A cold-blooded monster or a kind older brother? The weight of a single line in Netflix's 'Gas Human'
'Gas Human,' now streaming on Netflix. While this work attracts many viewers as a suspense story depicting unprecedented serial murders and the darkness of society, what shook me the most was the 'sad past of a single human' hidden deep within the terror.
The Gas Human moves freely with a gaseous body, taking lives with ease. His appearance is that of a cold-blooded monster devoid of emotion. He is symbolized by the eerie question, 'What is your wish?' What follows this phrase is always 'the name of the person you want killed.' A phrase originally meant to elicit a person's hopes or dreams is used here as a signal to seal a cold-blooded contract for slaughter. Viewers are sure to feel a bottomless terror at its inorganic and frightening resonance.
However, when his past is revealed as the story progresses, the image of him as a 'cold-blooded monster' is overturned from its foundation. During the time he lived as a human, he was an 'incredibly kind older brother' who tried to save and protect a girl in a harsh environment.
And in a flashback scene, I caught my breath at the words he spoke to the girl. 'What is your wish?' It was the exact same phrase uttered countless times during his Gas Human era. Yet, that single line spoken by him when he was human was overflowing with warmth and pure kindness for the other person. The moment I realized that the words I thought were a spine-chilling signal for murder were actually born from the ultimate kindness he once possessed, I couldn't stop the goosebumps.
It is the exact same line, 'What is your wish,' yet the resonance, the meaning, and the emotions of the receiver are so different between when he was a 'kind human' and after he became a 'cold-blooded monster' that it deeply pierced my heart. Thinking about the background of how words meant to care for others eventually turned into words for killing them, my chest tightens at the depth of the despair he carried.
'Gas Human' is not merely an SF thriller or monster panic. It is a masterpiece human drama that brilliantly depicts the abyss of light and darkness within humanity through the contrast of a single line of dialogue. For those who haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend watching it while paying attention to this shift in the 'weight of words.'
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