Train To Busan is the best zombie film of the decade

Train To Busan 부산행
Directed by Yeon Sang-ho,
Produced by Lee Dong-ha,
Written by Park Joo-suk,
Starring Gong Yoo,
Kim Su-an,
Jung Yu-mi,
Ma Dong-seok,
Choi Woo-shik,
Ahn So-hee
Production company:
RedPeter Film,
Distributed by
Next Entertainment World,
Release dates:
13 May 2016 (Cannes),
20 July 2016 (South Korea)

After it's premiere in Midnight Screenings section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on May 13, Yeon Sang-ho's South Korean Zombie apocalyptic horror thriller is now ready to hit theatres worldwide. And after hearing all the rave about this film and seeing that awesome trailer that had gone viral in Facebook here in the Philippines, no one else was probably as much as excited as I am to see this film in the big screen.

So when the film hit Philippine cinemas earlier this month of September, I immediately took the chance and watched it with some of my friends, and it turned out to be the best movie experience I had for years. The hype is definitely real!

So without further adieu, here's a quick review of one of the most-hyped zombie film in recent memory, Yeon Sang-ho's Train To Busan  (Hangul: 부산행; RR: Busanhaeng).

Plot: Seok-woo and his daughter Soo-ahn are boarding the KTX, a fast train that shall bring them from Seoul to Busan. But during their journey, the train is overrun by zombies which kill several of the train staff and other passengers.While the KTX is shooting towards Busan, the passengers have to fight for their lives against the zombies.

Train To Busan follows a group of passengers of the titular train which is en-route to the province of Busan in South Korea. Similar to other zombie apocalypse themed films that came before, the film shows how these characters will survive the disaster and chaos caused by the virus that has plagued the whole nation. The film starts out with a very eerie scene featuring a deer which slowly comes back to life after being hit by a truck in the middle of a highway. This scene sets up the overall tone and atmosphere of the rest of the film with it's simple, yet creepy and disturbing portrayal of the zombie virus which not only can affects humans but even animals too (which is one of the things that makes this film quite different from the rest).

The focus then switches to Seok-woo (played by Gon Yoo) who's in his office as he tries to fix a problem  by one of the companies they're managing. He later tries to bribe his daughter with a gadget for her birthday, but she insists on seeing her mom (whom he had already separated with) who's currently in Busan to celebrate her birthday. The next day, he two of them rides the train to the province, just in time as chaos breaks into the city as the zombie infection starts to spread all over the metro.

Here, we are introduced to the rest of the characters, some of the usual stereotype you'd get on an disaster ensemble film like this. There's a guy with his pregnant wife, two old sisters, a group of high school teens, a selfish old guy and a mysterious beggar who snuck into the train before it left the station. One of the best things about this film is that it doesn't just focus of Seok-woo and his daughter. During the whole movie, each one of these characters are slowly being fleshed out and realized into human beings and not just additional body counts in the film's pile of dead victims. This is one of the things I am looking for when watching movies. Characters that you will really love (or in some cases, really hate). And this film gave time to present each character that you feel like you've known them for a long time already. You cared so much for them to the point that even if you already know that they're gonna end up dead after a scene, you still wish they'll get out alive and safe. And once they die, you cant help but kick the seat in your front or yell at the screen (which I did a lot of times when we watched it).

One of the film's biggest highlights is the outbreak of the virus inside the train itself. This scene, which was the main focus of the trailers released online, is truly the most heart-stopping moments of the film. The outbreak is shown in a smaller scale as compared to World War Z (2013) yet it feels way more massive and thrilling. To be honest, I have never felt this kind of rush since the finale minutes of this year's The Conjuring 2. That was only for like 10 minutes. But with this film, it felt like it was going on forever. The train's claustrophobic interiors adds more to the tension, dread and paranoia. I could really feel the blood rushing through my veins as I watched these characters being chased by these masses of zombies (the scariest zombies I have seen in film) from one carriage to another. I was really at the edge of my seat at this point of the film, at times yelling and cursing without even caring that the whole theatre was packed with people.

As the film progresses, the film slowly starts to unravel it's true form: a social commentary on humanity, hiding in a zombie apocalypse's clothing. This is one of the film's biggest draw as it gives the remaining half of it's time in tackling the effects of the disaster and chaos in changing the way people think and feel about the rest of the passengers of the train. It emphasizes on how one can become selfish in these types of situation, which in reality is quite justifiable, yet when you see it on screen in this film, will definitely tear your heart apart. This is where the film's most unforgettable performance starts to steal the show from it's lead casts. Yong-Suk, played by Korean actor Kim Eui-sung is probably the year's most hated movie character. His performance as the selfish bloodsucker jerk (sorry for the words. I can't help it) makes this film a total rollercoaster ride of emotions. I yelled at the screen several times, wishing that this guy gets killed. I guess everyone else who have seen the film here in my country will probably agree with me. His character is one of the most hated personalities here in the Philippines. his performance was that good.

The film tries it's best not to be too gory unlike all the zombie films we've seen before. Unlike those films where the gore and blood usually steal the audiences' focus from it's story, the film relies heavily on the acting skills of the actors portraying those savage undead to make them more terrifying. From their plae skin lined with dark veins, blank white eyes and disturbing body contortions, these Korean zombies are way more scarier than the most gruesome walker from The Walking Dead TV series. The film is also packed with non-stop action here and there, with one of them involving a fight between the lead character and one of the undead while standing the edge of a running train. It's also full of glorious set pieces involving masses of zombie hordes bursting out of a building's glass window. It's a massive spectacle of zombie action.

Verdict: From it's character driven story, extravagant zombie spectacle, adrenaline rushing thrills and it's gut-wrenching finale, Train To Busan seals the deal as the decade's best zombie film. Period.

Rating: ✰✰✰✰✰ out of 5 stars