Review of Train to Busan (2016) by Compi24 — 30 Aug 2019

As far as zombie movies go, the general rule is that you're only as good as your human characters. All of the greats (Zombieland, 28 Days Later, Shaun Of The Dead, etc.) not only possess the thrills and chills needed to depict the undead, but the deft sociological talents of portraying worthwhile human interaction, whether that be humorous, awe-inspiring, nerve-shredding, or otherwise. Who are we following and why?

With "Train To Busan," director Yeon Sang-ho puts this idea into practice with a noted amount of skill and vibrance, most notably in staging a story with very basic circumstances that we've seen so many times before (a group of people grapple with the sudden onslaught of the rising dead) yet with minor flourishes here and there that make it feel fresh and new. Take the setting, for example. It's not as though we've never seen a train in any kind of film before, but considering the situation at hand, coupled with the invigorating specificity with which the filmmaker implements the environment into the story, I honestly couldn't imagine this taking place in any other space. Then, there's the "social commentary," a term that I honestly dread hearing in relation to certain movies in this day and age. However, "Busan" relies on something that not many other films do in painting a sociopolitical portrait -- subtlety. Yeah, current events can be connected to the goings-on in the film. Yeah, certain characters may or may not resemble real life figures, archetypes, or ideas functioning in modern society. Does it really matter if you didn't catch any of it? No. What really matters is that you care for the characters onscreen, and -- boy -- by the end of the movie, it was hard not to. What a solid live-action debut for Yeon Sang-ho.