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Just when I thought the film was drawing to a close, it ramps up the tension again and delivers a thrilling conclusion to an already tense and exciting zombie picture. Train to Busan surprised me with how well crafted the entire film is.
A divorced single father must take his daughter on a train to meet her mother. She feels neglected by his workaholic attitude. He reluctantly agrees and after boarding the train, find that the city has been run over by flesh eating zombies. Guess what...one managed to get on the train. Now the passengers but fight for their lives and put their trust in each other, or they're all going to end up dead.
The zombies had contortionist like movement to them, adding to the sense of cruelty and uneasiness. They are already dead, that is scary enough, they move fast too, so you need to be quick. Add onto of that the weird movements of their limbs and you have an effective look that manages to separate itself from a generic zombie picture.Setting the film on a train, adds a sense of claustrophobic tension, perfect for this genre. Much like Snowpiercer, each train segment felt like a different level our characters had to get through in oder to achieve their goal.
A lot of zombie pictures are light on character because they want to focus on the gore. We have fully fleshed out characters here, each with their strengths and weaknesses. I didn't know who was going to live or die by the end of the film. Also, much like Cooper in Night of the Living Dead, Train to Busan manages to create and deliver a character more evil than flesh eating zombies. It's hard to imagine what people will do in order to survive, but one characters takes it to another level.
South Korea has an excellent horror cinema and Train to Busan is a fine addition to the line-up. Never once did I feel like the characters were safe, the film kept the tension going throughout the run time and made it work. Kudos.
Train To Busan
Watch a horror film from three different countries.
(South Korea)
Watch a horror film from three different countries.
(South Korea)
Just when I thought the film was drawing to a close, it ramps up the tension again and delivers a thrilling conclusion to an already tense and exciting zombie picture. Train to Busan surprised me with how well crafted the entire film is.
A divorced single father must take his daughter on a train to meet her mother. She feels neglected by his workaholic attitude. He reluctantly agrees and after boarding the train, find that the city has been run over by flesh eating zombies. Guess what...one managed to get on the train. Now the passengers but fight for their lives and put their trust in each other, or they're all going to end up dead.
The zombies had contortionist like movement to them, adding to the sense of cruelty and uneasiness. They are already dead, that is scary enough, they move fast too, so you need to be quick. Add onto of that the weird movements of their limbs and you have an effective look that manages to separate itself from a generic zombie picture.Setting the film on a train, adds a sense of claustrophobic tension, perfect for this genre. Much like Snowpiercer, each train segment felt like a different level our characters had to get through in oder to achieve their goal.
A lot of zombie pictures are light on character because they want to focus on the gore. We have fully fleshed out characters here, each with their strengths and weaknesses. I didn't know who was going to live or die by the end of the film. Also, much like Cooper in Night of the Living Dead, Train to Busan manages to create and deliver a character more evil than flesh eating zombies. It's hard to imagine what people will do in order to survive, but one characters takes it to another level.
South Korea has an excellent horror cinema and Train to Busan is a fine addition to the line-up. Never once did I feel like the characters were safe, the film kept the tension going throughout the run time and made it work. Kudos.