Train to Busan is one of the best surprises of the year; a redemption tale that reminds us how close we are to losing our humanity, but also the compassion we are capable of. All aboard.

Train to Busan is a fulfilling film because it smoothly blends entertainment and social critique without being didactic; the class struggle between the characters remains subtle yet profound, and the genre of the zombie apocalypse horror film is not compromised. It has plenty to offer both casual and serious cinema-goers.

Director Sang-ho Yeon coaxes restrained performances from the talented cast which allows the eventual melodramatic climax to hit home without being too hard to digest. This combination makes ‘Train to Busan ’a thoroughly enjoyable, and occasionally thought-provoking experience, making it a must-watch for horror fans!

A good horror film is chicken soup for the soul and when such a film is tailor-made to be a family affair (similar to Bong Joon-ho’s 2006 Korean monster film The Host), it becomes all the more ‘important’. You begin to root for the characters fighting insurmountable odds and miss them when they die in gruesome, undeserving ways. Train to Busan has all these qualities and probably the worst thing we will get from the film is that Hollywood has already begun remaking it. Yes, hide kids.

Train to Busan also makes you credit Danny Boyle for reigniting the zombie outbreak in the film industry. Boyle turned the concept of zombies from slow moving dumb creatures that could be outrun, into fiery raging monsters that you have absolutely no chance to escape from. If you have watched Train to Busan and have not seen Boyle’s horror masterpiece, you could head home from the theater and make this one a double bill.

Watch it for the gripping narration as the director gives you robust zombie flick. If you are sucker for the undead, you should certainly not miss this as this one is like a breath of fresh air.

Train to Busan doesn’t make many emotional demands of the viewer, nor does it further the zombie genre in any significant way. But you don’t really need to break new ground if you can tread familiar paths so confidently.

Train to Busan brings absolutely nothing new to the zombie genre, but it shows that lack of novelty needn’t be a handicap at all. It has everything you’d expect in a zombie film: The close calls, the mass slaughters, the long chases. A lot of it is quite beautifully shot.

Much of the film is a cat-and-mouse game between the zombies and the humans. The fight scenes lack the visceral punch that would make them interesting and the emotional moments are at times corny and overtly dramatic.