The best thing that can be said about “Parasyte: The Grey” is that it is a rare adaptation that actually justifies its existence. This is a masterclass in how to adapt a piece of art to another medium, with Yeon and writer Ryu Yong-jae not doing a remake or even retelling the same story in a new setting with new characters. Instead, this is a completely original story in a new location, but still set in the same world.
This allows “Parasyte: The Grey” to explore the same themes as the source material — the symbiosis between humans and parasites — only in a darker and more somber way than the comparatively light and funny manga and anime, which are tonally more akin to something like “Venom.”
The show also has some rather spectacular CGI, translating the wildly imaginative transformations the parasites go through and delivering effective body horror in the process. Heads morph into all sorts of shapes, from scythes to tentacle whips to wings. Even if you have no familiarity with the “Parasyte” manga or anime, the live-action adaptation has plenty of body horror thrills and well-staged action to be an effective standalone thriller worth your time — and well worth its ascension of the Netflix charts.