.
Compared with a suspense drama, "Moses on the Plains" is more like a life movie reflecting the changing era of Northeast China.
The fate of the characters in the play is like the boat when Zhuang Shu and Li Fei met at the end, floating in the center of the wave of the times, calm but with a hint of tragedy.
In the last scene, the plain cigarette box with the childhood Xiao Fei's appearance is floating on the lake, as if Li Fei has dissipated with those beautiful childhood memories.
The picture is beautiful, the imagination is overflowing, and the great sorrow of the times echoes on the water.
05 "Gong Gong·Old Northeast Events": The most Northeastern
recommended this "Northeast Mystery" with a Douban score of 7.4 and starring Mr. Fan Wei. It has the gene of Northeastern comedy at first glance.
"Mr. Merit·Old Events in the Northeast" revealed many murder cases at the very beginning.
In 1990, it was rumored that there was gold in the Beas River, a small northeastern town, which attracted many people to come here to pan for gold.
People from all walks of life gather together, and vicious incidents occur frequently.
However, these strange things finally focused on Quan Liang, a junior employee of the security department of the thermos bottle factory played by Teacher Fan Wei.
Lao Shang was a middle-aged "loser" of that era. His wife ran away, his relationship with his daughter was tense, and he had an ordinary job. He was obsessed with exploring alien civilizations and Qigong Dafa all day long.
In order to get a chance to work as a non-staff temporary worker in the Public Security Bureau, he wanted to make a great contribution, so he began to trace the initial murder case, and gradually became involved in a series of bizarre cases.
The reason why "Legong·Old Northeast Stories" is said to be the most Northeastern is because of its comedy core.
The veteran businessman's unconstrained actions brought ridiculous results, stringing together a series of bizarre cases. The whole drama seemed to be a crime-solving version of "Strange Things" or a Northeastern version of "Stranger Things."
In the play, a large number of unique life fragments of the 1990s are used to build the "Beas River World".
For example, qigong fever, paihuazi (a method of abducting children), lottery carts in wet markets, small advertisements for "miracle doctors" all over the street...
There are also those sold at small newsstands in stations, featuring various celebrities Scandals, bizarre murders, and emotional disputes are the headlines, and the covers of various magazines are covered with colorful words.
Some of the bizarre stories come from them, and some come from folk tales spread in the Northeast.
For example, Nibiru and the Anunnaki, the mystery of Bermuda, there is gold in the Greater Khingan Mountains that the Japanese army did not have time to take away when they retreated, and the Fengman Hydropower Station in Jilin is still supplying power to unknown areas...
These bizarre and unverifiable stories are The common memories of Northeastern children make Pisces River both real and absurd, Northeastern and full of fantasy.
"Legong·Old Northeast Stories" is not a standard suspense drama, nor a traditional criminal investigation drama, nor a simple Northeastern comedy.
But if you want to watch tough guy showdowns, this drama has them; thriller twists, this drama also has them; funny and humorous ones, this drama also has them.
In the huge plot network that has been laid out at the beginning, multiple lines of light and dark are intertwined, intersecting in the development of the story, and advancing the development of the story in the intersecting process.
It is rich but not cluttered, and every detail is perfectly connected. The suspenseful ending has been completed in laughter, and the character's "sublimation of meritorious service" has been achieved.
06 Written at the end
"Northeast Suspense" has always been an excellent representative of the suspense drama genre, not only because of its review of the past era, but also its reflection on modern development.
"Snow Maze" produced by Zhang Yimou will be released soon, and the Northeastern suspense novel "Silence of the Cold Night" which became a hit when it was released at the end of last year will also be made into a film.
There will be more excellent Northeastern suspense stories to meet the audience in the future, which is worth looking forward to.
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