Written by: Park Joo-suk
Starring: Gong Yoo, Ma Dong-seok, Jung Yu-mi, Kim Su-an, Kim Eui-sung
Rating: [4/5]
With each new zombie apocalypse film provides the opportunity to present new and refreshing ways to integrate this infectious idea into different narratives. We’ve seen various settings operate as the background for this horrific circumstance but I cannot recall one centered on a train. Minimal space for maneuvering and all-time stress makes for an epic and incredibly well-made feature in Train to Busan.
Wishing to complete his daughter’s birthday wish to spend time with his ex-wife and her mother, Seok-woo (Gong Yoo) embarks on this journey with her. Along with other strangers also on the train, they notice that one individual begins to turn into a zombie and infects others causing a panic as they try to figure out where they can find safety.
Making quite the splash upon its 2016 premiere, Train to Busan has built a reputation as one of the better zombie features in recent memory and it definitely held up to that standard. Not only does it deliver anything a fan of this subgenre would enjoy, but it also allows a look into how this would all go down in South Korea. One of the major reasons watching films from other countries provides such nourishment where we see the way they interpret and imagine situations like this would play out along with their cultural norms and deficiencies for all to see. In this feature we specifically get to look at the class system on display on this train and who has much more willingness to help others versus acting selfishly.
As always, these zombie films allow a microscope into society to see the way individuals will act when put into these high-stress and life-threatening situations. It breaks down all pretense about how one looks in front of others and brings these individuals into their bare primal instincts in order to survive. In this, we see the selfishness of some but also the sacrificial selflessness others possess where they do actions servicing the greater good even if it costs them their life. This difference in attitude allows for some major moments between these characters and in a short time even some growth based on what we see from the beginning and then in the third act. The difference between perception and reality makes for quite an intriguing look, especially in South Korea where social interactions centered on respect dominated the societal structure they have set up. Everything goes out the window when you have a hoard of zombies coming your way.
While we get the introduction of several characters in this feature, the main perspective we receive comes through Seok-woo, who admittedly has his own personal issues he needs to navigate on top of everything else occurring. It gives us the chance to see the true valiance of a parent, which knows no bounds in their efforts to protect their children, and the added stress of a child being mixed up in all of this bloodshed and fear. Additionally, others find themselves in different stages of their lives, which includes a pregnant woman, who if she survives, would have a child with this zombie apocalypse operating as the new reality. They all unite and come together through the shared experience of all entering the same train on the same day, which based on everything occurring on the outside may have turned into quite a blessing. All that remains is finding adequate safety to strive towards, which gets revealed later in the feature.
The zombies we receive in this feature definitely serve as those quicker ones as compared to the very slow-walking general zombies. These undead run out to these characters with some scary speed and have the ability to hoard up in some tense ways, which only gets amplified by the fact most of this feature takes place on a train. This leaves these characters with limited room to run and zombies who can make up ground very quickly. Each car in the train thus becomes its own nightmare scenario where they must guess if they might run into yet another hoard and where they could potentially find safety.
Quite the situation and one that effectively keeps up in suspense the entire time to an effective degree.
Riveting in its presentation and quite fun to watch, Train to Busan stands out amongst other zombie movies not because of the slick filmmaking involved but because of the way it highlights how this would all look in South Korea. We receive some wonderful characters to follow, many of which do not survive the ordeal but we grow to care for them in what we learn only further intensifying the entire experience. These zombies certainly terrify not only in their appearance but also the horrendous damage they can do only making it worse with these characters finding themselves stuck in a train with them.
Films with Josh 
