snakes on a plane, zombies on the train

Rating: 6/10 (29 January 2019)

The 'zombie apocalypse' genre has a long history of packing social commentary alongside the scares. I would even go so far as to say the best movies always have a point they are trying to make. But that being said, you need a light touch or it risks becoming a glorified lecture. To paraphrase Futurama, when you do things right, people won't be sure you did anything at all. Unfortunately, with this movie even the dimmest audience member will know exactly what the movie is doing by the five minute mark because its messaging has all the subtlety of one of its Zeds.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. The movie, set in South Korea (dialogue is also Korean so native English speakers like myself will need subtitles), follows the passengers of a train headed to Busan which starts off just as the news starts getting a little weird. This part of the movie is done quite well, with the characters observing emergency vehicles speeding towards distant fires, odd crowds at the train station, and the occasional person running past in a panic without any obvious source for their distress. Things escalate quickly, however, and soon the characters are in the classic survival scenario.
The movie follows the perspective of several characters, but the "main" character is a young overworked father taking his daughter to see his estranged wife. Exposition scenes inform us that despite the wealth and stature he's achieved as a hedge fund manager, his familial relationships are strained due to his heavy workload. His daughter in particular wastes no opportunity to reject him or badmouth him to strangers for his "selfishness".
In broad strokes this theme of "selfishness is bad" isn't completely foreign to American cinema. In a western film the guy who refuses to stick his neck out for fellow survivors or hordes resources would probably be expected by the audience to face some comeuppance, but the version here is pretty strict. Just having the job of hedge manager earns the scorn of other characters because it made him wealthy, and his own daughter rejects him openly after he attempts to use his influence to keep her safe without also trying to help everyone else. Even his investment strategy earns him a call accusing him of responsibility for the actions of a company in his portfolio.
The movie keeps hammering on this point the whole way through. For example, there's also a scene that takes place after the main character has 'learned his lesson' that showcases a whole group of 'selfish' people which ends very predictably. My problem is that after a while it begins to feel contrived, like they are forcing characters to act in ways that aren't logical or reasonable just so they can line up another parable for the audience.
Fortunately, a lot of the other aspects of the movie are well done and make up for the weaker elements. The movie is deeply atmospheric and beautifully shot, really conveying the unsettling feeling of a society in full breakdown. Simple things like the conductor communicating with traffic controllers effectively spread unease as the conversations gradually reveal the isolation of the train and its passengers in a world going dark. Dialogue is minimalist but efficient, portraying fear and grief but sprinkling in enough humor to keep it from becoming overbearing. And the main danger, the zombies, are well designed and executed, being scary enough to keep you on edge and utilized for more than simple jump scares.
The ending kind of made me sigh, and the little girl wasn't so much cute as grating, but the ending was earned by the story. I would say that as far as these types of movies go, it was fairly original and interesting. Expect to feel a little lectured at but mostly still have a good time.