Train to Busan

Leave it to the Koreans to reinvent the zombie horror movie and put a high-speed spin on it. This is one of the most breathless action thrillers in recent memory, propelling the audience through its story at the same breakneck speed as the bullet train on which it takes place. And it also has a refreshing sense of humour about it, never taking itself too seriously and infusing even the most gruesome moments with wicked wit.

The characters are set up following the usual disaster movie formula, with people who are compassionate, selfish or downright monstrous in the face of danger. Gong and Kim anchor the film as this intrepid father and daughter, offering much more complex performances than we expect. And there's a terrific collection of people around them: a gang of boisterous teens on a school trip, a stubborn man (Ma Dong-seok) and his pregnant wife (Jung Yu-mi), a resourceful homeless man (Choi Woo-sik), and so on. The range of characters provides all kinds of extra wrinkles, including pungent comments on class bigotry and governmental incompetence.

But what makes the film so much fun is it's nonstop pace, as it leaps from one nerve-jangling sequence to the next. Director Yeon Sang-ho stages all of this so inventively that we have little choice but to hang on for the exhilarating ride. And the added layers of political and social commentary only make it even more gripping. The more invested we become in these messy people, the more harrowing the next outrageously enormous action sequence is. It's the perfect combination of popcorn entertainment with a bit of depth to offer something to chew on after the staggering, haunting final sequence.

Rich Cline