Four years ago, a zombie horror movie from South Korea blazed terror and thrills through international fans. Infectious word of mouth garnered rapid and potent admiration for the blockbuster movie that was known as Train to Busan. Now we revisit the aftermath of what happened in the newest installment called Peninsula.
From what we can glean, the movie takes place in a South Korea rapidly that has deteriorated and collapsed within 48 hours. The rapid spread is stopped by expansive fencing and military power from North Korea. Suddenly, South Korea became the Peninsula. We returned to those early hours with Jung-seok, a soldier frantically trying to escape with his family to a ship. Hard decisions and sacrifices were made but he was able to make it. That sweet relief of being alive is short lived. We find that the current status of those who survived are treated as scum and lowly refugees as other countries fear them and the possible contagion. They have no home, no country and no allegiance to anyone. So when Jung-seok and other survivors are coerced to return to the zombie infested Peninsula to obtain bags of money, it is with the barest hint of hesitation.
The Peninsula is a laser tag playground of car-clogged highways and lurking zombies. What Jung-seok and others don’t realize is that not everyone on the Peninsula are zombies…Or sane.
Yeon Sang-ho directed both Train to Busan and Peninsula, completing a trilogy of zombie movies. The first zombie movie in the trilogy is the prequel to Train to Busan the animated movie which can be found here Seoul Station and was released in 2017. The initial movies deliver an expected chaos of zombie attack. Peninsula is entirely different. It’s dark… we mean, visually it’s very dark. The bulk of the movie is filmed at night or inside warehouses. So most of the time, it’s difficult to figure out who’s who and what’s happening. There will be lots of gunshots and plenty of flares to randomly punctuate the darkness.
Do not expect much excitement or thrills from this movie. The story is very bleak in terms of a message and in delivery. Suspense is delivered in slow walks and obvious cues of zombies. It is very hard pressed to mention positive notes on the film as the sense of disappointment and let down is still strong weeks after watching the review copy. The lack of zombie thrills would have been forgivable if the story had any substance. What made Train to Busan so distinct was how quickly and wholeheartedly we connected with the characters and how deeply we mourned their deaths. For Peninsula, we have essentially three groups of people that we see but do not connect with: the ones crazy enough to go back in, the survivors, and the crazy military survivors. If this sounds familiar, it is almost a carbon copy of the Walking Dead, World War Z, Day of the Dead, and other zombie stories.
The only amusing part of the movie is just the main question of “How?!”. That was the repeated question as we see the action unfold or just how the survivors survive in general. The main survivors that weren’t able to leave the Peninsula are a mother and children unit. The mother is Min-jung played by Lee Jung-hyun, a strong and confident woman who will not hesitate to bring her children to safety. The biggest question really is how did she raise her children and teach them high octane skills which would rival stunt drivers? The eldest daughter, who seems to be only 13 years old, is able to execute moves with hairpin turns in the dark on roads cluttered with cars, debris, and of course zombies. How was she was able to practice without getting caught by the zombies or the crazy military survivors? How do they even have basic amenities like clean, drinkable water after four years of a collapsed infrastructure?
The list of grievances goes on and on as the disappointment seeps in deeper. We were expecting such a great follow up and are genuinely saddened to see a heavily CGI movie in the dark with no heart and barely any story. The only reason to see this movie is to satiate curiosity and to have something to debate with a fellow movie buff.
Peninsula is available now in select theaters. Check out https://www.wellgousa.com/films/train-to-busan-presents-peninsula for more info.
