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| Topic | Board 8 Ranks 2010s Horror Movies - The Final Chapter - *THE RANKINGS* |
| Snake5555555555 05/29/22 12:58:36 PM #314: | Lightning Strikes - All are dead! Train to Busan is a terrific piece of zombie fiction that works both as a unique take on some very tired tropes and as an exciting action thriller. At its heart though there is a great story of bonding between father and daughter cut across by some rather interesting social commentary about work culture, individualism, and how they isolate us from our family members. You really feel for these characters, and want to see them make it through which is of course a good sign for any horror film. And for the cast at large, the film plays a good trick of keeping a very low body count for the bulk of the film and then carving through them in a short period of time. It leaves you shocked in a way you never expected from the rest of the film. On the whole this is a brilliantly fast paced thriller that feels so much bigger than its budget lets on. Everything seems huge, it really seems like a blockbuster but was actually done on a micro-budget. That is still amazing to me even in the years since I first saw it. The whole film just oozes a creativity and a style that means that even a subject matter as tired as zombies can be made cool and fun again. I would recommend this film to anybody even if youre suffering from massive zombie fatigue. A well-made thriller all around. Biggest scare: While you can see it coming, the zombie horde at the train station makes for a nerve-wracking sequence. rockus - Train to Busan is a testament to putting a lot of solid pieces together and pulling off a competent production. Its a pretty straight forward film but it has a novel concept, just enough emotional leverage to invest in, and a strong cast playing their types well. The stand out being Ma Dong-seok burly arming his way through the hordes from train car to train car. Hope his career continues to take off and even though I dont care much for Eternals I hope he got *paid*. He rules in Kundo and The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil as well. Back to Train to Busan, overall its just a really solid horror thriller. Really tight and doesnt miss a beat. Even when you can see something coming, like the cowardly guys betrayal, it works because it just feels like its the right thing for the film to do, because the movie knows exactly what its doing. Good stuff, and not surprising that it was such a hit. Shame the sequel is kind of a mess, though even that has some things I like about it. Suprak - B+ Train to Busan was one of three films on this entire list I hadnt heard anything about. I mean, I feel like maybe some friends told me about it at one point but it was one of those things I had no firm recollection of. So when I started the film and it quickly becomes apparent youre dealing with zombies, my expectations sort of bottomed out. It isnt that I hate zombie movies some of my favorite horror films are zombie movies. But I sort of felt like modern zombie films had gotten into this predictable rut that I just wasnt really interested into diving into again. So I went in expecting very little from Train to Busan, and I wound up being pleasantly surprised in just about every way. This is just about everything I want from a zombie movie. You have a nice big cast of victims here, and for once I actually liked almost all of the cast. The main character, the daughter, buff dad to be, pregnant lady, baseball team the cast here is all great. Its rare for a zombie movie like this to have a cast that isnt just a bunch of tropes waiting to die, but for the most part this movie pulls it off pretty well. The character dynamics here are a lot of fun, and even the side characters have nice little stories with them. And you have huge hordes of undead monsters, with all the fun that comes with it. The train setting is great for helping build a tough space to navigate through and it is a fun setting for the film. You still get the good zombie chase scenes in, and the movie even gives you some fairly unique, creepy movement for the zombies. Theres something with the weird jagged movements that hits that right spot of creepiness, even if this isnt the scariest movie on the list. This was probably one of the less scary movies on this list, but you do have some creepiness, body horror, and genuine tension. On top of that, its just a lot of fun and there are plenty of the good sort of action scenes youd expect from a top tier zombie film. This was also one of the most genuinely emotional movies on the list, which is something I didnt expect out of a zombie movie. There were maybe two or three other movies Id put ahead of this one, but Train to Busan really gives them a run for their money in terms of moments. It was the closest I came to crying during a zombie film, for sure. I dont cry during movies because I AM A BIG TOUGH MAN but if I were the kind to cry during movies, I feel like I wouldve multiple times during this film. Like when the main character has to say goodbye to his daughter and shes begging him not to go, or when big burly dad turns around to name his daughter, or when the daughter finally sings that song through her tears as they approach sanctuary. Train to Busan does a good job giving you genuinely well scripted, well written, emotional moments that dont feel cheap or phoned in for the sake of the plot. This was a good horror movie, but beyond that it was just a good movie. There is great stuff here beyond the BLOODTHIRSTY KILLER ZOMBIES and it is rare for a zombie movie to be as moving as this one. The complaints I have here are relatively minor. I do feel like things get a bit cartoon-y at times, or more cartoon-y than the standards of a bunch of undead monsters trying to eat everyone. The scene where theyre fighting through the train car and big burly dad lifts a zombie to the ceiling and theyre fighting like a scene out of Sucker Punch or something, it almost feels like a scene from a completely different movie. Part of the issue here I think is this is a Korean zombie movie and not an America zombie movie. Violence in American zombie movies is usually solved by pew pew pow pow get them guns, but guns are not inherently tied to Korean culture in the same way. Dont get me wrong for the most part I actually think that makes for the better movie. Its way more tense when not everyone is packing like theyre a member of a Montanan separatist militia. Its just that when the time comes and the characters need to fight instead of run, then the action gets a little bit silly. Punching your way through a train full of zombies is a bit silly, especially in a movie that feels a bit more grounded (or, again, as grounded as you can expect from a movie featuring hordes of the undead). --- I've decided to put my fears behind me. I'm not going back. https://www.instagram.com/horror_obscurities/ ... Copied to Clipboard! |
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