Train to Busan (2016) Movie Review
Written By: FR
Edited By: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director: Sang-ho Yeon
Writers: Joo-Suk Park, Sang-ho Yeon
Producers: Woo-taek Kim, Yeon-ho Kim, Dong-Ha Lee
Date Released: July 20, 2016
Cast:
Yoo Gong as Seok-woo
Yu-mi Jung as Seong-kyeong
Dong-seok Ma as Sang-hwa
Su-an Kim as Soo-an
Eui-sung Kim as Yon-suk
Woo-sik Choi as Yong-guk
Sohee as Jin-hee (as Ahn So-hee)
Soo-jung Ye as In-gil
Myung-shin Park as Jong-gil
Rating = 4 /5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
When Seok Woo (Yoo Gong) and daughter Soo-an (Soon-an Kim) travel by train to Busan on Soo-an’s birthday, they happen to go on the same day that a zombie outbreak occurs. Initially traveling to visit her mother, Soo-an and Seok Woo must fight for survival as a horde of zombies attack the passengers. With zombies at every station, the train operator must continue on the path to Busan to find safety.
Gore Factor
Like all zombie movies, you can expect a lot of blood and gore in this film. Each attack from the zombies are filled with blood and gore. From the FX make up to the blood and gore, Train to Busan does a very good job. In addition, the use of various props that the characters used to fend off the zombies was a nice reminder of classic horror films as well as survival zombie games such as Dead Rising. Overall, the blood and gore aspects of this film were well-done and fun.
The Grave Review
Although Train to Busan (2016) is another zombie movie, it was surprisingly very well-done. The film is based out of Korea. However, the translation to the film was also well-done. The plot starts out as a straight-forward and cliche story about an overworked, divorced father who is trying to make right by his daughter, but soon gets caught up in a zombie apocalypse. In doing so, he develops into a loving father. However, as the film progresses, Train to Busan (2016) incorporates exciting twists which ultimately makes this an exciting and enjoyable watch.
The actors and actresses performed very well throughout the film. However, the most striking performances came the zombies themselves despite the fact the film does not give them a lot of air time. Rather, Train to Busan (2016) provides more attention to the main protagonists. However, it should be noted that throughout the film, there are massive amount of zombies. Just the shear fact that the production crew was able to accumulate so many people to dress as zombie characters is commendable and impressive.
The film builds tension in the viewer by the fact that Seok Woo and Soo-an must be tactful and use stealth methods in order to avoid the zombies on the train. There is always the anticipation that a zombie could attack at any moment and leaves the audience on edge.
The one critique of the film would be that there are various scenes in which certain characters act the way you would expect them to. For example, there are people who become selfish and will do anything to survive even if it means sacrificing others. This element felt somewhat forced because throughout most of the film, the majority of characters end up helping each other to try and survive. Interestingly, some of the tactics were similar to those as referenced in Max Brook’s The Zombie Survival Guide. Unfortunately, there will be some casualties despite the tactful strategies.
Overall, Train to Busan (2016) is an essential watch and entertaining zombie film that you will want to watch more than once. More importantly, Train to Busan (2016) is about family and we respect and appreciate that message.
For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives Train to Busan (2016) four graves out of five graves.
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