Train to Busan (2016)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Train to Busan (2016) – S.-h. Yeon

If you are looking for Korean zombie action, look no further!  Director Sang-ho Yeon moved from anime to debut in this live action flick that follows the conventions of the (modern) zombie genre, including fast moving zombies who are the result of some biological lab accident.  This time, the epidemic seems to have covered most of South Korea – except the southern coastal city of Busan.  A seemingly amoral businessman played by Yoo Gong is travelling there to bring his primary school daughter (Su-an Kim) to see her mother, his ex-wife.  But when the zombie outbreak infects the train, he needs to learn to make some moral decisions.  There are a fair few character-types on the train, including a no-nonsense and buff married man (charismatic Dong-seok Ma) and his pregnant wife (Yu-mi Jung), some baseball players and a girlfriend/cheerleader, an evil corporate leader, the conductor, some old women, cabin attendants, and so on.  En route to Busan, they have to fight a lot of these very hyperactive zombies (who also apparently can’t see in the dark) and also navigate interpersonal tensions among the survivors.  As you would expect, not everyone survives.  But it is ripsnorting action throughout, with only a few pauses to play up the pathos and let us catch our breaths.  Yeon controls everything smoothly and the art direction/set design/effects are all top notch. Nothing too important here, of course, but a lot of fun and not as gory as you might expect.  So, if zombies are your thing, this is a treat!