If you are a movie person and like the zombie genre, it’s almost impossible not to know this title. It seemed like, ever since this movie came out, word of mouth spread like wildfire as many were praising Train to Busan as one of the best zombie movies ever made. Naturally, I was curious, and when I saw a Blu-Ray for a reasonable price, I knew I had to get it to finally watch it for myself. The result didn’t surprise me, but it still delivered everything I hoped for and then some.
This movie understands how to hook you in by focusing on several protagonists while everyone else is just a side character. As every great film does, it grounds itself in reality (here, it’s the father/daughter relationship), and everything else is “extra”. It’s the new reality our heroes must adapt to extremely fast; otherwise, they turn into zombies. One thing I appreciated was how quick the turn takes. In many other movies, people get bitten, they die, and after some time, they come back hungry for your brains. In Train to Busan, they don’t even have time to die; they effectively transform in front of our eyes into fast zombies that can’t be stopped.
That’s right, we are dealing with the “fast ones” in this movie, and the way those crowd zombie scenes are done, alongside the decent CGI, makes it terrifying. You feel like there is no way to stop them because they roll over everything and everyone who finds themselves in front of them. What also makes this film a bit unique is that it (mostly) takes place on a train. I know, shocker, right? Who would’ve thought with a title like Train to Busan? But that claustrophobic feeling, combined with the sheer violence, ferocity and the amount of zombies, worked. There are scenes when our heroes notice one weakness these zombies have (I won’t spoil anything) and have to go past them, and it is as tense of a scene as any I have seen in ages.
I must also acknowledge, as the title of this review says, that this movie doesn’t do anything “groundbreaking”. If you have seen a few zombie films and played some video games “featuring” zombies, nothing in this movie will surprise you. But it’s the way this movie plays those “hits” and how it makes you care about our main protagonist, combined with that powerful ending, where I realised that I didn’t mind. This movie is a brilliant example of how fans aren’t asking filmmakers to reinvent cinema every time they make a film. But if you put your spin on an idea (or, in this case, ideas), ground it with some realism and make us care about the protagonists, we are there. Well, at least I am, and I can honestly say I have enjoyed this film.
What also plays into this movie’s hand is that it came from South Korea. Although now I hope the country is getting more recognition (due to Parasite (2019), my review here, making Oscar history), I still believe it’s not enough because everything from the past almost two decades I have had the pleasure of seeing from South Korea was great to excellent. I would go as far as to say that if you have never seen a movie from there and are a horror movie fan, Train to Busan is an excellent movie to start with. It almost encapsulates everything I love about films from there. They always care about the protagonists first and build the story around them. I know that seems obvious but think about it like this. How many times have you seen a Hollywood movie with underdeveloped protagonists? Or someone you should be rooting for, and you are not? On top of that, they know how to shoot big movies and small movies, with CGI but not too much… Honestly, Hollywood should be paying closer attention to movies coming from here because there is variety, passion and excellence that, many times, can overshadow the biggest US blockbusters.
Overall, Train to Busan truly is one of the best zombie movies ever made and a brilliant addition to the zombie genre. The movie sets everything up just enough for you to care, then throws you into the action and doesn’t let go until the very end. Although you will see where everything is headed and how/when each character will die, you will still have fun with this film because it is just so well done. This film is a must-see for any horror movie fans.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
Until next time,
Luke