Review of Train to Busan (2016) by Hotelcentral — 28 Feb 2017

This is one of the most entertaining zombie flicks I've seen and it succeeds primarily as a result of emotional content (which had me really pulling for our main characters) and some really good acting, especially that of young Kim Su-an (a mere 9 or 10 if I read her bio right) who gave probably the most convincing performance I've seen from someone so young. Yes, this is a South Korean production and the dialog is in Korean and I would definitely recommend ignoring the dubbed version because this is a cast that can act and hearing their voices is worth the inconvenience of having to scan English subtitles.

The story itself, that of passengers on a high speed Korail express train in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, is basically a tale of survival, but this is not your typical action-adventure flick with meaningless action sequences extending on for twenty minutes. This is a film made by people who understanding pacing--by people who understand that a symphony is a combination of sounds and silences. Everything happens in stages. With each challenge surmounted a new threat arises and step by step we advance toward the ultimate finale, seeing people falling by the wayside. Not until the final moments of the last reel do we know for certain if ANYONE will survive the zombie horror -- and then with a touch of irony we have a conclusion that is bittersweet, believable, and satisfying.

Yes, there are a few minor missteps. Most modern railway locomotives, for example, are designed to come automatically to a halt unless someone is manning the controls, but there are exceptions so I give this and one or two other examples of "creative license" a pass. It really is a very entertaining film (not especially gory) and I recommend it both to fans of the genre and anyone interested in something a little different.