Seven years later, we catch up with a teenage So-mun (Jo Byung-gyu) who lives with his grandparents and goes to school with his friends, who are mercilessly bullied by the mayor’s son and his gang.

Meanwhile, a secret group of demon-hunting “counters” run a popular noodle shop called Eonni’s Noodles. After a senior counter perishes in a fight with a particularly strong Level Three demon, So-mun is struck by a burst of light on the other side of town. He is tracked down by the counters and informed that his body is now playing host to Wigen (Moon Suk), a spirit from Yung (the afterworld).

So-mun is given the opportunity to become a counter and fight against evil spirits that terrorise the living world. Should he join them, his leg will be healed and he’ll have three times the strength of a normal human. If he refuses, they’ll wipe his memory and he’ll remain the same.

The counters include the gruff Mo-tak (Yu Jun-sang), a muscular former detective who was an acquaintance of So-mun’s father but lost his memory on the night that So-mun’s parents died, the tough Ha-na (Sejeong), a young woman who can sense and track down the evil spirits and read people’s memories, and the doting Mae-ok (Yum Hye-ran), who has the ability to heal people.

All of them became counters while they were in comas, which makes So-mun a special case. The demons they track down are evil spirits who possess humans and compel them to murder. New Level One demons are easy to subdue, but as they kill and suck up the souls of their prey, they become much stronger.

In the show’s early going, So-mun must decide whether he’s ready or not to take on the responsibility of being a counter. Like Spider-Man, he would have to hide his new powers from his friends and family while using his new gifts to help those unable to help themselves.

This theme is echoed through the story’s other subplots, as So-mun finds he now has the ability to defend his best friend against the cruel bullies at school, while we also get a hint that the death of So-mun’s parents may be tied to a larger conspiracy that also affected Mo-tak.

This new series is bought to life by director Yoo Sun-dong, who orchestrates the many thrilling elements on show, from fantastical martial arts showdowns between the counters and demons, to tense and bloody scenes of demons stalking their victims as the counters attempt to stop them in time.

Yet there is also plenty of room for drama and levity as the counters evince a family dynamic, and training montages offer plenty of opportunities for pratfalls. There’s even a hint of a romance in the offing between So-mun and Ha-na.

Given his experience, Yoo is well equipped to tie all these bits together. He previously made the OCN series Vampire Prosecutor 2 , but is mostly known for his film work, which include the horror films Death Bell 2: Bloody Camp and 0.0 MHz .

Yoo also wrote Ryoo Seung-wan’s martial arts fantasy-action film Arahan , the story of which ? about a lowly police officer who is recruited by a group of martial artists with superpowers ? shares a lot of common ground with The Uncanny Counter .

Playing So-mun, the fresh-faced Jo gets his first crack at a leading role after appearing in Arthdal Chronicles and Sky Castle , while Sejeong, of K-pop outfit Gugudan, presents a new side of herself as the tough Ha-na. Veteran star Yu gives a fun, wild-eyed performance as Mo-tak and Yum, who shone in last year’s When the Camellia Blooms , is the matronly Mae-ok who ties them all together.

With its colourful VFX, action choreography and mix of styles, The Uncanny Counter offers a fantasy-fuelled Korean take on superheroes that marks a bold and bright new step for K-dramas.

The Uncanny Counter is streaming on Netflix