Seoul Station (film)

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Seoul Station
Seoul Station (film) poster.jpeg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byYeon Sang-ho[1]
Written byYeon Sang-ho
Produced by
Starring
Music byJang Young-gyu[2]
Production
companies
Distributed byStudioCanal
Release date
  • August 18, 2016 (2016-08-18) (South Korea)
Running time
92 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Budget$575,000[3]
Box office$2,021,735[4]

Seoul Station (Korean: 서울역) is a South Korean animated zombie film written and directed by Yeon Sang-ho.[5] Released on August 18, 2016, the film stars Ryu Seung-ryong, Shim Eun-kyung and Lee Joon in the lead roles.[6][7] The film was shown at the 2016 Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival.[8]

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.[9][10]

Taking place in and around Seoul Station, a young runaway woman must try to survive in a world that sees her as disposable.[11] The story revolves around three main characters: Suk-gyu, a father who searches for his runaway daughter (Hye-sun), who he finds is alive and currently a prostitute. He finds her through her boyfriend, Ki-woong, who tried to pimp her to him. Just as he is about to be reunited with her, a zombie epidemic breaks out in Seoul.[12]

Plot[]

A homeless man walks around the Seoul Station area with a bloody wound on his neck until he reaches Seoul Station and lays down. A fellow squatter sits next to him, notices the blood and tries to get help, but the injured man is no longer alive when he returns. The other homeless goes to the police to report his fellow's death; the officers follow him, but the man is gone. The squatter goes to search for the old man and finds him as a zombie, who attacks him.

Hye-sun, who ran away from her former life in a brothel, now lives with her 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, where they are trapped by a group of zombies within a jail cell, along with a policeman bitten by a zombie. Meanwhile, Hye-sun's father, Suk-gyu, interrogates Ki-woong for his daughter's location. The two go to Hye-sun's home, only to find that the landlady had become a zombie. Sun-gyu and Ki-woong both hide in the bathroom after another zombie attacks them, escape through the bathroom window and climb to the roof. Sun-gyu devises a plan with Ki-woong to get the zombies' attention, while he goes down to get the car. They drive away in shock, but focus on finding to Hye-sun.

At the police station, the bitten officer calls for backup before succumbing to his infection, reanimating and biting 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 ambulance crew seems oblivious to what is happening to the infected. Hye-sun calls Ki-woong that she is heading to the hospital and to meet her there. 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 tunnels. Meanwhile, Suk-gyu and Ki-woong make their way to the hospital, but discover that the zombies have already taken over the place. They barely escape before continuing their search.

Outside Hoehyeon Station, Ki-woong calls Hye-sun, but their conversation alerts the nearby infected. A group of people call them to a makeshift barricade while fighting off the infected. The two are saved, only to realize they were placed in a quarantine by riot police, who mistakingly believe the crisis to be an insurrection. Suk-gyu and Ki-woong try to persuade the police to let them through, but are refused. The survivors 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 charge in and overrun the barricade. Hye-Sun is able to escape, but is scratched on her foot by a zombie.

Hye-sun makes her way into an empty showroom and 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. Suk-gyu has been searching for her because she has yet to pay him back the money she borrowed. As an argument erupts, Ki-woong tries to attack Suk-gyu with a knife but gets killed himself. Hye-sun tries to flee, but Suk-gyu subdues her. As he prepares to rape her, she dies. Suk-gyu frantically applies CPR, but then he spots the scratch on Hye-sun's foot and realizes that she is infected. As Hye-sun reanimates and kills Suk-gyu, the camera zooms past a dead Ki-woong and the infected overrunning the quarantine.

Cast[]

Release[]

Clarence Tsui of The Hollywood Reporter called the film "a simple, thrilling ride through a fiend-infested world."[5] 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.[14] James Marsh of South China Morning Post gave a rating of 3/5. He commented that the film addresses South Korea's societal issues including prostitution and homelessness.[15] Gwilym Mumford of The Guardian also gave the film a 3/5 rating. He stated that this film is different from its sequel, Train to Busan because it focuses on the "desperate souls trapped in life's margins."[16] According to IMDb, the film has a cumulative gross of $2,021,735 worldwide.[17]

Home media[]

The film first debuted on April 5, 2016 at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival.[8] Created by Yeon San-ho, this animated film is considered as the prequel to his critically acclaimed movie, Train to Busan.[18] American distributor Filmrise released the DVD and Blu-ray versions of Seoul Station on July 25, 2017.[17] 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. ^ "Seoul Station (box office)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Tsui, Clarence (August 1, 2016). "'Seoul Station' ('Seoul-yeok'): Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  6. ^ "Seoul Station". allocine.fr (in French). Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  7. ^ "Seoul Station". filmaffinity.com. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Seoul Station (2016) - IMDb, retrieved 2021-04-20
  9. ^ "Animation prequel of 'Train to Busan' to hit theaters in August!". allkpop.com. Retrieved 2016-06-26.
  10. ^ "Cannes Hidden Gem: South Korean Animator Makes Apocalyptic Live-Action Debut With 'Train to Busan'". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 2016-06-26.
  11. ^ "Seoul Station". edfilmfest.org.uk. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b c Conran, Pierce (7 April 2016). "YEON Sang-ho's SEOUL STATION Debuts in Belgium". Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  13. ^ "Ryu Seung-ryong headlines disaster movie Seoul Station". dramabeans.com. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  14. ^ "Seoul Station (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  15. ^ "Film review: Seoul Station – animated prequel to Train to Busan is a message-driven horror flick". South China Morning Post. 2016-09-21. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  16. ^ "Seoul Station review – social realism infects animated zombie prequel". the Guardian. 2017-03-17. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b "Seoul Station (2016) - Yeon Sang-ho | Releases". AllMovie. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  18. ^ Yeon, Sang-ho (2016-08-17), Seoulyeok (Animation, Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller), Seung-ryong Ryu, Joon Lee, Sang-hee Lee, Eun-kyung Shim, Finecut, Movic Comics, Studio Dadashow, retrieved 2021-04-20

External links[]

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