Train to Busan 🚄
Happy Thursday! Welcome to Leo season. Looking for something socially distanced to do this weekend? IFC Films’ The Rental will be playing at drive-ins starting tomorrow. You can read my full review here.
Today’s indoor movie is the South Korean action-horror Train to Busan (2016)—streaming on Prime Video and Netflix. Just as I started to become jaded by the onslaught of zombie movies this came along and… reanimated my interest. Clearly I wasn’t the only person smitten (bitten?), it’s the sixth highest-grossing film of all time at the Korean box office.
Here’s what it’s about: As an outbreak of the undead plagues the nation, the passengers on an express train to the city of Busan must band together to survive. [Trailer // 118 mins]
Why you should watch it: The zombie movie has gone through more than one cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. However, Train to Busan breathes new life into the genre. Instead of making a zombie movie, director Yeon Sang-ho set out to make a character-based action and survival film—that just happens to have zombies in it.
Carefully crafted action sequences coupled with anxiety-inducing suspense make the it well-rounded popcorn fare. However, it’s the emotional core that deals with the themes of class, parenthood, and love that gives the movie its prestigious reputation.
📺 Buy or rent: Prime Video | Apple TV | YouTube
Pair it with 🍷
Snowpiercer: After humanity is eradicated by a failed experiment to counteract climate change, the last remaining survivors are forced to live on an infinitely running train called Snowpiercer. Two decades later, an entire class system has emerged but Curtis Everett (Chris Evans) and the rest of the passengers in the rear of the train are ready to revolt. [Where to watch]
Zom-be mine?
In honor of today’s recommendation, here are my five favorite zombie movies of all time:
Night of the Living Dead: George Romero’s 1968 classic is unlikely to be unseated as my favorite of the genre. Combining a dread-filled atmosphere with genuinely terrifying set pieces, it finds both horror and comfort in its societal themes. Plus, I say “they’re coming to get you, Barbara!” at least once a day. [Trailer]
28 Days Later: Danny Boyle is sometimes knocked for being overly stylized, however his manic low-fi cinematography, blaring guitar score, and mile-a-minute pacing all make 28 Days Later a kinetic, white-knuckling experience that rarely leaves you a moment to catch your breath. [Trailer]
[REC]: Not only does the 2007 Spanish film [REC] revitalize the zombie genre, it also breathes new life into the found footage film. Set against a dark and disorienting atmosphere and filled with jump from your seat scares, [REC] is easily one of the scariest zombie movies ever made. [Trailer]
Train to Busan: See above.
Re-Animator: Shovel decapitations, mad scientists, glowing green reagent, flying body parts, believe me when I say Stuart Gordan’s 1985 Re-Animator is a laugh riot. The movie takes everything you’d expect from a bad, low-budget zombie flick and uses it to its advantage to create a genuinely funny and horror-filled romp of debauchery. [Trailer]
Who’s doing great? You are. Keep it up!
See you Monday —
Karl (@karl_delo)