You could be forgiven for thinking the zombie movie genre is getting a bit stale. They appear to be the go to film for horror now and the quality and imagination are sorely lacking in some cases. I suppose we have the ongoing success of The Walking Dead to thank for the inferior products. So it comes as a nice surprise to see the release of two films that spark a bit of life, so to speak, into the genre. The girl with all the gifts showed another side to the undead with a look at how zombies (called hungries) have evolved into sentient beings. The other is a South Korean rail based thriller Train to Busan.
Seok Woo (Yoo Gong) Is a busy man. Living in Seoul, he is estranged from his wife, is pressured at work and has little time for his daughter. All she wants is to see her mother who lives in Busan. She decides that for her birthday she wishes to see her mother who lives in Busan. After some persuasion Seok Woo agrees to take her on the early morning train. As they head off for the station in the early morning, they notice a fire in the distance and lots of emergency vehicles rushing to the scene. It’s only when they get on the train that a broader picture of violence and death becomes apparent. One of the last passengers to board the train was in fact infected by a bite from a zombie like creature. As he starts to spread the infection it soon becomes clear that everyone is at risk on the train and they must work together to secure collective safety.
It is the imagination and the story telling that make this film so memorable. Yes there are some of the usual character types here including the reluctant hero, the pregnant woman, the small child and the nasty self preserver. It is the way they are developed that makes it more than a cliche ridden film. The characters are all sympathetic in their own way. There is negligible judging of a persons actions as the film basically asks what would you do in that situation. There are also a couple of surprises along the way. It is understood in this type of movie that not everyone survives. What is interesting here is that you have no idea as to the casualty list.
At just under two hours the film keeps the audience interested by setting the pace early on and keeping it going until the end. There is little need for exposition as the film realises that we are familiar enough with zombies to understand the basics and the rest we can pick up as the film progresses. The script is sharp and has a great deal of humour at first. This comes mostly from one character who is the husband of the pregnant woman. He is the focal point of the action set pieces.
The premise of the film is relatively straightforward. The survivors have to get to a safe area on the train but in order to do so have to get past various carriages filled with Hungries. The main set pieces cover how they do this. There is a great deal of thought and imagination put into how they do this. There is no repetition and each challenge is treated in a different way. They all have tension with the stakes being quite high. As the majority of the cast are unfamiliar (to me), there is an added level of suspense as there is no expectation of who will survive the trials.
Overall, a welcome and imaginative addition to the world of zombie movies.
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