Seoul Station (film)

Seoul Station (Korean: 서울역) is a South Korean animated zombie film written and directed by Yeon Sang-ho.[4] Released on August 18, 2016, the film stars Ryu Seung-ryong, Shim Eun-kyung and Lee Joon in the lead roles.[5][6] The film was shown at the 2016 Edinburgh International Film Festival.[7]

Seoul Station
Theatrical release poster
Directed byYeon Sang-ho[1]
Produced by
Written byYeon Sang-ho
Starring
Music byJang Young-gyu[2]
Production
company
Distributed byStudioCanal
Release date
  • August 18, 2016 (2016-08-18) (South Korea)
Running time
92 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Budget$575,000[3]

The film serves as a prequel to the live-action film Train to Busan, showing how the zombie epidemic began in South Korea before the latter's events.[8][9]

Taking place in and around Seoul station, a young runaway woman must try to survive in a world that sees her as disposable.[7] The story revolves around two main characters: Suk-gyu, a father who searches for his runaway daughter (Hye-sun), who he finds is alive and currently a prostitute. Just as he is about to be reunited with her, a zombie epidemic breaks out in Seoul.[10]

Plot

Hye-sun ran away from her former life in a brothel. She now lives with her good-for-nothing boyfriend, Ki-woong, who intends to pimp Hye-sun out again due to money problems. After a fight about this, the two separate and are caught in the chaos bursting out of Seoul Station. Hye-sun escapes with a few survivors into a police station and becomes trapped by a group of zombies within a jail cell, only to realize a surviving policeman in the cell with them has been bitten. Meanwhile, Hye-sun's father, Suk-gyu, approaches Ki-woong before interrogating him for his daughter's location. The two go to Hye-sun's home, only to find that the landlady had become a zombie.

At the police station, the bitten officer calls for backup before succumbing to his infection. One of the survivors beats the officer unconscious, but the officer reanimates and bites another survivor in the cell. Help arrives and draws the infected away, allowing Hye-sun and an old man to escape the cell and get into an ambulance. The old man panics when he realizes they are en route to the hospital, where many reports of bite wounds appear to be coming in. He attempts to take the wheel from the driver and causes the vehicle to crash. Hye-sun and the old man flee through the subway. Outside the station, Ki-Woong calls Hye-sun but their conversation alerts the infected. The two are saved, only to realize they are placed in a quarantine by riot police. They learn from the authorities that they consider the crisis to be an insurrection.

Survivors fighting in the quarantine slowly succumb to growing numbers of infected people. After a speech on his poor position in society, the old man tries to lead a revolt. He is quickly killed by gunfire, throwing the crowd into a panic as the infected consume them. Hye-Sun is able to escape.

Hye-sun makes her way into an empty showroom. She notifies Ki-woong of her location before falling asleep. When Ki-woong and Hye-sun are reunited, she reveals that Suk-gyu is not her father but rather her previous pimp. As an argument erupts, Ki-woong tries to attack Suk-gyu with a knife but is killed instead. Hye-sun tries to flee but Suk-gyu subdues her on a bed. As he prepares to rape her, she loses consciousness. As Suk-gyu frantically applies CPR, he looks down and realizes Hye-sun was scratched on her foot and infected. As Hye-sun reanimates and kills Suk-gyu, the camera zooms past a dead Ki-woong and the infected overrunning the quarantine.

Cast

Reception

Clarence Tsui of The Hollywood Reporter called the film "a simple, thrilling ride through a fiend-infested world."[4] The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 100% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 7.12/10.[12]

Home media

American disaibutor Filmrise released the DVD and Blu-ray versions of Seoul Station on July 25, 2017.[13] The animated film is also available to stream on Amazon Prime Video, Tubi, Apple TV and Shudder.

References
  1. "Seoul Station Director YEON Sang-ho". koreanfilm.or.kr. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  2. "Jang Young Gyu discography". Discogs. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  3. "Seoul Station Director YEON Sang-ho". koreanfilm.or.kr. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  4. Tsui, Clarence (August 1, 2016). "'Seoul Station' ('Seoul-yeok'): Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  5. "Seoul Station". allocine.fr (in French). Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  6. "Seoul Station". filmaffinity.com. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  7. "Seoul Station". edfilmfest.org.uk. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  8. "Animation prequel of 'Train to Busan' to hit theaters in August!". allkpop.com. Retrieved 2016-06-26.
  9. "Cannes Hidden Gem: South Korean Animator Makes Apocalyptic Live-Action Debut With 'Train to Busan'". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 2016-06-26.
  10. Conran, Pierce (7 April 2016). "YEON Sang-ho's SEOUL STATION Debuts in Belgium". Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  11. "Ryu Seung-ryong headlines disaster movie Seoul Station". dramabeans.com. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  12. "Seoul Station (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  13. "Seoul Station (2016) - Yeon Sang-ho | Releases". AllMovie. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
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