Not Your Average Gore-Fest Zombie Flick

Rating: 8/10 (13 January 2020)

"Train to Busan" is a 2016 Korean drama/zombie film directed by Yeon Sang-ho. It follows a man named Gong Yoo, his estranged daughter Soo-Ann and other passengers become trapped on a speeding train during a zombie outbreak in South Korea.
I was recommended to watch this film by a close friend of mine, he knows I love horror/drama films and the fact that it's a Korean based film is even more up my alley. Then I found out this was on Netflix, so I finally got to watch it! I can honestly say this is the strongest zombie film I've ever seen, I know that's a huge statement to make since some U.S. based zombie films are well regarded. However I have my reasons, which I will get into.
First of all whatever cameras they used to film this movie I would kill to play around with! This movie was beautiful and so crystal clear in picture. There are fantastic shots done in this film and I really appreciate it for that. Also the special effects themselves were top of the line, that deer at the beginning looked fantastic. Seeing hoards of zombies running and falling over each other like a tidal wave was horrifying, there is so much great tension in this film. Also, the actors they got to play the zombies were fantastic in the way they moved and contorted. The movie also didn't need to use disgusting visuals to get it's point across, which zombie films/series do quite often.
Every character had personality. I don't personally know any of the actors in this film, but they made a lasting impact on me! Everyone was great, but the 2 that stood out the most to me were the dad (Seok-woo) played by Yoo Gong and Yong-guk played by Woo-sik Choi. Both played emotion with such expression and guttural tones that I felt their performances were the most noteworthy. Also... Woo-sik Choi is very cute, so I'll be checking him out in "Parasite" as well.
When character die throughout this movie, you feel the loss. Which is the greatest compliment you can give a film like this. The action and drama flowed very well together, even when the scenes were slower paced I was still invested. Definitely check this one out and give foreign films a chance! Don't use reading subtitles as an excuse to skip fantastic movies like this one, it just makes you look lazy!