Love Alarm
2019
Original language: Korean
- drama
- sci-fi & fantasy
The story
Love Alarm is an app that tells you if someone within a 10-meter radius has a crush on you. It quickly becomes a social phenomenon. While everyone talks about it and uses it to test their love and popularity, Jojo is one of the few people who have yet to download the app. However, she soon faces a love triangle situation between Sun-oh whom she starts to have feelings for, and Hye-young, who has had a huge crush on her.
What it’s like
Bright, glossy Seoul-set high school frames with a cool modern palette: pale blue school uniforms, fluorescent classroom light, phone screens glowing blue-white in dim hallways and night-time streets, and smartphone notifications punctuating the scenes. Camera work is mostly handheld and close, lingering on faces during quiet exchanges and cutting quickly through crowded campus chatter. The score leans on bubbly pop and soft synth pulses that spike whenever the app pings, with plenty of uneasy silence in between. The vibe is playful and jittery, a crush-anxious teen-drama energy that tips into wistful, especially in its later episodes. It suits a weeknight binge with friends or a light, distracted stream while scrolling. Pacing is brisk and episodic, with romance and social drama moving in short, escalating beats. Emotional register swings between giddy and bruised: a shy girl slowly learning to trust her own feelings, and a boy who hides behind cool detachment as he is forced to open up. Violence is absent; there is some bullying, cruel gossip, and an occasional tense confrontation, along with kissing and light physical romance but nothing explicit. It is for viewers who enjoy romantic tension, high-school social dynamics, and a little techno-whimsy.
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