If you’re a fan of 28 Days Later, The Last of Us, and any other zombie film, South Korean film Colony is your jam.
Colony is directed and written by Yeon Sang-ho, best known for his film Train to Busan— a film centering primarily on a KTX from Seoul to Busan as a zombie apocalypse suddenly breaks out and threatens the safety of the passengers. For this latest film, the setting is in a distressing struggle of isolated survivors trapped in a building and quarantined amidst an unknown outbreak. They also have to fight for survival against the unpredictability of the evolving infected. If you remember what happened during the COVID-19 lockdowns, this is the extreme side of what could’ve happened.
Join us as we take a look at the High Five reasons to watch this new zombie film that premeried at 79th Cannes Film Festival!
Unique Blend of Undead Horror
As a certified zombie film enthusiast, the moment the title screen came on right before the science conference in the next scene, viewers are in for a biotech horror akin to Resident Evil, the 28 Days franchise, and The Last of Us. The zombies here are a result of a terrorist attack by Seo Yeong Cheol (Koo Kyo-hwan), who patterned the virus after the behavior of ophiocordyceps unilateralis, aka the zombie-ant fungus.
We’re not going to say anything more that spoils the whole thing. Based on the name of the science behind the virus, you get treated to an incredibly unsettling and anxiety-inducing set of undead behavior in media.
Stars from Various Genres Collide
Photo from Shadowbox
Big names are attached to the casting with Jun Ji-hyun who plays calloused professor Se Jeong one of the main protagonists and is best known for her roles in romantic K-Drama classics like My Love from the Star and Legend of the Blue Sea. Ji Chang-wook who plays security guard Choi Hyeon Seok and brother to Choi Hyeon Hui, a paralytic played by Kim Shin-rock. Chang-wook and Shin-rock are best known for their action-packed roles in The Worst Of Evil and My Sweet Home respectively. Shin Hyun-been plays as doctor Kong Seol Hui and current wife of Han Gyu Seong played by Go Soo. Hyun-been and Soo are best known for their roles in lighhearted dramas Hospital Playlist and Will It Snow For Christmas?
And last but not the least, Kyo-hwan who recently concluded a series called We Are All Trying Here and Parasite: The Grey. As mentioned above, is the antagonist of the film. For us, he deserves special recognition for his menacing role as the man who caused the outbreak while giving the role a slight bit of pitiful humanity.
All in all, it was refreshing to see these familiar faces act in roles that showed off each actors range as entertainers.
Impeccable Practical Effects
The time and effort to get the sets and zombies to look grime, dreary, deadly, and overall physical characteristics of the fungi gave Colony viewers a full immersion. There was also the blood oozing from their mouths and covering their being alongside being coated in mucuous that looked straight out of the animal and insect kingdom.
Particular highlights were the the zombie actor’s dedication of leaping into the air and the sycronized movement they without skipping a beat. The choreography was made by Jeon Young to imitate what looked like stages of evolution for the undead much like how homo sapiens learned to walk on two legs. There was barely any CGI in the film that gave off this realism that weighed on you even after you’ve seen the film.
Soundtrack Befitting the Apocalypse
The sound design of this film felt claustrophobic and transitions from mellow to loud trumpets that create a sense of urgency and tension, enhancing the emotional impact of the scenes. It definitely evoked fear to the point that you’d cover your ears because of the implication of the sound. This style is most promiment when the Colony Sync tracks were played.
Isolation vs Collective Thought
Still from Shadowbox
In the end, the question is when it comes to the zombie apocalypse is if you’d want to get eaten and be done with it or fight despite humanity being a complex being who often destroy or fight each other. In his prior zombie film, Sang-ho explored the complex relationship between families, but for this film, it’s an individual and society itself.
SEA Wave Magazine gives this film a 4 out of 5 waves for giving us a new zombie species that barely used CGI and jumpscares to make us scream in the cinema.