By Nick Nitkowski

It’s funny to think that there was a time when I didn’t care for movies that required reading via subtitles. I’m sure most of us start off that way in the beginning. But then you make the choice to open yourself up to it, and you realize that you’ve only been denying yourself great stories in the process. One particular movie opened me up to the wonders of foreign films and the film that more or less started my on that journey was “Train to Busan”, an amazing take on the zombie horror genre that was both intense, violent, and emotionally driven. Now the director of “Train to Busan” Yeon Sang-ho is back with another, and unrelated, zombie movie called “Colony”. The question is, will this be just another “Train to Busan” retread? Or can this film stand on its own two feet and go for the jugular? 

Ever since I saw the trailer for “Colony” in theaters, I was both intrigued and concerned. I’m intrigued because it was an interesting looking Korean zombie film. But I was also concerned about it being just another attempt to capture the intense magic that came from “Train to Busan”. And with it being directed by the same director behind “Train to Busan”, I was even more concerned. Mainly because he had directed the sequel to “Train to Busan”, “Peninsula” and I wasn’t the biggest fan of that sequel. 

The story for this film is pretty simple. A viral outbreak occurs within a building full of people, and once bitten, you become a mindless, blood-thirsty husk of a zombie that attacks any other surviving person in the room. However, this particular movie has a unique spin on it, and you go along for quite a thrilling ride.

I must say that I enjoyed “Colony” a lot more than I was expecting to, given my mentioned concerns going into it. As I was watching the film, it felt like a combination between “Train to Busan” and “The Raid: Redemption” with a little bit of “The Last of Us” sprinkled in. So, if you’re a fan of those movies and that series/video game, then this might be worth checking out just because of that. It certainly entertained me.

It’s got everything that you could want from a zombie film with a few new takes woven into the story, which was a breath of fresh air for me personally. I enjoyed the action in the film, and I really liked the creativity behind what they did with the zombies. Granted, they don’t look any different from your typical zombie look, but it’s how they behaved and how they were utilized in the film that impressed me. Given that “The Walking Dead” is still going on even after I had dropped off from the show years ago due to feeling as though it had overstayed its welcome, this was a very welcoming experience for me.

Now, that’s not to say that the movie is perfect. There were a few moments here and there that I was sort of bothered by. Some of the characters in the film make pretty bad decisions. Some of those were good and had genuine consequences, but there were moments where a character would have the upper hand against a zombie and then they would just wait an absurd amount of time before doing something else to maintain that upper hand. Some were integral to the plot, but others were just because. There were genuine moments where I was saying internally, “Okay, why did you stop? What are you waiting for? Do something!” There was definitely more than one situation like that in this movie.

Overall, I had a very good time with “Colony”. There are lots of unique zombie actions that fans of the genre are sure to enjoy. It’s not as good as “Train to Busan”, but it was a hell of a lot better than “Peninsula”. “Colony”, while unrelated to those movies, ranks within the very center between those two movies for me, but leaning more towards the positive end. If you’re a fan of “Train to Busan”, I would highly recommend giving this film a shot. It’s definitely worth gathering your “Colony” of zombie fans and watching this newest take on the big screen.

🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 stars