¡QUÉ HORROR! 2017
Candidate #6
BUSANHAENG
(TRAIN TO BUSAN)
(TRAIN TO BUSAN)
(May 2016)
I'll say it right up front: if you watch a lot of zombie cinema, then you’ve seen this movie before.
Yes,
they’re speaking in Korean, and sure, we’re on a speeding train, but you’ve got
the Sudden Outbreak, the Initially Unlikely Hero, the Somewhat Obnoxious Guy
Who May or May Not Prove to Be Heroic After All, the Characters Who Will Need
Extra Protection (in this case, we have a Child and an Expectant Mother), and
yes, of course we have the A$$hole.
And
believe you me, the specimen we have here, played by Kim Eui-sung is like, Lord
Emperor A$$hole.
Despite
the familiarity of the character types and the beats though--there are a number
of Sacrifices here, both of the Voluntary, and definitely Not Voluntary type,
as well as Moments of Pathos, where the music swells and we’re moved to reach
for a box of tissues--it cannot be denied that Yeon Sang-ho’s Busanhaeng is an effective entry in
zombie cinema, and as such, worthy of some ¡Qué horror!
love.
(Unless
of course, you’re a Slow Zombie loyalist, in which case, do not apply; Busanhaeng sports adrenalized, occasionally
contortionist zombies.)
Thus,
given where the film positions itself on the narrative spectrum, there is also
no significant Romero sociopolitical subtext here, the biggest takeaway perhaps being
this tried and tested law in zombie cinema: no matter how bad things get, there’s
always going to be an a$$hole who’ll make things even worse…
(Busanhaeng quad courtesy of twitter.com.)
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