Train to Busan

Zombie retrospective. The zombie movie cream-of-the-crop, to some. Production design is clean and slick, which makes the arrival of the fast zombies and the spraying blood all the more dreadful. It starts with routine domestic issues, and a sympathetic Dad trying to do his best. When the outbreak begins, Dad makes a few selfish moves to save his young daughter, but efforts to dial back hero’s sympathetic qualities ring false. We know he’s a good guy. Don’t bother with a ginned-up arc. There aren’t too many young children in zombie narratives, I suppose for production safety reasons, but having a little girl in this gives the whole spectacle a layer of vulnerability. Filmmakers intend for this to add HEART to the story, which more often than not, works. Sequences are extremely well-choreographed. Lots of glass, and windows being the only thing that stands between the heroes and the zombie hoards. The pace, like a speeding train, doesn’t let up, and the editing is expert. Is this the Citizen Kane of zombie movies? Kinda. Maybe. If you don’t count OPENING NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.