Review – Nightmare High / Nightmare Teacher

What a fun little slice of a dark morality play!  This show reminds of me of an anime, in a way, as anime’s have always been more eager to jump into the horror genre.  It also reminded me of an anime in that it was fairly simplistic.  You won’t get the usual character development, home life, tropes and heightened emotions generally found in a Korean drama.  This show stays pretty even layered in its thin but satisfying story about a classroom of high school students who end up with a new teacher… who grants them their wishes and watches as they sabotage themselves with their desires.  The kids start out with good intentions, but greed and revenge and personal gain always get the best of them… and things go sour.  One after the other, they start to disappear, trapped in a nightmare of their own making.

Nightmare Teacher was exactly what it said it was going to be and delivered fun little examinations into the darker side of young adulthood.  Kids can be cruel.  Just like a prison system, a high school has its own rules and regulations and inmate behaviors that are common and often “overlooked” by adults and even other kids.  That’s just the way things are, they shrug.  And kids can also be kind, and watch each others backs and do the right thing and step up when needed.  This show examines the balance between good and evil, and how both sides of the coin are apart of us all.

Uhm Ki-Joon was delightful as the unassuming face of evil (or was he?).  And Kim So-Hyun was wonderful as his antagonist, the bright student who plays it safe.  It’s not deep, mind you.  Just a quick and simple little exploratory adventure into a dark fairy tale that’s a short and pleasant way to pass the time.

Overall Rating – 7.5/10.  What Happens To Nightmares When We Wake Up?