Train to Busan: Making All Stops
Discovering Train to Busan was a happy accident, and for that I blame the Mountain Goats. This year, the Mountain Goats were playing Wicker Park Fest, and my wife desperately wanted to go see them perform.
Too bad Wicker Park Fest happened during a downpour this year.
Still hungry for Saturday-night entertainment, we went downtown in search of something to do. As luck would have it, we made it to the only movie theater in town that was showing Train to Busan minutes before the film started. We bought our tickets, skipped the popcorn line and sat down for a two-hour nail biter about a man trying to reconnect with his family in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.
Train to Busan’s premise is simple and invites comparisons of other films in and out of the genre. If I say Zombies on a Train or Snowpiercer of the Living Dead you have a good idea of what the film is about. Hard-working hedge fund manager Seok-woo (Gong Yoo) has no time for his daughter, Kim Su-an. After Seok-woo buys her a duplicate birthday present, he gives in to his daughters demands that they take the train from Seoul to Busan to visit Su-an’s mother, Seok-woo’s estranged wife. Seok-woo agrees, and puts them both on the titular train to Busan. As the train starts its journey; however, a zombie apocalypse breaks out. Now, Seok-woo must work together with his fellow surviving passengers to fight through the train cars and make it to Busan, reportedly the only safe haven in Korea against the zombie plague.
This film worked on a few different levels for me, both as a horror aficionado and someone who lived in Korea for several years. The horror fan in me appreciates the unique additions to the zombie genre. While director Yeon Sang-ho’s zombies are fast in the style of 28 Days Later or World War Z, Yeon’s zombies are also blind, which allows for several interesting plot interactions. One especially harrowing scene takes place in the minutes the train goes through the mountains, where there is no light for the zombies to see by. Infection comes on quickly or slowly, which is never fully explained and mostly serves as a plot device. When main characters get bitten, their transformation into the running dead happens slowly, allowing each hero one last good-bye with loved ones. And there are a lot of good-byes. Yeon gives us a rather large cast of characters and then winnows them down one by one. However, the characterization never feels rushed; the audience gets enough time with each character to feel the pain of their loss.
As someone who lived in Korea (and took the train from Seoul to Busan more than once) I appreciated the film’s visuals and nods to Korean culture. I laughed with glee every time the film passed a landmark or town I recognized. While the social commentary may seem heavy-handed to some film-goers, I found it an accurate representation of the Korean people. My favorite character was tough-talking Sang Hwa (Ma Dong-Seok). Sang Hwa provides most of the film’s comic relief, through his machismo and his interactions with Seok-woo. The two make a great pair and its great to watch them take down car after car of zombies. Kim Eui-sung also delivers an amazing performance as the vilest businessman on the Korean peninsula. Obsessed with his safety and survival above all else, Kim resorts to more despicable actions until the audience is left hating him almost more so than the zombies. I don’t remember the last time I cheered when a villain died on-screen.
At the same time expansive and tight, Train to Busan focuses on a single event to great success. With its restrained use of gore and innovative additions to the genre, it’s what World War Z should have been: harrowing, intense and actually scary. Recommended to any zombie fans out there.
Train to Busan tl;drs
Quick summary: Trying to repair his relationship with his daughter, hard-working Seok-woo takes Su-an on a train ride from Seoul to Busan to see Su-an’s mother. While they’re on the train, a zombie plague breaks out, and Geok-woo and Su-an must fight for their lives along with the dwindling number of survivors on their train.
Too many writers? Just one: writer-director Yeon Sang-ho.
Recommended if you like: 28 Days Later-style fast zombies over Night of the Living Dead slow zombies.
Better than I expected? There are moments of great tension as the survivors fight from car to car. Thankfully, there’s also bits of comic relief to break the tension here and there.
Should it be rebooted? Given the idiosyncrasies of Korea’s train system, I’m not sure how a reboot would work. It certainly wouldn’t carry the same weight in America, with its nascent train network.
Verdict: A great, fresh addition to the zombie pantheon.
Related Reading: Wiki page
Related Viewing: trailer
