Train to Busan pits a band of survivors against a speeding train full of zombies.
I mean, really, what else is there to know?
The film goes on as most zombie films that have taken a class or two in pacing, letting the opening build relationships and lay out the scenario before the horror begins. By 13 minutes in, we’ve seen this all before, but the script and performances do their job, endearing us to a businessman Dad, his daughter, and their family plight, which is the couple’s impending divorce.
But then right around 15:00, shit gets real.
Suddenly the passenger train is filled with infected undead, who merrily and bloodily go about creating more of themselves as they feast on the passengers. The great physical performances by the infected deserve recognition. These impressive acrobatics are accentuated wonderfully by the music, sound effects, and cinematography.
There’s not much we haven’t seen before — lots of hair-raising near-misses and escapes, and wondering which of the rag tag group of spunky survivors will be next to go. (I will say when the last of them clocks out, it is pretty tragic.) The addition of the train as the primary setting gives the goings-on a nice sense of, pardon me: momentum.
Like many zombie flicks, the ultimate cause of the zombie outbreak is left pretty vague, although it is somewhat addressed in a quick phone call just past the halfway mark.
It feels, though, that mostly the filmmakers are simply building on what others have done before without adding anything particularly new to the canon. The rules are the same: don’t be seen, don’t be heard, don’t get bit, keep going like a bat outta hell for the One Place That’s Safe while Protecting Those You Love . . . with a splash of Who Are The Real Monsters?! mixed in.
It is not a bad thing that these tropes are well-worn. They are well-worn for a reason. If you pick up a film like Train to Busan after seeing the trailer, it’s because you have genre expectations. Those expectations are met well in Train. So while there’s nothing new here, the film is a hell of a lot of fun for fans of the genre.
The math is simple: If you like zombie movies, you will like Train to Busan.
TAKEAWAYS FOR WRITERS
Use gestures and the environment to reveal character rather than narration. When Dad is on a angry call with his ex-wife, but still gives his fancy sports car a quick cleaning with the sleeve of his coat, that says something. When he is quietly arguing with his mother about the divorce in his bedroom, putting away his clothes, and every shirt and jacket is exactly the same and hung in fastidious rows…that says something, too.
When one of the train workers is asked to “fix” her tie because it’s askew by an inch or two, we are shown that the society in this film esteems order. In other words: a perfect contrasting backdrop for the anarchy of a zombie apocalypse.
Also, in case you ever wondered: Yes, your story has already been done. Take heart: They all have. Mine, yours. Even Shakespeare ripped off most of his stuff. But your story never been done by you. Trust in your voice and perspective. Unless you are outright trying to copy someone (which is a good idea in privacy to learn the craft, but a terrible idea to do for something you’d try to publish), develop and trust your own way of executing a story, even if it’s one we’ve all heard.
Whatever your story is, tell it your way.