Train to Busan is a 2016 Zombie Horror movie directed by Yeon Sang-ho and it tells the story of various people including a recently divorced dad and his daughter who plan a regular day of travel on a train in South Korea only for it, and most of Korea to be hit by a virus that turns people into terrifying animalistic cannibals.
This first of all is probably the first foreign language movie I watched from start to finish. The fact I had to sit and read subtitles or viewing a dubbed version where the voices didn’t match up properly was always a put off for me. However, Train to Busan opened my eyes to a whole different world of movies as not only did I enjoy it I may go as far to say it’s one of the best times I have had watching a movie.
The reason I had such a great time is that the movie is so intense and you actually care about the characters as they are given great arcs that develop their characters amazingly, to when people die, and of course it is a zombie movie so people will die. You feel both anguish and upset and even anger and frustration when certain characters don’t get what they deserve and that’s from the protagonist and antagonists point of view.
Speaking of Antagonist this movie has one of the best villains I have seen in a movie never in my life have I wanted a character to die, from the first interaction of the character I was like “yep this guy is a douchebag” and little did I know, that thought would be the biggest understatement of my entire life. This guy is selfish and arrogant beyond repair every action or speech he makes just makes you wish he would get his comeuppance… which doesn’t always play out how you’d wish. And as much as I hated this guy I loved him as a Villian.
The other performances are also great,(most notably the child actress Kim Su-an) because everyone is given a reason to be in this movie, not one of the main characters are served as cannon fodder and are not clearly just there to die, everyone has a purpose.
The dramatic arcs are a real tear jerker to watch, the action sequences are unique and interesting and the stunt work… Oh my god the stunt work is sublime, the way actors who play the zombies contort and twist their bodies as if they didn’t have bones is amazing if not really fucking terrifying to watch.
The zombies in this movie (and there are thousands) are hands down the best and most terrifying zombies in cinema.
The way this movie is shot is also great, with the movie is set mostly on a train, it’s gives the viewer a sense of claustrophobia especially when 90% of the train and the screen is filled with terrifying zombies. Train to Busan gives us a completely different take on the zombie genre that focuses much more on survival and the people in the situation than those big Hollywood action scenes that just has zombie slaughter for the sake of slaughter., and even though Train to busan does have these scenes, they use them sparingly and each scene does what it is supposed to do and it’s flawless.
Everything about this movie is amazing from the clever set-up to the virus and the introduction of the characters every second of this movie has either got you screaming, cheering, holding your breath or crying. it’s something that I relish when watching a movie and this had me hooked right up to the last nerve racking second.
Final Score.
Title:Masterpiece
Train to Busan is one hell of a thrill ride with more under the skin than a generic hack and slash zombie flick and with unquestionably unique ways to keep the viewers entertained and on the edge of their seat, this is a zombie movie like no other and I found myself holding my breath with pure terror and intensity for almost every second.
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