South Korean films and television shows have delivered some no-holds-barred spectacles, with lacerating violence and soul-rattling twists. “Squid Game,” which recently premiered its second season is no exception, and one of the show’s key actors, Gong Yoo, previously starred in another South Korean genre gem.
In “Squid Game,” Gong plays the Recruiter, the enigmatic and well-dressed agent who lures in potential players by challenging them to a game of ddakji. The Recruiter’s handsome face and friendly demeanor make it easy for his character to convince unsuspecting debtors to try their luck — both at ddakji, and then at the mysterious higher-stakes game.
In “Train to Busan,” that same magnetism draws you in and makes you root for Seok Woo, a divorced workaholic who tries to escape a zombie outbreak with his young daughter, Su-an. By now, zombie flicks are a tried and true genre; we’ve seen every sort of take on zombies, from the emotionally intense “The Last of Us” to the parodic “Shaun of the Dead.” But “Train to Busan” offers so much more.
Train to Busan is a high-speed nightmare
What makes “Train to Busan” one of the best zombie movies ever is its relentless energy. Much like the speeding train the characters are trapped on, once it gets going, it never lets up.
The premise: An infected woman hops onto a high-speed train full of innocent commuters who must then evade the growing horde of zombies. From the frenetic handheld camera shots to the fast-paced editing, we are rocket-launched into this terrifying situation from which there seems to be no escape. The most terrifying thing about these zombies — besides the close-ups of their twisted, gleeful smiles and rotting flesh — is that they are fast, and driven by a bloodthirsty instinct that is difficult to outrun. Their savage violence, combined with the small, claustrophobic space of the train, creates one adrenaline-fueled sequence after the other.
But amid all this craziness, “Train to Busan” never loses sight of the devastation and human pain of becoming a zombie. We frequently see close-ups of fathers and daughters, husbands and wives, and all sorts of friends and family deeply affected by their loved ones’ transformations into these mindless creatures. “Train to Busan” has a strong emotional core, even in its scariest scenes, leading to an incredibly moving finale. “Train to Busan” explores the heartbreaking flip side of losing control and turning into a monster, while also showcasing gnarly apocalyptic action. You get to see a lot more of Gong Yoo’s acting chops in this film, since his role as the Recruiter in “Squid Game,” though pivotal, is smaller.
