A workaholic dad, Seok-woo, takes his daughter, Su-an, to see her mother on a passenger train just as a zombie apocalypse begins to take over South Korea. The mission is clear: get to Busan without any bites.

The movie was an adrenaline rush of running, fighting, and fast zombies on and off the train. There was never a dull moment and yet it managed to have plenty of time to develop even some of the minor characters who didn’t last very long.

There was real emotional engagement as the father fought to keep his daughter safe, while helping others along the way. In fact, selfishness vs. selflessness was one of the running themes throughout. Not everyone wants to be nice in a zombie apocalypse, and there were real consequences for the characters who went out of their way to be jerks to their fellow humans.

It was tense up until the bittersweet ending when you could finally take a deep breath as the credits rolled. With carnage, some brains, and a fair amount of humanity, this one easily takes its place among the zombie horror classics of our time.

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