On track for smashing hit

> Korea’s Train to Busan has drawn more than 10 million viewers on board its zombie ride in its home country alone

AKOREAN horror film is making waves, not only for being one of the few films to draw more than 10 million viewers in that country since 2003, but also as one of the highestgrossing Korean movies for 2016, earning US$80 million (RM328 million) so far.

And as it slowly opens around the world, its box-office takings will undoubtedly increase, and a Hollywood adaptation is reportedly in the works.

Directed by Yeon Sangho, Train to Busan (above and right) stars Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, Ma Dong-seok, Choi Woo-sik, An So-hee, Kim Eui-sung and Kim Suan.

The movie begins with a truck approaching a toll booth while it’s being sanitised.

The driver accuses the workers – wearing hazmat suits – of slowing him down. But they tell him nothing is wrong and that there was a small accident at a nuclear plant.

After passing the toll booth, the driver accidentally hits a deer that miraculously staggers back on its feet, indicating that something is very wrong.

Meanwhile, in Seoul, Seok-Woo (played by Gong) is a fund manager in the middle of a divorce.

As he barely has time for his daughter, Su-an (Kim Su-an), the child grows tired of his neglect and wants to visit her mother on her birthday. Seok-woo then books a train bound for Busan the next morning.

As Seok-woo drives his daughter to the station, he notices emergency vehicles heading towards a burning building in the distance.

They board the train, which is occupied by a man named Sang-hwa and his pregnant wife Seongkyeong, a high-school baseball team, a COO named Yong-suk, two elderly sisters In-gil and Jong-gil, and a homeless man who seems to be aware of the situation outside.

As the train prepares to leave, a young woman with a bite wound on her leg boards the train.

The station manager signals the train to leave and then notices people screaming at something.

Su-an watches through the window as the manager is attacked by a zombie.

Frightened, Su-an, who is the only witness to the horror, gets up to go to the bathroom.

In one of the lower cars, an attendant comes across the infected woman and ends up being infected himself while trying to help her.

The two zombies then infect the baseball team and the new zombies start heading to other cars, infecting everyone in their way.

As the train continues to head for Busan, those uninfected must fight for their survival. It is during this time that heroes will emerge, while some passengers will show their true colours.

Director Yeon said: “This is a genre that has not been fully explored in Korean cinema, and it has to contain elements of Korean emotion and tone that aren’t felt in Hollywood films or those in the same genre.

“I wanted it to be a cathartic experience.”

Yeon has also directed an animated sequel to the movie, Seoul Station, which was released in April.

Train to Busan is distributed by Golden Screen Cinemas and opens in cinemas on Sept 8. – GSC Movies