Ten years after its release, Train to Busan remains the best zombie horror film of the past two decades, as emotionally devastating as ever. The film, directed by Yeon Sang-ho, was re-screened at this year's FrightFest to mark its tenth anniversary, alongside animated prequel Seoul Station and 2020 sequel Peninsula.
By 2016, the zombie subgenre appeared to be running out of steam, despite a surge in popularity in the 2000s following 28 Days Later, Shaun of the Dead, and Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead remake. The market had become oversaturated, with films like World War Z, Land of the Dead, and 28 Weeks Later failing to reignite interest. Even The Walking Dead, based on Robert Kirkman's comic series, was suffering, with the introduction of villain Negan signalling a decline.
A Father-Daughter Story at Its Core
Much of what makes Train to Busan work is its powerful emotional core. At its heart, the film is about a father and his daughter. Recent divorcee Seok-woo (Gong Yoo, now known for Squid Game) is travelling with young daughter Soo-an (Kim Su-an) to visit her mother in Busan. A workaholic frequently absent from her life, he is forced to reconsider his priorities when a virus transforms the people of Seoul into bloodthirsty zombies.
The film is as much a Korean soap opera as an action-packed zombie horror, never losing sight of the father-daughter relationship. Gong Yoo is joined by Ma Dong-seok (Eternals, The Roundup), who delivers a scene-stealing performance as the burly Sang-hwa. The group's survival plans are derailed by the actions of arrogant CEO Yon-suk (Kim Eui-sung), whose self-interest proves as dangerous as the zombies.
A Brutal Final Act
The film's brutal final act remains one of the most emotionally ruinous sequences in cinema. It is a last stretch that left the reviewer curled up sobbing when the credits first rolled in 2016. At this year's FrightFest re-screening, it still left a sobbing wreck by the end.
Train to Busan's re-release followed the UK premiere of Sang-ho's Colony on Thursday night. The new film finds a group of survivors trapped in a quarantined high-rise amid a zombie virus outbreak, blending high-octane action with heart-wrenching melodrama. It is a fine film, but watching it so close to Train to Busan only compounded how special the 2016 hit is.
Train to Busan played at Tubi FrightFest on August 28, 2026. It is available to rent digitally on Amazon Prime, Apple Video, or Sky Store in the UK.
