With the critical and commercial buzz around 2016’s Train to Busan, director Yeon Sang-ho ushered in the era of the Korean zombie, one he’s been almost single-handedly keeping alive. Like George A. Romero before him, Sang-ho uses zombies as a vehicle to explore social issues and anxieties, albeit through a distinctly Korean lens. His latest effort, Colony, takes aim at the rampant growth of communications technology, the mimicry of human intelligence by generative AI, and the erosion of individuality. This is all delivered through a series of unique spins on the zombie, demonstrating they’re the most adaptive of all screen monsters.
Suh Young-chul (Koo Kyo-hwan), a gifted but deeply troubled biologist, unleashes an infection within a high-rise multi-purpose building in downtown Seoul, informing police he’s injected himself with the only vaccine, and triggering a lockdown. His bioterrorism results in the rapid spread of an infection that transforms its victims into feral hunters with the singular aim of reproduction. A disparate band of survivors straddling different ages, abilities, and social classes come together to try and track down Young-chul. Balancing action and tension, the plot’s structure is propped up by a triumvirate of cat and mouse, beat the clock, and ascend the tower. All the while the world watches on via live news feeds, though for a film targeting digital communications, the absence of social media outside of group chats is suspect.
Although starting off at a biotech conference, the film’s action begins in earnest within the shopping mall section of the high-rise. With zombies banging at displays and shop doors, and chasing protagonists through walkways, comparisons to Dawn of the Dead (1978) are apt. Sang-ho may pay homage to Romero, but these zombies are more closely related to the infected of 28 Days Later (2002), The Last of Us video game (2013), and the ‘vomit zombies’ of The Expanse (2015–2022). Unencumbered by rotting flesh, they have incredible dexterity, violently snapping into position when they slip or fall, with each stunt performer giving a convincing performance under choreographer Jeon Young (returning from Train to Busan and 2020 stand-alone sequel Peninsula).
But what truly sets these zombies apart from the crowd — and the rest of Sang-ho’s own work — is their hive mind and insectoid behaviour, enabling them to evolve and overcome barriers as a single shared consciousness. When one learns something, they all do. The collective will tip their heads upright while the score assaults the viewer with a dual tone of choral work and drones, highly effective at first but growing dull by the dozenth time. It’s similar to how the xenomorphs behave in Aliens (1986) complete with trails of sticky goo; as the film progresses, the walls even increasingly resemble those of the terraforming colony on LV-426.
Colony succeeds more in its expertly choreographed action sequences and nerve-prodding set pieces than its more overt attempts to be cerebral, which rely too much on exposition, flashbacks and dull, dialogue-heavy scenes. Sang-ho excels in tight spaces, utilising handheld shots to enhance the feeling of being swarmed, whether that’s in an elevator, a tight corridor, or within an automated dry-cleaning rail.
But attempts to balance too many characters results in an ensemble that, while all well acted, feel flat with little reason to root for them, and deaths that don’t offer any emotional resonance. The most egregious is Choi Hyun-hee (played by non-disabled actor Kim Shin-rock). Her wheelchair within a zombie movie is an immediate signifier she’ll be killed, and the film does nothing to challenge this. Despite attempts to give the character agency, both her chair and her death only advance the plot for others.
Although the survivors use a combination of instinct and ingenuity, harnessing science to overcome challenges, the final climax feels haphazard, accidental, and ultimately unsatisfying. Despite all the potential of Colony’s central ideas, the final shot winds up undermining its own ending with the sole purpose of leaving the door open for a franchise, spreading unnecessary sequels like an infection.
DISTRIBUTOR
Studiocanal
DIRECTOR
Yeon Sang-ho
SCREENPLAY
Yeon Sang-ho
Choi Kyu-seok
CAST
Koo Kyo-hwan
Jun Ji-hyun
Ji Chang-wook
CINEMA
28 August 2026
