Train to Busan (Review)

Warning: Spoilers ahead.

Whenever I watch a zombie movie or TV series, it's always set in the United States, which makes me wonder: What about the rest of the world? Do they also have zombies, and if so, how do they handle it? This movie answers those questions by showing us how South Koreans would deal with the zombie apocalypse. They handle it much like Americans but with subtitles and all.

I came across this movie through numerous posts on Facebook, some even linking to low-quality bootleg copies that might infect your PC with malware. Instead of watching it through those links, I decided to follow Joey Tribbiani's (Friends) advice: "If you're going to do something wrong, you better do it right." So, I patiently waited a couple of weeks for the HD bootleg to become available on my favorite movie streaming site, rainierland.com (also where I watch GOT). As expected, there was already an HD copy with complete subtitles.

And so, I watched it... and by the end of the film, I found myself tearing up. Korean films are known for their melodrama, and it seems that even zombie movies are no exception. This emotional element is probably what made this movie so popular, particularly the scene where the father sacrifices himself to save his daughter.

Now, I have a few points and rhetorical questions based on the movie scenes. Let's dive in:

- The outbreak apparently started when a delivery truck hit a deer, which then came back to life as a zombie deer (Bambi zombie). Did the deer bite a human? Wouldn't it just go on biting other deer? And if the deer did bite a human, would infected humans also bite other animals?

- Would you trust your investments to a fund manager who doesn't even realize he bought his daughter a Wii multiple times? Perhaps he just delegated the task to his assistant, which leads me to rephrase my question: Would you trust your investments to someone who shirks important responsibilities onto their employees?

- How is it that amidst all the chaos, electricity and telecommunications seem to be functioning relatively well? In American zombie films, these are usually the first things to go.

- How the heck did the guy recording the skaters manage to post the video on YouTube after being attacked by the zombies that fell from the helicopter? And if it was a Facebook live video, what kind of skater would use Facebook Live to document their tricks?

- So, zombies can't see anything under incandescent lighting?

- Karma's a bitch. But if you condemn a pregnant lady and a little girl for safety reasons, you deserve to die, asshole.

- Can anyone really climb into an overhead luggage compartment without making any noise? 'Cause I definitely can't.

- Sang-Hwa is one tough badass, and screw you if you think otherwise. I aspire to be like him, but at the same time, I don't.

- Why is it that assholes are almost always the last ones to meet their demise?

- Out of all the body parts that can restrain a zombie, why the hell would anyone stick their hand in its mouth? Isn't that the last place you'd want to put your hand during a zombie situation?

- Did that sniper seriously not see the train approaching from the opposite side of the tunnel they were guarding so vigilantly? Even if they did see the train, why would they assume that Seong-kyeong and Su-an were zombies? Would zombies really know how to operate the brakes of a train? Also, are two zombies, a woman, and a child, truly a significant threat to a dozen or more fully geared soldiers? Couldn't they have sent those soldiers to confirm their identities from a closer distance? How many potential survivors who don't sing while walking through a dark tunnel have they killed?

- Su-an's song felt like a convenient deus ex machina.

Well, that's all I have to say about that. It seems like I've been watching too much Cinema Sins.

Have you seen Train to Busan? What are your thoughts on it?

Photo credits:
http://kavenyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TTB-Poster-FINAL.jpg