Seoul Station (2016)

Unofficial animated follow-up to "Train To Busan", Seoul Station focuses more on its characters (that could be an idea more fleshed-out) and their emotions. This time around we have only а few survivors to follow around as Korea crumbles. The animation is a matter of taste, as sometimes objects look semi-3d and I get how that might look unnatural to some people. The aesthetic of Seoul is a great playground for haunting scenarios. Illogical decisions are occasionally made, but this has become kind of a trademark for zombie movies. A great twist caught me by surprise in the and the last 10 minutes were breathtaking. Recommended if you liked Train To Busan or just need a decent horror anime movie.

'Seoul Station' is decidedly different from its predecessor 'Train to Busan' which stuck to its action roots with a tender tinge of family sentiment. Directed by Yeon Sang-ho, the animated prequel to the popular South Korean zombie flick adds a fair bit of social commentary to its proceedings. A sick, homeless man makes his way to Seoul station and eventually leads to wide-spread contagion across the entire city.The film juggles between being a zombie actioner and social satire while not lending equal prominence to either. The set-pieces are way bleaker and less explosively choreographed than you'd expect, given this is an animated film (the budget is obviously a lot lower). The cel-shaded animation style is stylish eye-candy per se, although it does look vapid at times. The lead characters are not exactly the ones we'd call 'likable' but the screenplay does provide ample moments for the viewer to empathize (especially the homeless character who accompanies Hye Sun).There are a couple of tension-raiser scenes worked to good effect by the writer/director. The climax I felt could've been enacted better; the twist really lacked the 'wow' factor. The voice-overs tend to get slightly irritating when the characters take time out to weep over their appalling fates (I'm sure others would've felt so too!). And oh, there's no deep-rooted connection between the events of this film and 'Train to Busan' in case you were anticipating. This is a stand- alone flick with a denouement of its own.Verdict: Nowhere as solid as 'Train to Busan' in terms of storytelling, although there are certain other things worth appreciating!

SEOUL STATION is an interesting animated zombie film from South Korea, made as a kind of prequel to the huge hit TRAIN TO BUSAN but otherwise quite different in scope and style. Those looking for zombie film thrills and antics will find a few scenes of interest, but otherwise this is something quite different: a piece of social commentary, something which will be no surprise if you've seen the same director's bullying drama KING OF PIGS.The story follows a number of working class characters as they encounter a zombie outbreak and struggle to survive. The characters have real depth here and the director is more interested in charting their internal struggles in relation to society than the actual zombie threat; the dramatic climax of the film doesn't feature zombies at all. The animation is basic but the film is fast-paced and always interesting, even if it's a lesser piece in comparison to TRAIN TO BUSAN and KING OF PIGS.

I don't know why, but 2 of the main characters (the daughter & her boyfriend)kept irritating me throughout the film, but redeem themselves at the end in a way you wouldn't expect.Conversely, the father who started out the film heroically in search of his daughter, in the end proves he's anything but.The social commentary of how we judge & fear the mentally ill & homeless is exemplified well, particularly in the only scene with a bit of humour in it where the daughter & her homeless companion are desperately trying to lift the security roller door in an attempt to escape the clutches of what appears to be a zombie running towards them. Like Train to Busan, the final father & daughter scene was quite devastating, but in a COMPLETELY different way! It's an ending that caught me by surprise emotionally & shows there are fates worse than being killed by the undead.