Common Sense Media Review
By Melissa Camacho
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Morbid Korean sci-fi thriller has violence, drinking.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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Dr. Brain
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Directed by Kim-Jee Woon, DR. BRAIN is a Korean sci-fi drama about a brilliant scientist and his frightening experimentation on the human mind. Sewon Koh (Lee Sun-kyun) was born with a unique brain structure that enables advanced learning and memory, but limits his ability to relate socially to others. Now a brilliant brain researcher, he's become obsessed with understanding how the brain works, and has developed technology to facilitate brainwave synchronization. But after losing his young son and wife (Lee You-young) to tragic, but strange, sets of circumstances, and after discovering that brain syncs are possible between the living and the deceased, Sewon wants to hack into the brains of the dead (and almost dead) in order to find clues about what happened to his loved ones. With the help of colleague Hong Namil (Lee Jae-won) he syncs with the brains of corpses, including accident and murder victims, and experiences events through their eyes. It's a strange scientific journey, but one that Sewon hopes will guide Lt. Choi (Seo Ji-hye) and private investigator Lee Kangmu (Park Hee-soon) towards much needed answers.
Is It Any Good?
This intense series, which is based on a popular Korean comic of the same name, is a mystery that combines elements of horror and science fiction with a traditional detective story. The experimentation is both morbid and fascinating, and leads to some strange, and often disturbing sequences that have residual effects on Sewon Koh (Lee Sun-kyun). But rather than enhance the twisted story world, these surreal moments only play a small part in an otherwise straightforward investigation into his family's death. Some folks may not find Dr. Brain to be as weird as they'd like it to be, but the overall series is still entertaining.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the brain. Even with modern medicine, there is still little known about it. Why? Are things like "brain syncs" really possible?
Dr. Brain mixes elements from different TV and movie genres, like horror, detective stories and science fiction. Is it a combination that works? Can you pick out examples from each when watching?
TV Details
- Premiere date : November 4, 2021
- Cast : Sun-kyun Lee , Young-yu Lee , Hee-soon Park
- Network : Apple TV
- Genre : Science Fiction
- TV rating :
- Last updated : December 8, 2025
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