Train to Busan

Zombie movies have been around for decades and vary in terms of enjoyment. They typically follow a simple formula: A zombie infestation arises after someone gets infected, which spreads quickly depending on the movie, a group of survivors try to push through obstacles, while losing members of the group along the way, and they arrive at a location for a hopeful or dreadful conclusion. The large amount of films in this genre makes it difficult to find those that hold up very well compared to those wannabe flicks. Personally, the better zombie entries belong more to the past around the 1980s and less around the modern 2000s and 2010s due to how the characters, zombies, and atmosphere are handled. However, the recent decades must be given credit that they add some new flavors to the formula (such as Zombieland, Shaun of the Dead, 28 Days/Weeks Later, and World War Z), unlike The Walking Dead tv show, which doesn't seem to care about zombies the past seasons. Recently I was requested to look at Train to Busan, a South Korean zombie film from the one of the worst years in recent memory (2016), on Netflix and see how I felt about it. Judging by my description of the genre, you can basically tell how much I love and appreciate zombie films. I watched the movie, without looking at the trailers, and when I finished, I was left completely speechless and emotionally drained by the fantastic experience this masterpiece provided.

Please note that I will do Netflix Requests whenever I have enough time in the month at hand.

Plot: The story follows a father and his daughter going on what initially seems like a nice train ride to visit the mother. Unfortunately a zombie infestation has hit their region and, of course, someone infected has boarded the train. From that point on, everything that you can imagine going wrong basically happens and even more. The plot does follow the aforementioned formula but what helps it stand out among standard zombie flicks is how the main characters are developed, the zombies (more on them later), and the atmosphere being presented. Most of the time it takes place inside of the limited space the train provides, adding more to the tension with the enormous amount of zombies. Every emotional moment taken with the characters hits very hard to the point of trying to hold back your tears. There's plenty of social commentary spread throughout the story that relate to our modern society, which talking about it here would risk spoiling the film. Overall the plot of Train to Busan builds on the zombie formula with social commentary, an intense atmosphere, and great emotional stakes.

Characters: The characters to focus on are Seok-woo (Gong Yoo), Soo-an (Kim Su-an), Seong-kyeong (Jung You-mi), Sang-hwa (Ma Dong-seok), and Yon-suk (Kim Eui-sung). One thing to keep in mind is that everybody is essentially an archetype you would expect to see in zombie flicks. Seok-woo is a divorced workaholic father who has father-daughter relationship issues with Soo-an. Gong gives a great performance for how a struggling workaholic father would react to the intense situation and the development arc he goes through. Soo-an is Seok-woo's daughter who feels neglected from her father to the point of wanting to see her mother due to lack of support as a result of his workaholic nature. Kim performs very well in showing a shy innocent child relying on support in dangerous situations while still acting as a moral compass. The chemistry shared between both actors conveys those feelings even more throughout the film, adding to the emotional weight. Sang-hwa is Seong-kyeong's tough working class husband who struggles to survive and keep his expecting wife safe. Ma does an excellent job as devoted husband who doesn't takes his responsibilities and loved ones for granted along with his strong morals, something which affects Seok-woo's personal outlook. Seong-kyeong is Sang-hwa's pregnant wife who does her best to support the group in surviving the zombies. Jung does a great job with portraying a child bearing wife trying to stay ahead of the undead while providing a caring optimistic manner in some nice quiet moments, no matter how bleak things are. Yon-suk is a rich CEO who takes advantage of circumstances at hand. Kim's performance is excellent with his archetype actions to the point of bringing out so much anger out of the audience. Honorable mentions go to Yong-guk (Choi Woo-shik) and Jin-hee (Ahn So-hee) for their struggle to stay with each other among the undead mayhem going as well as their actors performance in conveying the necessary emotions for the moments that mattered, despite not being given much focus. Overall the cast and characters in Train to Busan are very developed with their performances inject the appropriate amount of feelings in order for the audience to care about their survival.

Zombie Action: The best way to describe these zombies is to imagine what the offspring would look like between the zombies from 28 Days/Weeks Later and World Wars Z. Basically the infection happens quickly after coming into contact with the monsters (via a bite or scratch) and the limited space being used most of the time highlights the enormous amount in the hoards of zombies chasing after them. The writers and directors did their homework with the movements and mannerisms of zombies that would make most modern undead flicks jealous. While it doesn't get ridiculous gory with blood and guts that most American horror does, it focuses on the bites and swarm of infected in a terrifying tension filled manner. Overall the zombie action in Train to Busan is an excellent effort in focusing on the scary crowded nature of the undead in thrilling manner to keep you up at night after watching them in action.

Overall Consensus: Train to Busan is a brilliant horror film complete with wonderfully executed zombies, well developed character archetypes, and social commentary. ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑🍿

Reasons to watch it: You like any of the aforementioned actors. You enjoying seeing great scary zombie movies. You are interested in how the zombies are used throughout the movie. You want to see how scary it is by watching it in a dark room late at night. You want to see a horror film with well-developed characters and emotional stakes.

Reasons to avoid it: You don't like any of the aforementioned actors. You don't like zombie horror thriller movies. You are easily scared by horror movies. You don't like zombies.