A great horror action zombie film!

Rating: 8/10 (29 September 2016)

Horror movies were never the same after the zombie trilogy by the director George Andrew Romero. In Night of the Living Dead (1968) we were presented to zombies who eat human flesh, a thriller mixing horror and social criticism. In the second film, Dawn of the Dead (1978), besides the social satire about paranoia and humanity to the brink of apocalypse, the movie explores the comic potential of zombies, especially black humor. We are the headless and cannibalistic beings who roam the cities. Closing the trilogy, Day of the Dead (1985) continues with the social criticism and the comic tone, but relies on a more depressive and gloomy scenario, apart from the use of graphic violence. Following the footsteps of George Romero we have the gore Braindead (1992), the horror 28 Days Later (2002) and Rec (2007), and in humor genre, Shaun of the Dead (2004), Zombieland (2007) and Død snø - Dead Snow (2009).
The South Korean movie Busanhaeng (original title) or Train to Busan (english title) focuses on horror and action, with some moments of suspense. Written and directed by Sang-ho Yeon (known for the zombie animation Seoul Station - 2016), the film tells the story of a financial sector executive, Seok Woo (played by Yoo Gong, known for Do-ga-ni - Silenced - 2011) who agrees to travel with his daughter, Soo-an (represented by Soo Kim-an), from the capital Seoul to the city of Busan for she spends some time with her mother (Seok's ex- wife). After embarking on a modern express train (KTX) passengers discover that an epidemic is raging South Korea, turning much of the population into zombies. With an infected person on board and the disease rapidly spreading, father, daughter and other passengers will have to fight for survival and for their lives, trapped inside a high-speed moving train.
The director Sang-ho Yeon does a great job, managing to immerse the viewer in the plot. Despite most of the action been set in a train the film has a dynamic narrative and impresses for its visual and technical accuracy. Unlike the slow zombies of George Romero's trilogy in Train to Busan they are extremely agile, threatening and lethal. Another highlight is the cast. The characters are well developed, even for a horror movie and the actors deliver relevant performances, especially Sang Hwa (played by Dong-seok Ma, known for Joheunnom Nabbeunnom Isanghannom - The Good, The Bad, The Weird - 2008), the girl in the role of the daughter, Soo-an Kim, and Yoo Gong acting as the father. The soundtrack and sound effects are moderate, providing genuine scares.
There are still some elements in the movie of South Korean culture, as the obsession with education and study, and a strong critique of modern society. The quest for professional success even at the expense of family and leisure time is questioned in the film, as well as the social tension. Moral and ethical conflicts involving empathize or not for others and follow or not the animal instinct of self- preservation are exploited by different profiles of the surviving passengers.
Despite having some clichés of the zombie genre Busanhaeng is a great horror film, with good moments of suspense, well-constructed action scenes, a well-chosen cast and the right amount of tension to captivate the viewer.