For his first live-action film, director Yeon Sang-ho decided to take on a horror film with confined locations, certainly something first time directors do when figuring the medium out. On the other hand, the film is a zombie movie with hundreds of zombiefied people, both on and off the high-speed train in the title. It’s fair to say he went big. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we kick off our short series looking at the Train to Busan films, starting with Yeon’s 2016 film Train to Busan.

First off, we love zombie movies so this is an easy one to talk about, particularly because Yeon gets so much right. It’s a fun movie that sets things up quickly, then once the train ride starts and zombies appear, it never relents. The zombies themselves are well crafted and creepy in their movements. The film has some spectacular action set pieces as well.

On top of that, however, we get some great characters that keep us engaged. Sure, they are fairly archetypal, but they’re very likable. From our father-daughter pair at the heart of the story, to the husband and his pregnant wife, to the baseball player and his new cheerleader girlfriend, to the two older sisters, to the evil COO who can’t get past his own self-interest, each character delivers an essential part of the story. 

There are some zombie rules developed in the world building that seem to be dropped or changed as the story needs them to be, but on the whole the movie’s an exciting thrill ride. We have a great time talking about it, so check it out then tune in. The Next Reel – when the movie ends, our conversation begins!

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