Why Is Train To Busan So Good

[Umbelina Baublitz]

The2016 South Korean horror zombie flick has been hailed as not just one of the best zombie films of the 2010s, but one of the best zombie movies of all time. Train to Busan was immediately praised by critics for its unique and widely entertaining take on the zombie genre. With Jeanette Catsoulis at New York Times, selecting the film as her "critics choice". Most notably, Edgar Wright hailed the film, personally praising it on Twitter and calling it the "best zombie I've seen in forever".

Train to Busan follows a man and his estranged daughter, among other passengers, on a zombie-infested train. The passengers must fight for survival as they ride the train to the last beacon of hope and a safe haven against the infected. The film was so popular, that is sparked a sequel in 2020, Train to Busan: Peninsula. The sequel lacked the magic of the first and wasn't as well received as its predecessor. Similarly, a controversial remake is in the works, with the official title being, The Last Train to New York.

To say this film is brilliant is a giant understatement, for perhaps too many reasons than we could ever write down. Train to Busan is a near perfect zombie flick, and before Hollywood finishes production on the American remake of the South Korean classic, we thought, what better time to revisit this exceptional zombie movie and why it is so good? Here is why Train to Busan may well be the best zombie movie of all time.

At the heart of this zombie film, are the characters. Yeon Sang-Ho and Joo-Suk Park write these characters with a remarkable amount of layers, which makes Train to Busan feel so special. Take the main character, Seok-Woo (Gong Yoo), who at first, is a selfish and terrible father, and who rarely sees his daughter and is too caught up in his work life. But throughout the film, we see him grow as a person, not only caring for his daughter, but for other passengers on the train as well, saving them from zombies and sacrificing himself in a truly heartbreaking moment. There is no doubt that Sang-Hwa (Ma Dong-seok) was the greatest character in the film because of his charm, his care for others, and most notably, the love for his pregnant wife, with whom he still goes back and forth deciding baby names with. Similarly, he is one mean zombie killing machine, and goes through countless zombies with just his fists, punching and elbowing so many zombies. That's one of the coolest things any character has ever done in a zombie flick. This character has so much depth and so much at stake, that when he sacrifices himself, and screams a name for their unborn child, the tears will instantly flow, and you can't do anything to stop them.

Also, the antagonist of the film, Yon Suk is despicable in somewhat of a commentary on classism. Yon Suk (Kim Eui-sung) is only one thing, selfish. He cares for himself only and even pushes others in the face of danger and locks our main characters in with the zombies. Luckily, our main group are quite efficient at dealing with the infected.

Like anything, the writing of a character can only get you so far, and it's the actors that bring these characters to life that really make this movie special. The performances across the board are spectacular, but the most compelling and deep performance has to go to Ma Dong-seok. Most will now know him from Marvel Studios' The Eternals, where he plays Gilgamesh, but real fans fell in love with the actor in Train to Busan. With Ma Dong-seok in the role, his character becomes instantly likable because of the actor's inherently undeniable charm and brilliant prowess. Ma Dong-seok's layered performance as Sang-Hwa makes his death so much more heartbreaking.

Some may argue that Train to Busan isn't a horror movie because it lacks any real or effective jump scares. While this may be true, we actually say the film is one of the scariest zombie films of all time because the film is set on a train. A train is an incredibly compact area of space; it's hard to move around, even when there aren't zombies trying to eat you. And forcing the passengers and audiences to be on this train with zombies is nightmare fuel and creates an unbearable amount of claustrophobia. Add the compact space, with a speeding train that you can't escape, and you already have a pretty terrifying concept.

Train to Busan is a gorgeous zombie movie, that is shot to perfection. The film uses many wide-angle shots outside the train, as well as many close-up shots in the train to add to the sense of claustrophobia. Likewise, the editing is brilliant, making the action fluid and trackable, while also complementing the film's cinematography. The wider shots have more time to breathe and the close up shots are edited quicker together to make the scenes a lot more tense.

Gone are the days of slow-moving zombies created by horror legend George A. Romero. Now, thanks to World War Z and 28 Days Later, zombies are scarier than ever and can relentlessly run very, very fast. The zombies in Train to Busan are no different, with many of the zombies almost being as fast as a slow-moving train. If zombies ever take over the world, let's cross our fingers we get George A. Romero's slow zombies, as opposed to the rapid sprinters in modern zombie flicks.

It also helps that the acting in this movie is PHENOMENAL. I usually dislike child actors for either their cringe worthy overacting or their monotone underacting, I am looking at you Disney Channel. Kim Su-an however outdoes some American adult actors. The pure heartbreak on her face as she sees her father give himself up is far beyond her years and the fact that this kind of acting is what she is known for at the age of 12 still leaves me shocked. She acted her heart out plain and simple.

Yeon Sang-ho uses every part of the train, turning it into essentially a war zone. There is no part of the train that is safe but at the same time the train seems to be the only part that is safe. Doors, phones and chairs become weapons and cramped bathrooms become temporary safe zones.

Sang-ho changes the color scheme of the movie to reflect both the feelings and the environment the characters are in. On the train it is a bleak, dark and almost clinical environment. It represents the depressing nature of their situation.The few times they get out of the train the color scheme changes to brighter and warmer colors. There is still a dark cloud hanging over them, but a ray of hope is shining through.

Train to Busan is a movie that distinguishes itself from its competitors. It is a must watch for any horror, zombie or good movie fan. While there are places where we can clearly see the filmmakers trying to force the feelings of fear and sadness down our throats through music and slow takes, a commonality in most Korean media, the movie is so good that audiences will most likely overlook the obvious manipulation of emotion. Yeon Sang-ho is a perfect representation of what differentiates Korean media their western counterparts. He is able to perfectly blend character development, beautiful writing and music with unadulterated fear of what humanity can become when the world is ending.

The film premiered in the Midnight Screenings section of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on 13th of May.[6][7][8][9] On 7 August, the film set a record as the first Korean film of 2016 to break the audience record of over 10 million theatergoers.[10][11]

The movie successfully launched the Train to Busan film series, with the animated prequel Seoul Station released in 2016 and a standalone sequel named Peninsula released in 2020. Another installment and an American-produced adaptation are also in development.

Fund manager Seok-woo is a cynical workaholic and a divorced father. His estranged daughter Su-an wants to spend her birthday with her mother Nayoung in Busan. Seok-woo sees a video of Su-an attempting to sing "Aloha ʻOe" at her singing recital and succumbing to stage fright as a result of his absence. Overcome with guilt, he decides to grant Su-an's birthday wish. The next day, they board the KTX 101 at Seoul Station, en route to Busan. Other passengers include Sang-hwa and his pregnant wife Seong-kyeong, CEO Yon-suk, a high school baseball team including player Yong-guk and his cheerleader girlfriend Jin-hee, elderly sisters In-gil and Jong-gil, and a traumatized homeless stowaway hiding in the bathroom. Before the train departs, an ill woman runs onto the train unnoticed. She turns into a zombie and attacks a train attendant, who also turns. The infection spreads rapidly throughout the train.

A blocked track at the East Daegu Station forces the survivors to stop and search for another train. Yon-suk escapes after pushing Ki-chul into the zombies. A flaming locomotive derails, separating the group and trapping Seok-woo, Su-an, Seong-kyeong and the homeless man underneath a carriage filled with zombies. Meanwhile, Yon-suk runs into Jin-hee and Yong-guk, pushing the former into a zombie in his attempts to escape. Heartbroken, Yong-guk stays with Jin-hee until she turns and kills him. The conductor starts a locomotive on another track but is also thrown to the zombies while trying to save an injured Yon-suk. Seok-woo finds a way out from under the carriage, but the escape route is shortly afterward blocked by falling debris. The homeless man sacrifices himself to buy time for Seok-woo to clear the debris, and he, Su-an and Seong-kyeong manage to escape onto the new locomotive.

After fighting off zombies hanging onto the locomotive, they encounter Yon-suk, who is on the verge of turning into a zombie and is begging for help. Seok-woo manages to throw him off but is bitten. He puts Su-an and Seong-kyeong inside the engine room, teaches the latter how to operate the train, and says goodbye to the former. In his final moments before he turns, he reminisces the moment of Su-an's birth, before throwing himself off the locomotive.

Due to another train blockage, Su-an and Seong-kyeong are forced to stop the train at a tunnel just prior to Busan. The two exit the train and continue following the tracks on foot through the tunnel. Snipers are stationed on the other side of the tunnel and are prepared to shoot at what they believe to be zombies, but they lower their weapons when they hear Su-an singing "Aloha 'Oe", in tribute to her late father.

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