Zombies | 31 Days of Horror

Category Archives: Zombies

31 Days of Horror: Outside (2024; TV-MA; 142 mins.)

Posted on October 19, 2024 | Leave a comment

I was excited to find a new zombie movie, but wary when I saw the length of this one. As it turns out, this was only about 10% zombies tops, and 90% family dynamics, so yeah, the 144 minutes length was waaaay too long for a “nice” zombie movie.

The story begins with the family of Francis, Iris, Josh, and Lucas in a bloodied van, arriving at Francis’s family’s countryside mansion after seemingly escaping a zombie apocalypse. Already we realize the parents are not getting along/lovey-dovey, and that the boys are traumatized from whatever they’ve been through. After finding his father already dead, and helping his zombified mother out of her misery, the four move into the house, find a fresh well, discover chickens, and settle in a bit. Francis likes this life and wants to stay put, but Iris wants to follow rumors to head north where some say there’s a camp with food, medicine, regular folks, etc. This dispute will take up about 25% of the rest of the movie, along with flashbacks Francis has of his horrible father (10%), a secret Iris holds about one of the children (10%), Iris being unhappy and/or mad and/or pouty (20%), Francis becoming more and more weird (20%), and a frenzied final stretch of madness with both zombies and family (10%).

So, if you’re looking for some great zombie thrills and chills, you’re not going to find it here. If, however, you’re looking for the story of how one already-falling-apart family gets through a zombie apocalypse while slowly losing their minds, this one more than fits the bill.

Top Scare: Kitchen
Heartbeats: 1 3/4 out of 5
Gore Factor: 3 1/2 out of 5
Scare Factor: 2 1/4 out of 5
Recommended for: 16 or 17 and up

31 Days of Horror: Train to Busan (NR; 2016; 118 min.)

Posted on October 18, 2022 | Leave a comment

With a 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes, I was eager to give this South Korean zombie-fest a go despite my laziness with subtitles of late. I am so glad I did! Train to Busan is a bullet-train of a ride–with fabulous acting by Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, the young Su-an Kim, and many, many others–as well as great suspense and special effects all combining to make a top-notch zombie movie I rank right up there with World War Z.

Gong Yoo is Seok-woo, a business-driven father in Seoul whose has custody of–but little time for–his daughter, Soo-an. All Soo-an wants for her birthday is to spend it with her mother in Busan. Reluctanly, Seok-woo agrees to accompany her on the bullet-train for her birthday visit. The timing is both very good and very bad: outside, a new infection causing people to turn into white-eyed/pop-locking/blood-sucking/fast-running zombies is spreading like wildfire; inside, an infected woman has managed to board at the last second. Both occurences are unbeknownst to those on the train.

But soon, word spreads via media outlets about the zombie apocalypse in Busan, and the train riders are both shocked and relieved they are safe. We get to know many of the key passengers: a pregnant woman and her snide husband, a teenage baseball team and a young woman who is infatuated with one of the players, two elderly sisters, a homeless man who has made it onto the train, an older, egocentric businessman, and three of the train’s crew. But, of course, the riders aren’t really safe: the infected woman on the train only needs to infect one more before the train cars become crazed blood baths. Father and daughter are soon fighting for their lives along with their fellow passengers…some of which are new friends; some, new enemies.

With plenty of twists and turns, suspense, non-stop action, full-on emotion, and an ending that is both heartbreaking and hopeful, this movie was a fantastic addition to my 31 Days of Horror. Don’t let the subtitles scare you away!

Top Scare: Fellow Passengers
Heartbeats: 3 1/2 out of 5
Gore Factor: 3 1/2 out of 5
Scare Factor: 2 3/4 out of 5
Recommended for: 15 and up, mostly for gore