The 2016 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.
The Characters
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.
Performances
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.
The Setting
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.
The Cinematography and Editing
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.
The Zombies
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.