Korean disaster movie The Tower gets a thrilling trailer

South Korea has been the creative center for film since the beginning of the 2000s, outshining the more prominent Japanese film industry. If I go back and list my favorite movies from the past two decades, there are more Korean movies than any country outside of the US. They have embraced pretty much every genre that Hollywood used to depend on, including the disaster epic.

Since 9/11, making a movie about a skyscraper in the throes of destruction has not seemed like a very good idea. Sure, movies like TRANSFORMERS and THE AVENGERS display the widespread destruction of buildings and urban areas, but it is not the same as a movie like THE TOWERING INFERNO, where the action is centered on a single building and the poor denizens stuck inside.

THE TOWER, from director Kim Ji-hoon, is exactly the type of disaster movie I wish we still had in America. It has a big cast, amazing special effects, and multiple scenes that make you cringe with anticipation. And I got all that from just this trailer. Imagine what the entire movie has in store!

Plot: Christmas Day—At Tower Sky, the ultra-luxurious landmark building complex, a “White Christmas” party is held to dazzle its equally high-end tenants and VIP guests. Dae-ho, the manager of the building and single father, is forced to cancel his plans with his daughter Ha-na on Christmas day to work the event. The party is in full swing with two helicopters spraying snow on the partygoers below, when suddenly, one of the helicopters crashes into the building and sets it ablaze. Young-ki is a legendary firefighter, throwing himself into the burning building to save the lives of strangers. Together, Young-ki and Dae-ho must fight to save the lives of everyone around them, but only one can survive, while the other makes the ultimate sacrifice.

Yes, it is a formula movie and yes it is derivative of dozens of other films, but you cannot tell me THE TOWER doesn’t look like a fun thrill ride. This is the type of movie we all expect from Roland Emmerich, just not shitty like THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW or 2012.

THE TOWER stars Sol Kyung-gu, Kim Sang-kyung and Son Ye-jin. It opened in South Korea on Christmas Day 2012 to the second highest opening day ticket sales in that country’s history. There is no North American release date yet, but you can expect it will eventually hit Blu-ray.