Welcome to my Saturday blog post where I give thoughts on dramas I’m watching, whether at the beginning, middle, or end. Whatever I want, because I’m petty that way.
This week I recapped Not Me episodes 11-12 where Sean has a really bad couple of days and UNARs aren’t great either. We’re nearly at the end and I’ve really enjoyed rewatching it.
The only Chinese fantasy series I’ve recapped is Love Between Fairy and Devil and it’s time for me to recap another that starts with the word “Love”. I’ve recapped the first two episodes of Love Game in Eastern Fantasy and it’s got a fun and promising start.
This week is only one review again, but I’ll make up for it by going on and on because this show fascinates me:
The Heart Killers – เขาจ้างให้ผมจีบนักฆ่า เวอร์ชัน – 2024
Currently airing Thai Crime BL, I’ve watched 5 of 12 episodes.
A love-shy-sex-positive tattoo artist is forced into a relationship with his hitman-one-night-stand to get information for the cops.
This show is basically what would happen if 90s Quentin Tarantino chilled out and decided to make a Thai BL. I’m not making my own connections the way I often do, there’s a scene in this show that is 100% based on Pulp Fiction.
At the same time, while it’s the opposite of last week’s review on the surface, there are still things in common.
Let’s start with the Tarantino-ish-ness
This set-up could be out of Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, or the classic films that Tarantino likes to pull from.
We’ve got hitmen brothers-who-aren’t-really-brothers. Our lead brother, Bison, is pretty and innocent-seeming but has a wild streak and a taste for kinky sex. Despite his somewhat twisted nature, he wants to stop killing people and get a boyfriend.
Our second couple (though they get about the same amount of screen time) brother, Fadel, is stern-faced, strict, and reserved. He sees himself as both his brother’s protector and the one who keeps him out of trouble. This harsh attitude may cover a bit of a soft core.
Their cover story is that they run a retro-style 50s diner called “Heart Burger” together.
The other half of our lead pair is Kant, a former car thief trying to stay out of crime, tattoo people, and take care of his younger brother. He likes to go to the bowling alley and pick up men for one-night stands. Unfortunately, the police know about his criminal past and use evidence against him to blackmail him into being an informant.
He needs to get close to Bison, but Fadel is in the way. So he enlists his car mechanic friend, Style, to seduce Fadel by offering his classic car. He doesn’t mention that Fadel is a hitman.
Everyone is walking around in 70s-ish matching button-up shirts and slacks, unless it’s our mechanic who has a taste for football jersey crop tops. (Though oddly this is the second time I’ve seen this in the last month). There’s a lot of browns. This may be my favorite Thai BL to watch for fashion.
There is a scene straight out of Pulp Fiction
Kant gets Bison away from his brother and they go to the bowling alley. While there, a man announces into a vintage chrome microphone that the dance contest is starting. Bison gets Kant to take off his shoes and join him out on the lanes, and they do a cute-silly kinda retro dance and win the competition.
It is definitely the Thai BL version of this classic scene.
Make no mistake though, this is a Thai BL
It has none of the sudden shocking violence, sleaze, or gore of its source material. At no point do I expect Tim Roth to show up and clean brain matter out of the back seat of the car. Though it is unusual for a BL, Bison’s taste for kink is still vanilla compared to what you can accidentally find on the internet.
While the characters are more blatantly criminal and the subject matter more daring than most Thai BLs, under the tough veneer of hitmen and police informants is a kinder, gentler feeling. So far the tone is pretty light.
The music is retro-flavored, but it is deployed with the heavy hand common to Thai productions.
The locations are… repetetive. Do you like bowling alleys? Because we keep going back.
The plot moves along with the typical, take-our-time pace of a Thai BL. Kant and Style spend the better part of at least two episodes trying to win over the brothers in various misadventures that involve, among other things, clothespins and grief groups. To be fair, films just don’t have that kind of run time.
Other things that may or may not sell it for you
The fight scenes are shot terribly. I’ve seen much better fight scenes this year. It’s kinda important to sell our hitmen as competent at their jobs so this is unfortunate.
Our lead couple is played by a popular pair, First and Khaotung, who I’ve seen in a few things. They were a side couple in Moonlight Chicken and a main couple in The Eclipse. (First was also in Not Me, but Khaotung is not). I like them as a pair and think they have cute chemistry.
I think it’s funny they’re trying to sell Khaotung as small when he’s still significantly taller than say, Gun (one of the leads of Not Me) or Fluke (of Until We Meet Again). He’s definitely more medium.
The actors are committing wholeheartedly to their unusual parts and it’s fun to watch.
I also find it interesting how not-Thai-BL the relationships are going. They start by revolving around sex and money. Kant is a little scared of Bison once he knows that he’s a hitman. Style initially only goes after Fadel because he wants Kant’s car. There are hints of romance, but it’s coming slowly. I like a slow burn and seeing how they get over the hard parts and reach true love.
The ends of Tarantino films often irritate me. Here, I’m excited to see how they get our characters through everything and into a happy ending.
And you don’t need to have ever seen a Tarantino film to be in the mood for something differrent, which this is. While I know this isn’t going to be everyone’s quarter pounder with cheese, I am fascinated by this show.
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