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Considering the popularity of zombie films and television programs today, it’s easy to forget that this sub-genre of horror films was all but dead as recently as the start of this century. In the decade or two leading up to the release of Danny Boyle’s critically acclaimed 28 Days Later in 2002, zombies were strictly found in the “straight to video” zone of your local video shop. Since the back-to-back successes of 28 Days Later and Edgar Wright’s Shaun Of The Dead, though, zombies became all the rage; The Walking Dead, for example, has been one of the highest rated shows on TV since its debut in October of 2010, spawning a spin-off series AND a prime time aftershow.
While hordes of undead-heads have fueled the zombie industry, critics are starting to bite back. Blockbuster’s like Brad Pitt’s World War Z (2013) were met with teetering reviews; one critic sums it up perfectly:
[World War Z is] the definitive zombie film for people who don’t like zombie films yet want to say they liked one.
As a once rabid TWD fan, I can agree this holds true for a lot of the zombie-centric media of the last decade. Either you get gloriously gory with no real coherent storyline (I’m looking at you TWD) or a sap-filled melodrama where CGI tries to take the place of real gore. I, like most zombie fans, had basically given up on the genre. That is, until I saw Train to Busan.
The South Korean film premiered in the Midnight Screenings section of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. Months prior to its early November release in the U.S., Train to Busan had already become an international box-office smash that had been seen by over 10 million theatergoers worldwide. Initially screening at a number of art house theaters across the U.S., the first live action film from director Yeon Sang-ho drew in scores of watchers, infecting both critics and zombie enthusiasts. For every moment of the nearly two-hour ride, I clung to the edge of my seat, wincing and jumping at the sheer brilliance of Sang-ho’s thriller.
Centering around Seok-Woo (Gong Yoo), a recently divorced workaholic and less than capable father to his young daughter, Soo-an (Kim Su-an), the film opens on the eve of her birthday. His gift to her —a Nintendo Wii which she also received from him on a previous occasion— is not enough to make young Soo-an happy with her new life in Seoul, especially because her mother resides in Busan. After much convincing, Seok-Woo decides to take the morning off of work and take his daughter to see her mother for her birthday via high-speed train. Reports of massive “protests” in South Korea’s cities start to play over the train’s televisions but not before long the reports start to show acts a little more unnerving. Chaos ensues. Ravenous zombies take over the train cars only moments after they pull out of Seoul Station. The survivors, including Seok-Woo and Soo-an, fight through the madness with little to no resources but they make it work… kinda. Sang-ho perfectly arcs the narrative around human condition and glorious gore. Like other zombie films, we meet characters we learn to love and hate (like really, really hate) but Sang-ho does so in a way where, at times, the lines between good and evil get a bit muddied. He asks us to look at the human side of everyone, living or not. It’s almost cruel how much the film tugs at your heartstrings; trust me, bring tissues.
So, what really makes it the best zombie movie of the decade? The film wastes no time getting to the point, the build up only takes a few brief scenes, then the madness captivates the rest. We see the outbreak from beginning, middle and end within the narrative’s run time. You have time to develop empathy for each character, their backstories, and connections to one another fleshed out in small bursts throughout the film. While the human condition is in question, the narrative also explores societal themes, which are all perfectly juxtaposed with gory yet skillfully crafted action sequences.
Like his narrative, Sang-ho’s zombies waste no time either; these things are fast! Within minutes of initial infection, they transform into a reinvented version of the living dead, they’re fast and utterly terrifying with an exorcist like quality in the way they contort their bodies and an oddly still human look. Their look leaves behind heavy CGI and instead utilizes masterful makeup that makes the horror more visceral. These zombies look like fellow passengers, until they get WAY more voracious.
Additionally, the concept of a zombie film based on a train is kind of insane. While the spatial constraints of this film could have weighed it down it carries the opportunity for big action sequences and harrowing moments to become larger than their surroundings (it owes a debt to Snowpiercer in this regard). Beautifully orchestrated fight scenes, captured from a series of angles around the train cars, make the heroines look larger than life. Between the violence comes touching moments confined within tiny train bathrooms and rail cars, letting the connection between the characters create space all on its own. There are also a few essential off train moments that give real space where space is due.
It’s also important to mention that the cast is stellar. The film’s star, Gong Yoo, is so charming yet powerful in his role as a troubled father. His connection with his daughter, played by the adorable Kim Su-an, is simultaneously strained and deep. Su-an’s performance is magnificent, as well; she’s adorable AND bad ass, marking her as the true heroine of this story. The film also stars notable South Korean actors Jung Yu-mi and Ma Dong-seok, as a husband and wife duo expecting their first child when the outbreak hits. Their performances are remarkable as they team up alongside Seok-Woo and Soo-an to survive. The entire cast is just fantastic, they give such honest portrayals of their characters in the face of what might be the end of the world.
In Train To Busan, Sang-ho uses action and empathy to create a symphony of horror. I remember leaving the theater completely shaken by this heartbreaking and disturbing film … in a good way! After all, I just watched something that reincarnated my love for the undead.
