The Halloween movie watching continues and last week, we watched an extremely divisive one.
A couple of things you need to know up front.
1. My daughter is obsessed with all things Asian right now. Earlier this year I came back from the 24 Hour Film Fest in Boston and I was raving about this film. Since it's Korean, she was the one who put it on the list of things to watch this year.
2. I sold my daughter on it based on the fact that there is a Korean boy’s baseball team on the train and they are all around her age. She was (very openly) hoping for some eye candy.
SPOILER ALERT – Read Further At Your Own Risk
What I didn't tell her was that the whole damn team is dead in the first 20 minutes except for one boy and one girl.
Yes, I fully admit this was a horrible thing to do, but what's done is done. The simple fact is Train to Busan is a great movie and I knew I'd probably have trouble getting them to watch it unless I offered up some temptation. It's one of those horror films that starts slow, ramps up quickly and then never lets up until the credits roll. Even with the deaths of the baseball team, my two viewing companions hung in there for a long time, but with about a third of the movie left, the bitching began.
Wife: This is way too tense. I can’t take it. I'm going to hang out in the dining room.
(She continued to watch while also "working on a craft project". After the movie was over, the craft project was exactly the same as it had been when she started. She'd watched the whole movie, just from further away.)
(She continued to watch while also "working on a craft project". After the movie was over, the craft project was exactly the same as it had been when she started. She'd watched the whole movie, just from further away.)
Daughter: Aaagh! They killed the only cute Korean boy left. That’s it. I’m done with this!
(She got up from her spot on the floor and moved into the dining room also, however she didn't watch as much of the rest of the film as my wife did. Apparently the lack of Korean boys really was a deal breaker.)
(She got up from her spot on the floor and moved into the dining room also, however she didn't watch as much of the rest of the film as my wife did. Apparently the lack of Korean boys really was a deal breaker.)
And once the credits rolled, the complaining didn’t let up.
Both: I can’t believe you made us watch that!
Me: I didn’t “make” you watch it. You wanted to watch it. You told me to put it on the list!
Daughter: But that’s because you said it had cute Korean boys in it!
Me: It did!
Daughter: But you killed them!
Me: I didn’t kill them! The zombies killed them.
This went on for days. Literally. Days! We watched it a week ago on Saturday and I was still getting comments about it yesterday.
The fact is though, Train to Busan is a great horror film. Even amidst the complaining, there were grudging acknowledgements about this. My wife repeatedly said that she cared about the characters and that the script was well written. She and my daughter both talked about how real the zombies were and how tense the movie was.
If gory, scary films are your thing, this one is highly recommended. At least it's recommended by me. I can't speak for the others in the house.
Other films we watched in the last week.
Dracula (1931)
The Creature Walks Among Us
Mimic
Crimson Peak
The Bride of Frankenstein
The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
The Blackcoat's Daughter
The Bride of Frankenstein
The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
The Blackcoat's Daughter
2 comments:
I'll have to look up Train to Busan. I LOVE gory movies! Your list is filled with good times. If you like a little comedy with your horror, may I suggest Fido? Not much gore, but lots of fun.
That's been on our list for a while but we haven't seen it yet. I'll move it up in the queue. We probably won't get to it for Halloween but we'll get to it this year.
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