Horror Movie Review -Train to Busan (Busanhaeng)

NO SPOILERS

Even ten years later, I must confess that Train to Busan is still one of the best zombie movies I’ve ever seen. If you’re able, try to catch their tenth anniversary “Revived and Remastered” on the big screen. Showtimes and locations are at this website.

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Me after seeing this movie on Amazon Video:

 

PLOT SYNOPSIS: (imdb.com) While a zombie-virus breaks out in South Korea, a couple of passengers struggle to survive on the train from Seoul to Busan.

Before I even begin, I’m going to say I loved this movie.  A lot.  After it was over, I sat for a bit and just thought, “Wow, that was such a ride.”

Many horror movie viewers and reviewers are cynical and jaded.  They claim that “they’ve seen it all” and “nothing can scare them now”.  That’s all well and good, but once you claim that, where is the fun in watching movies?  Movies are escapist creations, much like many fiction books.  Therefore, the point of watching any given movie is to immerse yourself in the experience, and in a manner of speaking, let the filmmaker have his way with you (ahem). Sometimes it’s a great experience. Sometimes, not so much (I’m looking at you, Axe ‘Em!). Regardless, I like to approach each movie as a fresh experience, and I want to be impressed/scared/mystified.

Movies are escape.  That’s the name of the game.  Claiming “nothing scares me” certainly takes the life out of viewing horror, doesn’t it?

But I digress. Sorry about the mini-lecture.

I haven’t laughed, cried, or been scared by one film in a while. That is to say, I’ve laughed at films, I’ve cried over films and I’ve been scared by films, but never all three in the course of an hour and a half.  Train to Busan is a zombie film ride I sort of wished wouldn’t end.  

The setup was great.  For those who haven’t seen it, I won’t spoil it, but I was like whoa….this is how this is going to go?  I rolled along with the cliched characterization, because, you know, zombies.  In addition, the actors did so well, I didn’t care that I’d seen the same character in other movies. They elevated what could have just been a B-horror movie to something notable.

What I also enjoyed about the film were the sub-stories artfully woven/introducced either at the beginning of the film or during/between the action sequences. Each new character introduced had a story, which kept me emotionally invested in the film.

Even in the scenes where I KNEW a character was going to do this or that (and there were a few, because, you know, film-watcher of a certain age and all..) but again, I was so caught up in what was going on that I did not care.

Grade A:  I literally laughed, cried, and gasped in fear.  Highly recommended.

Purchase the film here at Amazon.

Train to Busan: Trailer

 

Here’s to watching horror movies in the morning!

Dahlia