Train to Busan

Starring: Yoo Gong, Yu-mi Jung, Dong-seok Ma, Su-an Kim, Eui-sung Kim, Sohee, Gwi-hwa Choi
Directed by: Sang-ho Yeon
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Action, Horror, Thriller
2016

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A band of people struggle to survive amidst a zombie outbreak in South Korea.

Review:

Tim: I'd been hearing things about Train to Busan for a few years before I found time to see the movie (thanks, Covid quarantine). It's a surprisingly effective zombie movie that doesn't quite give us things we haven't seen before, but executes nearly flawlessly. This South Korean production is engaging, exciting, and is a very memorable zombie movie.

The film depicts a zombie outbreak in South Korea and it was fun to see how the zombies were portrayed here. The visual effects to bring them to life are impressive. I enjoyed that the approach was slightly different than the typical zombie flick. It certainly appears that in this film, the zombies maintain the attributes of the people they used to be. So, they aren't slow moving stumblers like in the majority of zombie movies, but they aren't imbued with extra speed or strength like in World War Z. This still results in zombies that move faster than we're used to seeing, which made for an intense and thrilling spectacle. I appreciated the world-building the movie did in this aspect.

The greatest thing about this movie is that it never loses sight of the humans at the center of this epidemic. This movie puts character development first and achieves this in subtle ways. You're introduced to a number of characters on the titular train to Busan. As the film progresses, you learn to identify with and care about them. This kind of sneaks up on you- I wasn't aware of how much I cared about some of these characters until they started dying, or finding themselves in the most dangerous situations. That's when I realized I really liked them and I was invested in their story. This is one of the key differentiators in this movie. In too many horror movies (including zombie movies), the characters feel like they are there purely to be killed off, one-by-one. That wasn't the case here. You actually learn to care about these characters, you root for them, and you want them to survive.

Yoo Gong does a good job in the lead role. I might never have loved him, but he was a solid protagonist. He's not the most likeable character to begin the film, but he does undergo a transformation as the film progresses. You do learn to like him. His performance might not be remarkable, but it's solid. I actually loved Dong-seok Ma. He starts out a little rough as well, but he quickly wins the audience over. There's something so effortlessly authentic about his performance. He manages to display the right amount of charm, which smooths over some of his character's rougher edges. He was entertaining and engaging. I really loved his performance and he emerged as my favorite character. He did a fantastic job. Yu-mi Jung added a strong supporting performance. Su-an Kim was effective as well. Eui-sung Kim gave a good performance as well. It was impressive how he was able to play this character in such a way that your opinion of him definitely changes as the film progresses. It was a very strong performance.

Train to Busan succeeds because it has a strong cast, matched up to the right roles and it spends time developing these characters. I really enjoyed the cast and as the film progressed, I felt stronger and stronger that desire to not lose any of them. This movie is often brutal, though. You really feel like no one is safe and there's obviously a lot of death. The deaths here hit hard, far harder than your average horror movie. This isn't all just scenes of horror and gore. There's definitely a subtle action element as well. This comes to a head during the absolutely stunning railway scene towards the end. You have characters running after a train and it's quite frankly one of the best zombie scenes I've ever seen. The aerial shot, the music, the intensity- it's a fantastic sequence and it helps set this movie apart.

I would have liked this movie to give us a little more that felt new or different. That would have pushed it into greatness. However, this is a movie that executes on the zombie movie concept about as well as any film I've seen. I had a blast watching the movie and experienced a wide array of emotions. Train to Busan is definitely one of the most effective zombie movies I've seen.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: World War Z