While it may feel like we're living some weird form of a zombie apocalypse in real life with COVID-19 pandemic forcing us into quarantine, let's count our blessings that it's not nearly as bad as what is teased in the teaser trailer for the TRAIN TO BUSAN sequel, PENINSULA. This looks like some of the most intense zombie action we've seen in quite some time.
Director Yeon Sang-ho returns to a zombie infested world with TRAIN TO BUSAN PRESENTS: PENINSULA and the teaser captures the same gripping, action-packed survival showcase as its 2016 predecessor which instantly became a true classic of the genre. In the sequel, we leave the confines of the train and and head into the world that is infested with the walking dead. The first film offered up a tense and claustrophobic expereince by having the bulk of the action take place on a train glom Seoul to Busan as a zombie virus breaks out in South Korea. Like any good sequel, the new film looks to broaden that experience with the same stark imagery that stood out in the first film while showcasing a wide open canvas that allows horror to come out at every turn.
The sequel takes place four years after the events of the first film and Jung-seok (Gang Dong-won), a soldier who previously escaped the diseased wasteland, relives the horror when assigned to a covert operation with two simple objectives: retrieve and survive. When his team unexpectedly stumbles upon survivors, their lives will depend on whether the best-or worst-of human nature prevails in a truly dire situation. The film also stars Lee Jung-hyun as Min-jeong, Lee Re as Joon-i, Kwon Hae-hyo as Elder Kim, Kim Min-jae as Sergeant first class Hwang, and Koo Kyo-hwan as Captain Seo.
TRAIN TO BUSAN was recommended to me by a friend and while I avoided it for awhile because, at the time, I wasn't too into foreign films, when I finally saw the movie I thought it was one of the most visceral zombie films I had ever seen and it's a proper homage to work of zombie icon George A. Romero. It's definitely a film you need to experience.
Are YOU all in for the sequel? TRAIN TO BUSAN PRESENTS: PENINSULA is expected to hit screens later this year.