*Spoiler warning*
2016 film "Train to Busan" is a harrowing zombie-horror-thriller directed by Yeon Sang-Ho
starring “Hallyu star” Gong Yoo as the lead. The film is set in South Korea in train KTX bound to Busan and follows the life-or-death survival between a group of terrified passengers and regular civilians turned zombies as a result of an abnormal viral virus outbreak. Seok-woo played by Gong Yoo, a divorced workaholic with little time to spend with his daughter Soo-an reluctantly decides on taking the morning off of work to take his daughter to Busan to visit her mother for her birthday with the intention of returning to work before lunch, though his and many other’s plans’s don’t go as scheduled. The film’s dialogue is in Korean naturally but can be found both english dubbed and subbed and is also featured on Netflix.
The film has received a great ton of positive feedback with high average ratings from both critics and film lovers. Edgar Wright director of “Shaun of the Dead” even recommended the film in a tweet and called it the "best zombie movie I've seen in forever. A total crowd pleaser”. It was even said in Variety magazine that French studio Gaumont Film Company would produce a remake of Train to Busan in English as they have the English remake rights.
Train to Busan is the first South Korean film to reach over 10 million viewers in 2016. Worldwide Train to Busan grossed a total of $87.5 million. The film has also won multiple awards including: Yu Hyun-Mok Film Arts Award (2016 25th Buil Film Awards), Best New Director (2016 Korea Film Actor's Association Top Star Awards), Best Discovery of the Year (2017 8th KOFRA Film Awards) and Best New Director (2017 53rd Baeksang Arts Awards) and been nominated for many more. Due to the films major success I was delighted to find that Yeon Sang-Ho released an animated sequel to Train to Busan called “Seoul Station” in 2016.
This is one interesting train ride I can say for sure. The film is a very exciting and exhilarating roller-coaster rise from the start to the end. It has everything you expect in a zombie film: the long chases making several very close calls, the mass slaughters and the constant suspense of the characters survival.
The zombies in the film I felt were executed very well and their action scenes with the skilled use of both practical and computer-generated effects were able to really gain a sense of realism. Their relentless energy in their quest to quench their thirst for human flesh breathlessly pulled me to the edge of my seat through all of their scenes.
The film had all the same things your typical zombie film would have, but in a different way for the better. Though the film didn’t bring anything necessarily new to the table, it was able to make up for it through its depth, for example, initially, a selfish workaholic (Seok-Woo) is forced to kill himself for the greater good.
The cinematography throughout the film is also very satisfying. The cuts are seamless, the colours used work well together, and despite the story being set during daytime, the film is able to bring an almost claustrophobic feeling causing constant suspense and nerves without heavily relying on jump scares or very low lighting conditions.
The characters in this genre of films tend to typically be rather one dimensional, but in Train to Busan this doesn’t seem to be the case. As the story progresses we witness the characters evolve and change through their motives, their relationships with one another and what they are willing to risk for those around them. Throughout the movie I found myself rather emotionally attached to the characters, I was constantly rooting for their survival and was instantly gutted when they encountered obstacles and hardships. I feel this is a result of not only the plots depth but the superb performance, which is why I was genuinely moved to tears in the final scene of Seok-Woo where I felt Gong Yoo’s performance was absolutely brilliant and heartbreaking. Where turning into a zombie is typically frightening and gruesome, I love how Seok-Woo's transformation was anything but. His performance in this scene I felt really showed his progress from his lead breakout role in the romantic TV comedy series “Coffee Prince” in 2007 which is when his popularity began to grow rapidly. If I had to comment on one thing about the film and its characters, it would be my personal desire to see some of the women take charge in at least a few of the scenes as the men are given all the responsibility of using their strength and wits to defeat the zombies. But, with that in mind, I was still able to see past it and acknowledge the film for what it was and thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless.
Not only is this film a kickass zombie-disaster film, but it also possesses melodramatic-drama flick qualities. The film incorporates everything you expect from its genre but holds its originality that makes it so much more.
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