Naty's Spooky Corner

#Alive

★★★★★

Sunday, June 13, 2021 at 11:11 PM

This 2020 South Korean zombie, yes zombie since apparently I just can’t get enough, thriller movie centered around an awkward, bumbling, video game streamer and his struggle to stay alive as he is forced to endure a zombie outbreak all by himself. Trapped inside his apartment with scarce food and water, and some not so friendly zombie neighbors lurking just outside of his door, Joon-woo, is beyond screwed. The first act of the film explores the emotional and physical struggle that he undergoes as he is both starving to death and overcome with grief about his family that was trapped somewhere outside during the start of the outbreak. Pushed to his limits, Joon-woo is ready to end his struggle any way possible, until the unthinkable happens....

Proceed if you wish to read some flesh-eating spoilers:

Joon-woo, as adorable as he is, is not much of a zombie killer. This becomes more than apparent during the beginning of the zombie pandemic when two infected neighbors drop by in an extremely forceful way...and Joon-woo barely survives both ordeals. Coupled with the lack of food, copious amounts of alcohol, and nothing to keep him preoccupied during the day other than heart wrenching memories of this family, and namely his mother, can you honestly blame the man for wanting his living nightmare to end? Personally, the most difficult scene during the film was when he received the final call from his family, who had somehow miraculously survived up until that point, only to hear them all be brutally attacked and eaten alive.

Thankfully, before he can succeed in hanging himself as a consequence of this unthinkable ordeal he is quickly alerted by a red laser shining in his face from the apartment across the street from his. In it, Kim Yoo-bin, the other sole survivor in her apartment complex and bonafide bad bitch ready to end your zombie shit, saves Joon-woo and even sends over some snacks, hazzah! The two continue to help each other, even going as far as using walkie talkies to talk and using their physics defying zipline to share additional resources when possible - until of course they run out.

Desperate for food, and seeking higher ground, the pair rappel out of their apartments, somehow survive the ever growing horde outside of their balcony windows, and end up being saved by yet another stranger in the top floor apartment of the new building they charged into. This movie goes to show the importance of stranger danger because while this stranger feeds them and gives them water, it is only because he wanted to carry out his own malicious plan of feeding our two survivors to his zombie wife. I know, super fucked up right? Using their wits, the pair somehow survives and are able to make it up to the roof of the building just in time to be rescued by recon helicopters that have been scouting the area for any potential survivors. (How likely is this to actually happen? Let’s not dwell on this, since I’ve already grown wayyy too attached to Joon-Woo and Yoo-Bin. And besides, we the audience were able to enjoy one final kick-ass, zombie killing scene at the hands of the military personnel.)

Overall this movie was incredible. Just when I thought there couldn’t be another heart-dropping zombie movie after having seen Train to Busan, but oh boy was I wrong. Was it slightly painful to watch a young, presumably zoomer man struggle with being alone during a literal pandemic? Oh yeah, that hurt as well. Were there a couple of moments within the movie where I was sincerely doubting how the plot was progressing? Yes as well, but overall this movie was well worth the watch.

Continuity Rating: 3/5
Horror-Induced Anxiety: 5/5

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