Colony

Posted on October 6, 2026 by Dr. Tennyson

Vampire Owl: Do you remember the last times vampires established a colony?

Vampire Bat: In the shadow world? That was an outpost to keep an eye on shadow demons.

Vampire Owl: Nobody knew about the existence of creatures of shadows then.

Vampire Bat: The northern witches had foretold the existence of such creatures.

Vampire Owl: I feel that they were the nightcrawlers, the vampire half-breeds.

Vampire Bat: The vampire half-breeds have always lived among us.

Vampire Owl: They are not allowed within the boundaries according to the laws.

Vampire Bat: You can say that we have been a little too tolerant than others.

Vampire Owl: This is exactly what Dr. Frankenstein warned Uncle Dracula about.

Vampire Bat: Dracula does not need Mr. Frankenstein’s pseudo-vampire advice ever.

[Gets a wheat porotta and three cups of Wayanad tea].

What is the movie about? :: Seo Young-cheol (Koo Kyo-hwan) warns the police that he would launch a bio-terrorist attack at the Dongwoo-ri Building, then injects himself with the supposed vaccine to the virus which he intends to unleash on the unsuspecting people who are attending a science conference there. Meanwhile, a former professor in the same field, Kwon Se-jeong (Jun Ji-hyun) who had just recently lost her job is attending a conference dealing with the same in the targeted building with her former husband Han Gyu-seong (Go Soo) who is determined to help her. Gong Seol-hee (Shin Hyun-been), a biotechnologist and current wife of Han also hopes that he could help Kwon at a time of need. Meanwhile a security guard Choi Hyun-seok (Ji Chang-wook) is also at the building with his mobility-impaired older sister, Choi Hyun-hee (Kim Shin-rok), when something seems to happen in the building with the CEO who has planned and led the event being injected with something by Seo who infiltrated the building.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: It is seen that one after the other, all the nearby employees of the building and people attending the conference are infected, triggering a strange viral outbreak. Counter-terrorism team which gets the information about the bio-terrorist attack arrives in the building and tries to capture the man who is responsible for the same while expecting backup, but they end up finding only the infected with no clue of the bio-terrorist, with the building is placed under lockdown by the authorities to prevent further spread outside, thus trapping them inside. The infected quickly turns into zombie-like creatures with one bite and seems to have a collective mind having information shared from others who become the same type of infected creature without individual minds. Many civilians become trapped in the building which also hosts a shopping mall with restaurants, cinema halls and different branded stores. During their escape attempt, Gyu-sung dies saving a confused female student who becomes stuck all of a sudden.

And what more is to happen here as the bio-terrorism brings more of the infected to the scene creating further chaos? :: It is revealed that the infected possess a certain amount of advanced swarm intelligence, as they share sensory information between them like ants and would quickly evolve and get better as a group after each failed attack on humans. Using perfumes, anti-freeze and sprinklers to confuse the infected, the small group of survivors led by Kwon, decides to get to the top as instructed by the security, but ends up finding the bio-terrorist on the way, who has other plans for everyone. He is connected to each of the infected, and they all hear what he hears and sees what he sees, making it difficult for them to keep him with them in hope for a vaccine. They would need to blindfold him and none of them could talk when he is around. It is revealed that the man who caused all of these have even bigger plans, with the infection spreading all over the world, and his idea is that it only makes humans better with a shared connection and no selfish individual needs – this would be his idea of perfect humanity. Can he achieve the same or the people inside building, government, scientists or armed forces put an end to this?

The defence of Colony :: This one would forever be called a zombie movie by many people, but instead of having the mindless undead, the infected network that keeps developing has us more interested with the innovation. As the creatures communicate and coordinate tactics, as well as adapt to the human escape plans in real time we have them as smart and strong antagonists in one way or the other. With the outbreak within a sealed high building which has moments within elevator, narrow passages and parking lots has us connecting more, and with tension only increasing as time passes. Jun Ji-hyun leads the way with the performance as she stands strong as a character that we all would admire in her fight against all odds; in a supernatural movie in the dark, she would make a fine scream queen, and once again the final survivor among them all. Koo Kyo-hwan makes a fine menacing antagonist whom we all remember for how well he unleashes himself out of vengeance as much as the evil desire for the weirdest of changes – the cool determination that we see around him is very much memorable.

Positives and negatives :: The movie could have made the situation scarier for sure, as there was always scope for some unparalleled frightening scenes and situation. People transforming into part of a hive like ants have been nothing less than unlimited terror, and we see that during these moments, characters keep making some strange choices too. Despite the idea being so good, there is no further development with the same, and sometimes we feel that there is not enough thought regarding the same. Some more darkness, and people turning into something terrible and scary due to the scale rather than the looks could have also done wonders here. Ji Chang-wook as Choi Hyun-seok also has his moments, but the character could have been provided more to do in the end. Kim Shin-rok as Choi Hyun-hee also had more potential, as the skills were already there to be seen. Most of these characters do not seem to reach their best potential when we look at them. The work as the infected is quite nice, as we see how they go around and deviate from the usual zombie world.

How it finishes :: South Korean movies have been good with zombies, and we remember the same with Train to Busan and Peninsula within the chaos of horror. This one with a deviation in zombie-mode makes it interesting in the same scale, but the divergence keeps it different. We have all appreciated vampire movies with difference as the creatures kept changing in from, and this is the chance for zombies to have different forms – Warm Bodies did that long ago and World War Z had its own voice, but Resident Evil kept it moving in the exact same direction with sequel attacks. This variety and the detailed science fiction model surely works, but the characters and the emotional depth are on the struggle for sure. The predictable horror and a climax which never really elevates the movie can always try to bring it down, but one would feel that whenever there is a low, there is a journey that goes higher, and this one surely manages the whole thing well. Let us answer to the call of the zombies yet again here.

Release date: 28 August 2026
Running time: 122 minutes
Directed by: Yeon Sang-ho
Starring: Jun Ji-hyun, Koo Kyo-hwan, Ji Chang-wook, Kim Shin-rok, Shin Hyun-been, Lee Dong-hwi, Park Ji-hwan, Kim Sung-cheol, Lee Re

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

<<< Click here to go to the biggest movie of last year.

<<< Click here to go to the biggest movie of this year.

<<< Click here to go to the most awaited sequel of the year.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Escape from Mogadishu

Posted on March 25, 2022 by Dr. Tennyson

Vampire Owl: Humans and their wars. Then they have the grand escape.

Vampire Bat: You know humans. They create wars all the time.

Vampire Owl: I am sure that most of them should be loving these wars.

Vampire Bat: All rulers wish for wars to keep control.

Vampire Owl: And humans are really easy to manipulate.

Vampire Bat: Humans killing humans is quite strange. Vampires do not kill vampires.

Vampire Owl: Yes, their brotherhood is only as good as witches on a blood moon.

Vampire Bat: At least none of the witches turn dead on that dead.

Vampire Owl: Well, they do have the potion of resurrection.

Vampire Bat: They also have the anti-resurrection vial though.

[Gets a vegetable cutlet and three cups of Munnar tea].

What is the movie about? :: Han Sin-seong (Kim Yoon-seok) is South Korea’s ambassador to Somalia at a time when the African country is going through an internal crisis, with civil war showing its face in most parts of the nation. The life at the Somalian capital of Mogadishu doesn’t seem to be getting any better soon, just like the relations between North Korea and South Korea which is at its worst. It is also the time when both the North Koreans and South Koreans are hoping for their nations to be admitted in the United Nations, and trying to gain the support of Somalia. As the African continent has the most votes in the United Nations, having Somalia on their side was going to be very significant in becoming part of the organization. Kang Dae-jin (Jo In-sung), South Korea’s ANSP intelligence officer is tasked with gaining the upper hand in the process. The gifts don’t seem to be among the best, but they decide to go on with it anyway, as there is hope for a lot of appreciation and even a possible promotion at the same time.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: As they are on their way to meet the president, they are ambushed by rogue forces, who also take away the gifts which were supposed to be given to the leader. As they are also late, Rim Yong-su (Heo Joon-ho), the North Korean Ambassador to Somalia gets the next appointment instead. South Koreans are very muchdisappointed about the same, but cannot argue as they are late by fifteen minutes due to having to walk all the way from the place of attack. They do feel that the North Koreans are the ones responsible for this attack too. Tae Joon-ki (Koo Kyo-hwan), North Korea’s MSS intelligence officer was the one who arranged the attack so that the South Koreans wouldn’t get to meet the Somalian president in time. Now, the South Koreans have to come up with some other plan to nullify what the North Koreans have been doing in Mogadishu. It is up to the only one South Korean intelligence officer left out there to do something soon enough.

And what more is to follow here as the civil war has more power than before? :: As South Korean diplomat tries to contact other ministers in the Somalian government, it seems that everything that they want is just a lot of money in dollars, as well as a lot of favours for their relatives who are studying in different parts of the world. They try to spread information that North Koreans are selling weapons to the rebels, but it seems that the only thing that the government officials and ministers care about is the possibility of bribe. They also find the North Koreans talking to the government officials again, and two begins a word fight, which is stopped very soon by the rebels who are attacking Mogadishu. Even though the ruling government assures everyone that things are under control, soon it becomes clear that everything is going to be completely out of control. United Somali Congress addresses the nation proclaiming that they would bring down the corrupt government for the national interests of Somalia. People are on the rioting streets and with offices as well as banks closed, all the government officials are on the run – the Koreans will have to work together to make sure that they get out of there.

The defence of Escape from Mogadishu :: There are different levels of focus in this movie, as we are not having just an action film or thriller, as there are also elements of drama in here, as movie progresses nicely with a dangerous background always being present. The conflicts come in different varieties, as the action progresses strongly, making fine use of the available background. Being there at the time of a civil war has managed to add more elements of quality, and it easier to introduce one to the terrors of war when it is happening within a nation which is already troubled by poverty and other problems. There is also a certain amount of interest in the human level of action, as there could have been tendency to go on in the unrealistic manner. The scenery is pretty much interesting, and we are only happy to go through the beautiful visuals which become part of the movie very well. There is some interesting humour being added here too. Some messages are also present here and there, and we can sense the meaning going deep at times.

The claws of flaw :: The movie does have a certain amount of dragging at times, and gets a little bit too long with its contents. The initial moments are rather slow, and it does take some time to get into action, with a little bit of silliness having more of a say in the beginning stages. There are repetitive moments which could have been cut with ease. Maybe, instead we could have more of the life around there. There could have also been more focus on the people in the country too. The ending could have also had stronger and sharper moments to finish the whole thing. There are also a number of predictable moments around here, and often we feel that this was were things were heading much early. It is also one of those rare times when we get somewhat new South Korean movies on Amazon Prime, and the film does have comparatively less violence, making it more family friendly than one would expect from a war movie. Yet, the horrors of war could have been depicted further, as we are never short of such terrible wars, which keep on going in different parts of the world as we speak about this movie too.

How it finishes :: Even though we are not that aware of the actual events which happened related to this, the movie works well to keep us interested in the proceedings – the news channels around here rarely narrates the events of war in African countries. We are never short of the requirements to watch the films which portray the horrors and pains of war, as well as a few other things which lies underneath. War is indeed a thing of hopelessness, a crime to not just humans, but all life forms and the environment around. As the wars of new age are bigger crimes to everything on the planet, one might just end up hoping for human extinction to end all such acts of terror. In the absence of humans, the rest of the world would indeed thrive – there has been so many movies talking about saving humanity by taking people to another planet, but one keep wondering if that is indeed the right thing to do. As we ponder over the same, this film happens to be an engaging action thriller drama that keeps us add another name to that long Korean films of interest list.

Release date: 28th July 2021
Running time: 121 minutes
Directed by: Ryoo Seung-wan
Starring: Kim Yoon-seok, Jo In-sung, Heo Joon-ho, Kim So-jin, Koo Kyo-hwan, Jung Man-sik, Kim Jae-hwa, Park Kyung-hye, Yoon Kyung-ho

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

<<< Click here to go to the previous Korean film review.

<<< Click here to go to the previous Korean war movie review.

<<< Click here to go to the first Korean film review on this site.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Peninsula

Posted on October 13, 2021 by Dr. Tennyson

Vampire Owl: So, we do have the return of the zombies after a long time.

Vampire Bat: Well, Train to Busan always deserved a sequel.

Vampire Owl: We remember that it was the one movie which took us to Korea.

Vampire Bat: It led to our first Korean films on Movies of the Soul.

Vampire Owl: I remember that there are many other films which followed.

Vampire Bat: That was our entry into South Korean movies.

Vampire Owl: Only to have movies in many other languages follow.

Vampire Bat: South Korea should be among our dream nations too.

Vampire Owl: As far as Asian nations are concerned, I don’t see why it shouldn’t be.

Vampire Bat: Yes, we have visited only Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia in the east so far.

[Gets a marble cake and three cups of mixed tea].

What is the movie about? :: As a zombie outbreak occurs in South Korea, nobody has any clue about how it started, even though a particular bio-facility is suspected, and there is also no idea about how to contain it. There was pandemonium breaking loose in South Korea though, as people were believing in rumours circulating online, and traveling to safe areas further south – in the end, no place was safe, except for, maybe North Korea. As Captain Jung-seok (Gang Dong-won) of South Korean Marine Corps drives his family to safety, he ignores everyone seeking help on the way, suspecting that they could all be infected. But the infection has also spread in the ship, and more and more people are transformed into the zombie-like state. His nephew and sister are among the people who are bitten and lost to the disease. As they are re-routed to Hong Kong, while the world nations try to quarantine South Korea in whichever ways possible.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: South Korean refugees were no longer accepted in other countries, and the quarantine continued for four years, without any break in between. Later in Hong Kong, Jung-seok and his brother-in-law Chul-min (Kim Do-yoon) are recruited by some Chinese gangsters for a mission which includes retrieving a truck containing millions of dollars from South Korea. They would be paid half of the money if they come back with it alive. As they are certain that they won’t be given refugee status, and are going to be discriminated, they decide to take the offer. They go in at night hoping that they can stay undetected from zombies and most of the ships patrolling the peninsula, and for others, they can pay cash. With the help of the gangsters and their influence, they manage to get there and also find the truck, following it up with the murder of the zombie driver. But this mission won’t be that easy as they thought, as there is something else.

The defence of Peninsula :: Train to Busan was a favourite, and as Peninsula maintains the same spirit up to an extent, we can say that there is enough around here too – the focus on action would be the big change around here. The setting of the post-apocalyptic South Korea is also worth seeing with some fine visual quality. The devastated city is a scene to remember at night as well as the day. The film offers a lot of zombie action as expected, and the fighting sequences happen naturally, as it has always happened with Resident Evil and its sequels, even though this is a more believable one in comparison. The zombies remain as good as they were, even though the attention is less on them this time in comparison to the first film. Well, the world has changed, and we are into another environment now. There is enough action, and some emotions to be added here, and things work well. It is an interesting, thrilling ride from the beginning to the end.

The claws of flaw :: Peninsula wouldn’t get the appreciation that Train to Busan had gathered long ago, as there is not that much innovation being added here. It could have been stronger with the continuation of the original tale. We know that there is a lot that can get added to a post-apocalyptic world, much more than what is seen here. With all the vehicular mayhem that goes on in the end, things do get a little confusing with so much of fights between everyone. The graphics goes closer to a video game than the live action movie at times. It was surely built for the big screen, no doubt about that. The inspiration from other similar post-apocalyptic films to create this particular world cannot be ignored either. The possible messages about selfishness and sacrifice are mostly not there to stay, and are often lost. The focus on the story is not that much maintained when providing too many zombies to kill on the road.

Performers of the soul :: The cast here is led by Gang Dong-won, who manages to stay ahead with ease. He has his moments from the beginning stages itself, mostly emotional, even though that changes later. Lee Jung-hyun is the next one to catch our attention, as she plays the strong mother who has had to make some tough decisions, and lives with a purpose for her children. She goes strong with the emotional side, and becomes part of the big action very soon too. Kwon Hae-hyo adds a funny side at the same time too. Kim Do-yoon plays the brother-in-law role in a believable manner. Lee Re gets a lot of action with the vehicular mayhem, and its a glorious drive through the zombies as far as she is concerned. Those scenes could be taken right into a video game at some point. Lee Ye-won plays the young child in an interesting role. Kim Min-jae and Koo Kyo-hwan plays the two major antagonists, and they do the job well enough. Kim Kyu-baek also adds some humour here.

How it finishes :: We have waited for very long to have a sequel to Train to Busan, and here we have it – that film along with The Wailing are the two first Korean movies which I had reviewed, and that was indeed a game changing moment, the next Korean film reviewed being The Divine Fury coming much later. When Peninsula makes sure that the same zombie feeling returns, there is the similar feeling. We get to see the zombies in Korea yet again, and during the time of Corona virus pandemic, we are seeing the viral apocalypse again. It does feel different when we look at it now, after going through the COVID-19 pandemic, and seeing the viral outbreak unfold before our eyes. The movie continues the journey through the world of zombies in a way that keeps us interested, and I would recommend this film for all fans of the first one too. After all, what is better than a group of fully powered zombies in this world of quarantines and lock-downs? Especially when they come with so much of action on the streets. Well, zombies are forever too, just like vampires and werewolves.

Release date: 15th July 2020
Running time: 116 minutes
Directed by: Yeon Sang-ho
Starring: Gang Dong-won, Lee Jung-hyun, Lee Re, Kwon Hae-hyo, Kim Min-jae, Koo Kyo-hwan, Kim Do-yoon, Lee Ye-won, Jang So-yeon, Moon Woo-jin, Kim Kyu-baek, Bella Rahim