watch later

Not interested / seen

Lies Hidden in My GardenLies Hidden in My Garden

Lies Hidden in My Garden

Dark secrets bloom from painful, hidden pasts

Crime, Mystery

7.8

show

South Korea
Korean
Gripping, Thrilling, Well-acted
2023
Baek Hyun-joo, Cha Mi-kyeong, Cha Sung-je
TL;DR
There's no way a rotting smell in the backyard is a good sign!

Synopsis

imdb
wikipedia
An ordinary housewife's life goes in an unexpected direction after noticing a strange smell in her backyard.

Our Take

7.8
Kerine W

A mysterious rotting smell and hard thuds heard from above start the series off on an eerie note. Moon Joo-ran (Kim Tae-hee) is a seemingly perfect housewife, but under the guise of her well-kept home are a secretive husband and a son who possibly resents her (currently unknown) condition. Meanwhile, Chu Sang-eun (Lim Ji-yeon) is trapped in an abusive marriage and dreams of escape. As Joo-ran becomes paranoid about the smell in her backyard and Sang-eun gathers evidence to leave her husband, the two women find a harrowing revelation. Leads Kim and Lim immediately offer memorable, haunting performances, while the setup described above is a captivating start to a psychological thriller that promises a web of secrets and lies.

What stands out

Good pacing and immediate intrigue are must-haves for mysteries, and Lies Hidden in My Garden doesn't disappoint. The opening sequence of Joo-ran's discomfort in her new home and her mental state after her sister's death is entrancing. The rotting smell from the backyard sets the characters up perfectly: the placating husband, the inquisitive new neighbor, and the estranged teenage son. Their relationships and personalities are distinct, making their future actions an additional hook. All that's left is to see how Joo-ran and Sang-eun's lives collide.

Comments

What did you think? Who should watch it?

Next up

More like this in

Actress

7.6

Nonchalant vigilance is threatened by a unknown, omniscient antagonist

Shaitan (2023)

5.0

When the law fails, violence, revenge, and coups take over

See You In My 19th Life

7.5

A romantic reincarnation K-drama with a mysterious twist, grounded in modern times

Barracuda Queens

5.8

This loosely-based-on-a-true-story mini-series is just about good enough to while away an afternoon, but not for much else

Deadloch

7.8

The deft balance between its quippy humor, progressive sensibility, and compelling mystery ground this ambitious Aussie show

Bloodhounds

7.0

Two boxers take on a ruthless loan shark in a fight for justice in a run-of-the-mill action revenge thriller

Not Me

best

8.1

One twin's fight for justice becomes another's journey of self-discovery in fight against the socio-political injustices in Thailand

Signal

best

8.5

Past meets present in a pulse-pounding race against time

Erased

7.9

Rewind time, change fate, solve the mystery - A sci-fi thriller done well