Saturday, July 16, 2022

"#Alive" is One of the Best Zombie Movies of All Time




Index Subtitle - #Alive (#Saraitda / #살아있다) Indonesian Subtitles

살아있다 | Tumblr

A zombie apocalypse would naturally consist of hotspots throughout the globe. We've already gotten great movies about walking corpses (or in some cases, humans suffering from weaponized rabies) in locations as diverse as Manhattan (I Am Legend), Los Angeles (Quarantine), London, Manchester (28 Days Later), Philadelphia, Jerusalem and Wales (World War Z). Now we have an idea of what an undead outbreak would look like in South Korea.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, movie lovers have compared it to zombie apocalypse fiction, what with the global spread of a lethal virus and mass quarantining. Well, #Alive makes that argument better than any film that's come before. Many zombie films feature worldwide infections and some even focus on the isolation of the survivors but #Alive is the first to so acutely examine the struggles of protagonists voluntarily confined to their respective homes.

During a live stream, other players alert student and avid gamer Oh Joon-woo to troubling news reports of people behaving strangely in Seoul, South Korea. After hearing a commotion, he takes a look outside of his apartment window only to witness what initially appears to be rioting on the street down below. When Joon-woo notices a young girl savagely attack and subsequently eat her own mother, he locks his front door. However, a neighbor tricks him into taking a peek outside, at which time the stranger forces his way in and begs for sanctuary. Realizing that the guy's been bitten by one of the infected and informed of the danger this poses by news reports, Joon-woo wants him out immediately. But before he can carry out the eviction, he witnesses the stranger transform from a rational person to a mindless killing machine right before his eyes.


SPOILER ALERT


After forcing his former neighbor into the hallway, Joon-woo is faced with another challenge: worrying about his family, who'd all left for the day prior to the outbreak. Realizing that he has little-to-no cellphone reception, he inventories what little food is in the apartment (Joon-woo failed to heed his mother's advice to go grocery shopping earlier in the day) and resigns himself to life inside his bubble.

Eventually, and through much effort, Joon-woo learns that his family has been attacked -- and likely killed -- at his father's office. Out of food and mourning his family, a despondent Joon-woo attempts to hang himself. But with his head in the noose he learns that another neighbor has survived. Joon-woo and a young woman directly across from his building, Kim Yoo-bin, instantly bond and share resources. And while Kim calls Joon-woo an idiot for attempting suicide, she fails to disclose that she'd tried to hang herself as well, only surviving because the rope snapped.

Don't worry. It's not all sharing food and walkie-talkie conversations. The action kicks in before you know it when Kim is forced to abandon her apartment and Joon-woo has to charge into the middle of Zombievania in order to save her from certain death.

Though you might expect Joon-woo's considerable experience playing first-person-shooters to be adequate preparation for peeling actual caps when necessary, he balks, then outright refuses to squeeze the trigger when he gets his hands on a revolver. But he's highly resourceful, employing his drone as a delivery system and turning his cell into a radio.

As in most great zombie thrillers, the marauding "creatures", as they're called by Kim Yoo-bin, are never actually referred to as "zombies" during the movie. These particularly dangerous biters are capable of quick movement and also retain minimal rational thought, which allows them to accomplish impressive feats like turning door knobs.

Though 2020 has seen murder hornets, global unrest, the return of the bubonic plague and a viral pandemic, nothing resembling a zombie has been spotted -- yet. And it still may be a good idea to follow Joon-woo's lead: keep an eye on the news and stay home as much as possible.

If you wanna see a South Korean thriller that's even better than last year's Best Picture Oscar-winner Parasite then #Alive is for you. And no fan of zombie flicks should miss it.

Originally Posted 8/31/20
  

1 comment:

  1. This is one of the best zombie films I have ever seen. The way it starts is excellent and it keeps the moment going the whole time. Great film!

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