The Paramount+ documentary series Crush sneaks up on you. If you haven’t heard about the tragedy in South Korea’s famous Itaewon neighborhood, you’d have to live under a rock—an area with a vibrant nightlife known for its lively atmosphere every Halloween. The film immerses you in that feeling of fun and freedom from archival footage from patrons’ cellular phones and security footage from local businesses.
It’s a jubilant scene. One that only youth can capture with a lifetime ahead of limitless possibilities. You have to understand that we are still in a time of COVID-19, but restrictions are lifting. Finally, most youngsters will get a sense of normalcy. However, the frame begins to capture an underlying tension as locals and American exchange students notice the excessive crowd.
As the walk continues, they stack together, shoulder to shoulder. The frame fills with too many people to fit inside a small television streaming screen. The tension starts to overflow with anxious breaths and even dread despite many being dressed in Halloween costumes. Cries can begin to be heard. The crowd flows back and forth like a wave in a turbulent sea. Almost everyone is trapped and holding onto their last breaths.
The two-part series pulls no punches, examining why 159 young people had to die that festive night. Like most tragedies, it was a perfect storm of incidents. From the standpoint of fact, the pandemic caused an unintended consequence. That would assume there would be fewer than ordinary patrons in the now-infamous Itaewon district.
However, authorities didn’t anticipate a food festival near the back alleyway and an overstuffed subway system to unload many tourists from both ways to be bottlenecked together. And let’s be clear: we are not talking about a couple hundred or even a thousand people, but 100,000 fun seekers. Yet, some people are paid to prepare for these situations and ensure the safety of their citizens.
The filmmakers do a meticulous job explaining how the tragedy happened with easy-to-understand computer-generated graphics of how the city roads and other festivities played a hand in the tragedy. For one, the Itaewon alleyway slopes down sharply. The problem is, and something the documentary needs to explain, that there were warning signs the day before.
Reports of numerous complaints of the area being “toe to toe” in a Halloween street fair that went on an extra day. One has to wonder: if there were complaints that day, why was this not followed up on the next? And since fingers are being pointed at youthful exuberance as a critical issue, could this be a generational bias? With older members of government and police judging youth for putting themselves in harm’s way?
You have to remember that this was when people were still dying during the pandemic. After watching the film, you have to ask yourself if that was the reason many stayed away. This isn’t the intent of the series, but it’s a question that has to be put in the viewer’s minds. While that is legitimate, there is very little appreciation and gratitude given to the emergency workers who helped save thousands of people from being crushed to death.
However, Crush is worth watching because of the raw footage and human stories pulled from the crowd that cold night. Along with a stunningly poignant finale showing the political aftermath and regret from those in charge of public safety, this Paramount+ docuseries is a difficult watch but a must-see.
Crush is currently available to stream on Paramount+.
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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps8Xl_hVwqA]
Crush is worth watching because of the raw footage and human stories pulled from the crowd that cold night. This Paramount+ docuseries is a difficult watch but a must-see.
I am a film and television critic and a proud member of the Las Vegas Film Critic Society, Critics Choice Association, and a 🍅 Rotten Tomatoes/Tomato meter approved. However, I still put on my pants one leg at a time, and that’s when I often stumble over. When I’m not writing about movies, I patiently wait for the next Pearl Jam album and pass the time by scratching my wife’s back on Sunday afternoons while she watches endless reruns of California Dreams. I was proclaimed the smartest reviewer alive by actor Jason Isaacs, but I chose to ignore his obvious sarcasm. You can also find my work on InSession Film, Ready Steady Cut, Hidden Remote, Music City Drive-In, Nerd Alert, and Film Focus Online.
