Korean zombie film review: #Alive (2020)
I can’t say no to a Korean zombie film. And apparently #Alive (#살아있다) was the most popular film on Netflix all around the world when it was released in September 2020. Director Cho Il-hyung made his debut with this film which is actually based on the American film Alone by Matt Naylor.
The plot of #Alive is very simple: a young video gamer (Yoo Ah-in) wakes up to find Seoul in chaos. Out of nowhere packs of grizzly zombies are racing about pouncing on unsuspecting ordinary folk. Trapped in his small apartment alone and without provisions, he finally finds another survivor (Park Sin-hye). Together they try to survive.
There’s no backstory about how this horrendous predicament came about though. In fact there’s very little script at all. If you put all the dialogue together it would last about 5 minutes! (It seems like there’s a trend these days making Korean films with little dialogue – certainly amongst filmmakers aiming at an international market as well as domestic.)
The lack of dialogue isn’t all bad. It leaves me able to focus on the emotional situation of the characters. The loneliness, stress, and panic is palpable. And watching in 2020 during the Covid19 pandemic, it’s easy to empathise with the fear of being alone dealing with life-threatening circumstances!
The acting of Yoo Ah-in is the main strength of the film
The film relies heavily on the acting skills in emotional close ups of Yoo Ah-in. And his acting is the main strength of the film. So if you’re a fan, you won’t be disappointed. As a gamer, he uses technology (while the batteries last) to help him survive. Park Sin-hye plays his gutsy neighbour also doing her best to stay clear of the dreaded zombies. Although the two survivors have been living near each other, the nature of apartment life means they have never noticed each other before.
The film is set in an old apartment complex in Yeouido on the Han River. When he peeps out of the window we can see the ‘I Seoul U’ slogan in big letters on the riverside. And in a later scene, the tall gold 63 Hanwa building which was once the tallest building in Korea is towering in the background.
I often walk around the river in that area and sometimes see film crews. But I definitely have not seen any zombie filming going on… And I was wondering how they filmed hundreds of zombies running around while ordinary residents were coming in and out of the building! I should have realised that the apartment is a set. Duh! So it’s realistic in portraying a typical old apartment building in Seoul.
The story also does well in emphasising our human need for other people. We can go through life in an apartment shunning our neighbours, not even saying hello. But in the end we need each other. The two strangers make a connection through necessity and there are moments of humour and cute interactions between them.
TO SUM UP
#Alive has several weak points. I’ve already mentioned the lack of backstory. This made the film feel a bit short to me. I wanted a smidge more. More dialogue. More something. Also, there were some points that were so unrealistic that they took my attention away from the story. For example, I don’t believe you can survive on alcohol and no water for weeks on end. Experience tells me that this would make me even more dehydrated…
But overall I found #Alive entertaining. The acting is great. The pace exciting. The gruesome sound effects add to the tension. Not to mention the choreography of the freaky zombies. There are several hide-behind-your-cushion moments. So while the British Government’s slogan ‘Stay Alert’ has not been particularly meaningful in dealing with the Coronavirus, it will definitely be useful if we get attacked by zombies.
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