Train to Busan (2016)

While a zombie virus breaks out in South Korea, passengers struggle to survive on the train from Seoul to Busan.

Director:

Sang-ho Yeon

Writers:

Joo-Suk Park, Sang-ho Yeon (screenplay)

Stars:

Gong Yoo, Yu-mi Jung, Ma Dong-seok

32 wins & 39 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gong Yoo	...	Seok-woo
Yu-mi Jung	...	Seong-kyeong
Ma Dong-seok	...	Sang-hwa
Su-an Kim	...	Soo-an
Eui-sung Kim	...	Yon-suk
Woo-sik Choi	...	Yong-guk
Sohee	...	Jin-hee (as Ahn So-hee)
Soo-jung Ye	...	In-gil
Myung-shin Park	...	Jong-gil (as Myung-sin Park)
Gwi-hwa Choi	...	Homeless Man
Seok-yong Jeong	...	Captain of KTX
Jang Hyuk-jin	...	Ki-chul
Seong-soo Han	...	Train Team Leader
Do-im Woo	...	Cabin Attendant Min-ji
Hye-Yeong Moon	...	Cabin Attendant

Storyline

Sok-woo, a father with not much time for his daughter, Soo-ahn, are boarding the KTX, a fast train that shall bring them from Seoul to Busan. But during their journey, the apocalypse begins, and most of the earth's population become flesh craving zombies. While the KTX is shooting towards Busan, the passenger's fight for their families and lives against the zombies - and each other.

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Plot Keywords:

south korea | cheerleader legs | cheerleader uniform | pretty legs | hiked skirt | 

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Taglines:

Get on board to stay alive

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Genres:

Action | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

At The New York Times, Jeannette Catsoulis selected the film her "Critic's Pick" and took notice of its subtle class warfare.

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Goofs

The abilities of the infected seem to change for the convenience of the plot. For example, before they claim the infected will only attack if they see you, Sang-hwa traps an infected man in the toilet and it still tries to attack him, despite not being able to see him. Also, it is clearly shown that the doors aren't automatic as the handle needs to be pulled down, but eventually they realise that the infected can't open doors, but during the initial outbreak several do so with ease.

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Quotes

Seok Woo: Sorry, but you're infected.

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Alternate Versions

The Indian cinema version is a minute shorter than the original version with a few violent zombie shots being censored.

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Connections

Follows Seoul Station (2016)

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Soundtracks

Goodbye World
Music by Young-gyu Jang

User Reviews

Adds a lot of spark to the zombie genre.

This lively South Korean zombie flick arrives in Oz with a limited release, which is a pity as it's a riotous adventure filled to the brim with action, gore and damn interesting story beats. Like all good films within this subgenre, the narrative is rife with metaphors about modern day issues (parent-child connections, corporate greed, human interaction, etc) but it also provides a compelling survival plot when taken at face value. The core relationship between Yoo Gong's self-centred businessman and his quiet, emotionally-neglected 9-year-old daughter (Soo-an Kim – a tour de force) is riveting as it gets put through the wringer, never feeling anything less than authentic. There are spurts of melodrama, however, that induce the odd unintentional chuckle, whilst a select few from the supporting cast play up their stereotypes – love-struck school girl, despicable scaremonger, muttering homeless man – a little too much. Sang-ho Yeon directs with unabashed gusto, pumping up tension and thrills though a string of adrenaline-pumping set pieces, an amazing train-station sequence that turns from hopeful to deadly being a particular high point. The undead are suitably grotesque and enjoyably expendable, their physical movements a mix between the 28 Days Later mode of rapid flesh-eaters and the herky-jerky twitches of J-horror ghosts, although the rules for how quickly someone becomes "infected" seems to vary depending on plot requirement. It doesn't necessarily bring anything new to the zombie genre, but with a bunch of exhilarating set pieces and a willingness to kill off anyone at anytime, Train to Busan certainly adds a whole lot of spark.

Details

Official Sites:

Cannes Film Festival's facebook Cannes Film Festival's website

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean Hawaiian

Release Date:

20 July 2016 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

Train to Busan

Filming Locations:

Dongdaegu Station, Daegu, Yeongnam, South Korea

Box Office

Budget:

KRW10,000,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$284,776, 24 July 2016

Gross USA:

$2,129,768

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$92,764,199

Company Credits

Production Co:

Next Entertainment World, RedPeter Film, Movic Comics

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1