Sang-ho Yeon (director)
(studio)
15 (certificate)
120 (length)
28 October 2016 (released)
24 October 2016
Having been lucky enough to see this film twice, and with different audiences it’s been interesting to note the reactions. The first time was with a horror audience who took to the zombie outbreak, gore and violence with relish. The second time, they had a much more mainstream outlook, and it was curious that the zombies, their look and actions resulted in laughs and giggles. That is a conundrum for zombie as they are inherently pathetic, and quite funny. Despite the innovations with the likes of 28 Days Later, zombies are about gross violence and gore, and little else.
That brings us to Train to Busan, which is another twist on the zombie genre. There’s a break out of zombies though in South Korea, via bio contamination. As estranged husband Sec-woo is taking his daughter to see her mother via the KTX train. Unfortunately, one passenger is infected which leads to another and very soon it’s frenzied carnage, as the ‘rabid’ look to feed while the uninfected rush to escape through a long but finite train.
This jeopardy on a train scenario is not new but this film is brimming with ideas and directed with such pace, verve and confidence that it’s not worth nit-picking. In with the high-speed action there’s moments of high tension. When a group of survivors use the luggage racks to get past a horde of zombies there’s a palpable air of nervousness for them.
The performances are excellent throughout eliciting genuine emotions for the characters from the viewers, to the extent that it triggered a groan when one was bitten, all knowing that it would lead to the inevitable. That’s a tribute director Yeon Sang-ho who keeps a tight grip all on all aspects of the film. The action sequences are terrific be it the mass rabid chase scenes or when the train looks to be careering to certain disaster. There’s also moments of pathos too the relationship between Sec-woo and daughter Soo-an, played by Yoo Gong and Soo-an Kim respectively, and especially the elderly sisters caught up in all the chaos.
There’s not a second wasted as the train heads towards Busan with the players having to deal with some horrible ordeals and make heart-breaking decisions. This is high octane filmmaking of the highest order.