Train to Busan (2016)

This was one of the most popular recent horror movies I hadn't seen yet. I would have saved it for later in the month, but I was in something of a hurry to find a Halloween-appropriate movie, and this was the main one left on my Netflix list.

In Seoul, Seok-woo (Gong Yoo) has devoted more of himself as a fund manager than as a husband or father. He reluctantly agrees to take young daughter Su-an (Kim Su-an) to Busan so she can spend her birthday with his ex-wife. But news reports of random riots turn out to have been an understatement: Everyone who gets bitten turns just as berserk, and one such victim boards their train....

Yup, it's Zombies on a Train. You might see it as part of an international rash of action flicks set on the railway. By now, you probably know whether you want to see it. If not, read on.

As you might imagine, Seok-woo displays the most character growth in the story. He gets chastised for his willingness to leave innocent parties behind, particularly the brawny Yoon Sang-hwa (Ma Dong-seok) and his pregnant wife, Seong-kyeong (Jung Ku-mi). Still not the dirty coward that COO Yon-suk (Kim Eui-sung) is. Other characters who get a fair amount of focus include baseball-playing teen Min Yong-guk (Choi Woo-shik), an unnamed homeless guy (Choi Gwi-hwa), and of course the conductor (Jeong Seok-yong).

The zombies remind me of World War Z and [REC] in that they bite more than they eat, assimilating rather than eliminating their prey. They become pretty bloody but not nauseatingly gory, and right before they lose their minds -- whether in seconds or minutes -- they get veiny and milky-eyed. They don't moan or scream so much as growl and gargle, and their movements are jerky but fairly fast. Fortunately, they're even dumber than usual, having trouble with unlocked doors and forgetting targets they can no longer see.

If only the uninfected were much smarter. I don't blame them for not bringing anything deadlier than baseball bats onto a train, but whether in large or small numbers, they can have poor instincts for self-preservation. One person goes crazy in a non-zombie, non-PTSD way.

I figured that Su-an and Seong-kyeong had the best chances by virtue of viewer demand. But this being Korean cinema, I would not have been surprised if nobody survived. That possibility, combined with the strong emotionality among characters, did keep up suspense across the 118 minutes.

As zombie movies go, it's about average in my book. I prefer a little more innovation or humor. But it sure ain't boring.