Train To Busan (2016) - Film Review

Starring: Gong Yoo, Ma Dong-Seok, Jung Yu-Mi & Kim Su-An

Screenplay: Park Joo-Suk

Directed By: Yeon Sang-Ho

Certificate: 15

 

What's wrong with me lately? One of my rules with watching films is to avoid horror, not because it's bad but because I just generally don't handle constant and explicit scares and gore too well. So how did I come to be watching Train To Busan? Well for one thing, the gripping trailers and the hype surrounding this film got me hooked, and I've since been eager to see it. It did take a while to watch it, thanks to awkward UK release dates, but here I am. So how did Train To Busan, a film described by director Edgar Wright as the “best zombie movie I've seen in forever” turn out?

 

Workaholic father Seok-Woo finds himself becoming too caught up in his work to properly care for his daughter Soo-An. For her birthday, Seok-Woo agrees to take his daughter by train to Busan to see her mother. However, as the train departs, an injured young woman boards with a bite on her leg. Soon, she turns into a zombie and the infection quickly spreads through the train. The survivors learn that they are not the only ones and that South Korea is being swept with the virus. Their last hope is the only city to have successfully fended off the disease: Busan.

 

From watching the trailers alone, I at least expected to enjoy myself and be taken on a thrill-ride whilst watching Train To Busan. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself hugely investing in each of the characters on board the train, and boy does the film like to challenge them. Our main character Seok-Woo undergoes the biggest change in the film, starting off as a work-obsessed fund manager who often ends up neglecting and overlooking his daughter, even buying her the same present for her birthday as he bought for her on Children's Day. By the end of the film, the never-ending danger he finds himself and his daughter in gradually sees him grow closer to her, and Gong Yoo portrays this change incredibly well. It's also clear that Kim Su-An, the young actress playing Seok-Woo's daughter, has one hell of a future in the acting world – she is that good. The remaining supporting characters on the train also impress. The tough every-man Sang-Hwa is probably my favourite character, and he's so down to Earth that it's impossible not to like him. His pregnant wife Seong-Kyeong also ends up becoming something of a mother figure to Seok-Woo's daughter. Elderly sisters In-Gil and Jon-Gil also share a very convincing bond, and though they may argue and have their differences, Jon-Gil's actions later in the film prove that the two share a deep sisterly love. The young baseball player Yong-Guk and his romantic interest Jin-Hee endure probably the most challenges out of everyone, and I frequently felt very sympathetic to some of the things Yong-Guk has to go through, including having to fight off his zombified friends. There's only one character who feels curiously out of place and underdeveloped, and that's an unnamed homeless man. He's just sort of … there, and does very little to add to or advance the story.

 

There's really very few areas where Train To Busan falters, and there's such a great balance of different elements here. Seeing as they're the main attraction of the film, let's talk about the zombies. While Train To Busan undoubtedly deserves it's 15 Certificate, the zombies didn't scare me, aside from the odd jump-scare. But that's not to say they're bad, in fact the zombies are pretty amazing. They're very fast, rabid and a constant danger to everyone on the train. By the last act of the film, we feel like the characters left alive begin to lose all hope that there's anywhere left that's safe. It seems just as one escape route becomes available, it's torn from them. Train To Busan further left me feeling emotionally drained by the time the credits rolled. (Skip ahead now to the next paragraph to avoid spoilers!) Near the end, just as Seok-Woo realizes what he's been missing with his daughter, he is robbed of the chance to make things up to her. Train To Busan may not be your typical road trip film, but the ending to Seok-Woo's story felt very similar to the ending of other road trip films such as Thelma & Louise – just as our main characters learn an important lesson, they are killed with that new knowledge. Though Seok-Woo's last scene is emotional, the part of the film that ended up making me well up (aside from Sang-Hwa's sacrifice) was when Jin-Hee got bit. Seeing Yong-Guk having to cradle his dying love in his arms before he himself got bit was incredibly upsetting. It may be melodramatic, but with everything the characters have gone through, its earned its melodrama.

 

As with most other zombie films, Train To Busan uses it zombie setting to deliver plenty of wide-reaching themes and lessons. Central to the film is the idea of looking out for others in time of desperation. Early on in the film, Seok-Woo tells his daughter “At a time like this, only watch out for yourself”, but we're very cleverly shown what happens if you do that. Onboard the train is Yon-Suk, a rich CEO only concerned with saving himself and going as far as throwing others to the zombies while he escapes. Not only is he one of the most unlikeable characters of 2016 cinema so far, he's a vision of what Seok-Woo will become if he carries on without changing, and his fate will be sealed. There are times where the film goes even further than that and shows hints of social and class warfare among different passengers.

 

Exact numbers for the production budget of Train To Busan are hard to find, but it's estimated to be between $8-9m. The film looks amazing, especially for that relatively small budget, and the production succeeds on every technical level. Despite the narrow and cramped space of the train, director Yeon Sang-Ho shows some masterful filmmaking skills, making the most of the limited space he has to create lively and rapid shots. The lighting is incredibly good and brings colour to what could have easily been a very dark and gloomy film, while the music is often loud, thumping and dramatic – just as it should be. Through things such as news reports and characters using their phones, the film also builds up a sense of scale and we get to briefly see several cities in South Korea get overrun with zombies. We're not always isolated to the train either and there's a couple of times where we stop at a train station and Yeon Sang-Ho treats us to several impressive and well-staged action sequences. The zombies also look terrific thanks to the sheer number of extras who nail it with the twitching, hissing and break-neck speed of their movements, as well as some brilliant make-up work.

 

While part of the reason I first decided to watch Train To Busan was for how original it felt, I learnt soon after that the film may not be as original as it seems. This is really my only serious criticism, and in some way it isn't a totally fair one for me to make, seeing as I haven't seen many of the films I'm about to mention, but Train To Busan does borrow several elements from different films. The film features a similar setting to Snowpiercer, the super-fast zombies from Zack Snyder's Dawn Of The Dead, and the frequent times in which the zombies end up clamouring all over one another feels very reminiscent of scenes from World War Z. Now there isn't anything wrong in itself with this, but it's worth taking note that Train To Busan may not be as original as it appears, aside of course from the blockbuster feel of the Korean setting.

 

In conclusion, I went into Train To Busan expecting to have at worst an enjoyable time, but I ended up with much more than that, and I soon realized I was watching an incredibly well-made and thought out film. It may have the appearance of brainless fun, and believe me, it is an adrenaline-pumping thrill of a time, but look deeper and you'll find a film that wears it heart in the right place and has a clear and relevant purpose. If you're looking for a good horror movie to enjoy, then look no further, or if you just fancy a venture into world cinema, this could be a very good and accessible start.

Train To Busan



9/10