Last Train Home

Rating: 9/10 (30 October 2017)

The horror genre has its fair share of hits and misses, however, it would seem that the sub genre of zombie horror suffers from the greatest ratio of misses to hits. Yes, the genre does have George A Romero's Night of the living dead and Dawn of the dead, as well as, spoof film Shaun of the Dead, but it would appear that is all we have. One must think hard to find a decent zombie film that doesn't end in "of the dead"... Until now. Director, Sang-ho Yeon makes his live-action debut with what is in my opinion, the best zombie horror film ever. 2016's Train to Busan, or Busanhaeng as it's pronounced in its native country of South Korea, is more than just a simple zombie film, it's ultimately about evaluating what matters most in life, as well as being a social commentary of Korea's government and perhaps even our own.
Train to Busan's success as a horror film could be boiled down to a singular detail, character development. Countless horror films don't take the time to establish and expand upon their characters, resulting in little to no tension, people you more or less want to die and the audience's overall detachment from the film. The social messages of Train to Busan demand fully realised characters for them to have an impact, and fortunately, the filmmakers choose to flesh out a number of characters rather than a limited few. The film's main protagonist, Seok-woo, is a father who prioritises his work over his family, now having again disappointed his daughter, Soo-an, Seok-woo reluctantly agrees to take Soo-an to see her mother in Busan for her birthday, but of course, the zombie outbreak makes things a little bit more difficult The film is primarily the journey, pardon the pun, of Seok-woo as he's forced to be the protecting father he wasn't pre-outbreak and witness the consequences of his actions as a fat cat businessman. As well as this, the film features a married couple expecting their first child, however, the father has yet to name the baby. I for one, found the couple and their love for each other to be the most impactful and engaging. Train to Busan also features; a sports team where one member and a cheerleader have an off and on relationship, two elderly sisters who care deeply for one another and a selfish business owner who I believe represents the ruling class in Asia. Train to Busan is rich with subtext, making it more of a mental and emotional journey than a physical one.
In addition to the emotional message of human life matters most, Train to Busan is contextually relevant in the modern day. With North and South Korea technically still at war having never signed a peace treaty, but more importantly, North Korea's constant threat of nuclear attacks and Donald Trump Well Doing what he does best as president, adding fuel to the fire and being racist So it's safe to say things are pretty sh*t in Korea at the moment. Train to Busan takes aim at the ruling class, from the fat cat businessmen like our protagonist to the government itself, controlling the media and thus the people to fit with their political agenda. The continent of Asia is no stranger to censorship and unquestioned authority figures such as dictators, and so I believe Sang-ho Yeon is attempting to highlight the errors of totalitarianism by effectively bringing a ruling class man to the ground, to see the errors of his ways and the ways of those like him. The shoe is on the other foot and together with the breathtaking performances from the films cast along with the films character development, this message is made all the more powerful.
It isn't all serious however, there is a lot of fun to be had and the film is incredibly entertaining. The action set pieces throughout Train to Busan are large in scale, visually stunning and seriously impressive. Visceral imagery takes the place of cheap jump scares in this competently directed action horror film. Yeon wants to scare you with the culturally relevant subtext, in conjunction with horrifying imagery, instead of simply relying on a loud noise. Director Sang-ho Yeon also understands the horror genre, its themes and concept. It's all about fear, but not just of a killer, a ghost, a vampire or zombie etc. Horror can be the fear of anything and Yeon has made a film that is more about the fear of failing as a parent, disappointing your family and fearing for your country, than it is about the fear of zombies. The human fear amongst the supernatural is what truly makes Train to Busan the best of its genre.
The world is a scary place. The divides between the rich and the poor remain intact and the threat of war is ever-present. Yet humanity does exist, there is light in the darkness we just have to open our eyes to the horror of others. Train to Busan is a poignant, relevant and phenomenal film which takes the audience on the same emotional journey as its characters. It's an extremely tense film thanks in no small part to the phenomenal cast and use of character development. This film can be read on a number of levels, I just hope people see it for what it truly is, a social and political statement highlighting the lack of humanity seen in the modern day.