At the end of my last post I promised you a more positive write-up… and, if I’m anything, I’m a man of my word. During one of my hiatuses my friend and I (the same friend from I Am the Pretty Thing that Lives in the House (and, after reflecting a bit more on that movie, I’m still furious at how dumb it was)) watched Train to Busan. The movie was actually on our list for quite some time and we even had a previous failed attempt at watching it (we couldn’t get the subtitles to work on a certain streaming service). Luckily, the movie was definitely worth the wait. Though, to be honest it suffered a bit from over-hype. I’ve been told by nearly everyone (that’s only a slight exaggeration) to check out this movie. And, while this movie is a lot of fun and endlessly entertaining, it is by no means a perfect film. I was expecting a masterpiece and I only got an excellent horror movie. Okay, I need to clarify a bit… I am absolutely recommending this movie… if you haven’t seen it, you should. Just try to go in with high, but not overly high, expectation, and it won’t disappoint.

Since this is a reflection on a movie I saw quite some time ago, it’s going to be a bit light on the details. Train to Busan is a 2016 South Korean movie. The basic plot has a father and daughter taking the train to Busan during a zombie breakout. It is a very linear film (literally from point A to point B), but the filmmakers (writer Park Joo-suk and director Yeon Sang-ho) find a way to keep it tense and engaging. Part of this has to do with the claustrophobic feel of the train as well as the thoughtful and interesting characters. It can get a bit schlocky at times, but it does have a solid heart at its center, that ends up serving the plot well. Apart from a couple of women it obvious old-lady makeup (still not sure what that is about… part of me wonders if they are famous actresses in South Korea or some other type of cameo… either way, I found it a bit distracting), there isn’t much to point to in terms of weaknesses. I know I’m a bit late to the game when it comes to this movie, but if you’re one of the five horror-movie fans that haven’t seen it, it’s definitely worth checking out.