Dernier train pour Busan

Train to Busan was a treat.

A look into Selfishness vs Selflessness and Individual vs The Collective.

I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a foreign film this much. The cinematography is excellent, the story is original, and I will definitely be keeping an eye on Sang-ho Yeon's future projects.

Making zombie blockbuster movies outside of Hollywood is not an easy task. Money is the biggest problem, of course. Since it takes a lot of money, success should be guaranteed before making a movie is decided. However, because there are no other precedents, you can't tell whether it's going to succeed or not. This bad cycle kept Korean directors from making zombie blockbusters. This tells how bold movement it was to make 'Train to Busan'. This movie was destined to be 'hit' or 'flop' and it turns out to be 'hit'. Then, this gives a food for thought. What made this Korean zombie blockbuster movie which is definitely unfamiliar to Korean people successful? Ironically, the secret lies in familiarity. Let's take a look at this movie. Yes, it has zombies, but is this movie all about them? No. Unlike 28 days later or resident evil, this movie actually doesn't care about zombies that much. Zombies are not explained much. Their origin, their ability, cure for zombies…These are the things that are not being handled well in the movie. In this movie, zombies are just tools to represent 'threats'. The main theme of this movie is about how people react to threats. Selfishness, altruism, violence, love and much more are being depicted in this movie. And Korean people are quite accustomed to these elements. When directors mix these elements well, then the movie becomes a hit, just like this one. However, this movie still has some downsides too. Acting of Jin-hee is quite unbearably bad and the character Yong-suk (who keeps trying to sacrifice others to save himself) had gone way too far. Yes, I can get mad at bad guys but I don't want to get annoyed at them. Also, getting annoyed gets worse when it is not properly resolved as this movie does. Overall, this is a quite well-made movie, though it still has some bad moments. I believe this movie will be a new beginning for Korean blockbusters. And I recommend you to watch this movie to stay alert for rise of Korean movies.

Forget about the ordinary and immerse yourself into this amazing zombie thriller experience. If you love thrillers and zombie flicks, then you are in for a ride with this one. This film has it all: the hero arc, character development, insane action, relentless tension, drama, tear jerk, comedy, special effects, great cinematography and most of all excellent pace! Well done to the Korean cinema. Excellent film. 9/10

We're leaving (leaving) on that Zombie Train to Busan (leaving on the undead train).

Use to seeing Korean horror films about ghost, but Zombies!? This was refreshing.

So this neglectful dad tries to make amends with his daughter by riding with her on the train (which she wanted to go by herself) to take her back to his ex-wife. Lucky for both of them as a zombie outbreak happens while their on the train. Now, their only hope for survival is to make it to the Busan stop.

You really can't go wrong with a Zombie movie. It's rare that I've have seen one that I did not like. Train to Busan is definitely a good one too. Its filled with interesting characters. Other than the father daughter team, the train is also occupied by a pregnant women and her Macho and humorous husband, a school girl and her baseball playing boyfriend and some homeless wonderer who saw the outbreak first hand, just to name a few.

The social commentary speaks on what you are made of as an individual and as a society with the best and the worse coming out of everyone during this crisis.

I loved how relentless and aggressive the Zombies were. More like 28 days later than Romero. The special effects do get a little cartoony with zombies that seem to come form nowhere piling over one another like poring cereal into a bowl or something, but it does give you that man, these guys are screwed feel. Train to Busan focus on the idea that the walking dead sense you through sight and sound. If they can not see you or hear you they have no way of knowing your living flesh is a foot away from their hunger. It made for some cleaver obstacles when a group of passengers have to maneuver through train cars filled with zombie passengers (Sounds like the next game in the Resident Evil franchise).

Also found it interesting that no zombies were shot in this picture. I don't know how Korean gun control laws work, but I can assume it's strict enough that the story would make no sense if someone on the train just happen to have one for zombie killing (unlike an American movie in which the unborn child having a gun would be fine so long as it moved along the story). Definitely a rarity in a Zombie picture and it worked.

It's Action packed, it's humorless, with incredible looking zombies and a cast of characters so lively you give a crap what happens to them in the end.

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This has to be one of the finest zombie and horror films in general I have ever seen. Extremely thrilling and captivating from start to finish. Everything in this film has done with passion and care. From the characters and heartbreaking moments they go through, visceral zombie attacks, acting and camera work down to dialogue. Everything works great. This is what World War Z should and could have been. Sure the plot of the film is not original, because yet again we are shown the struggle and survival of people during zombie pandemic, but the way the story is approached and executed is beyond most of the average mainstream horror movies we get these days. If you are a fan of zombie films you will definitely enjoy this horror gem.