Review: Peninsula

The film markets itself as a sequel to Train to Busan, the genre redefining 2016 film by returning director Yeon Sang-ho that featured various now beloved names such as Gong Yoo, Don Lee, Choi Woo-shik, and a truly star-making performance by a young Kim Su-An.

It makes sense to use the notoriety of Train to Busan to market Peninsula, especially as Sang-ho is returning to the directors chair with honestly, much benefit. However this acts as a double-edged sword. By setting Peninsula up as a sequel to Train to Busan, quite literally one of the most beloved zombie films of the genre, you set the audience up for certain expectations. Perhaps unfair expectations even.

No film was ever going to hit the same exact high Train to Busan gave hungry, hungry zombie fans. In the same way 28 Days Later hit in a specific way, Night of the Living Dead, The Walking Dead’s early seasons, and both Dawn of the Dead films.

While Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead is gleeful, Kingdom from Netflix is brilliant if under appreciated, and various other well-liked zombie films have come and gone, none have been moments in the genre.

This is very typical, it is similar to trying to capture the magic that was Jaws, Seven Samurai, Ghost in the Shell, or Get Out. All films that inspired both filmmakers and genres for generations to come. There will be other films that will be moments to their genre and inspirations but they stand on their own.

Train to Busan was partially inspired by Zack Synder’s 2004 film Dawn of Dead, which of course was a remake of George Romero’s 1978 film of the same name. Yet, all these films, even the remake - if there is at least one film by Synder that is non-divisive it is perhaps this one - stand on their own.

This is where Peninsula falters.

It says it’s a sequel to Train to Busan, yet, it never truly feels that way. The connection is tenuous at best, with only Sang-ho’s slick style carrying over. There are scenes that do work, namely the car chase scenes which are inventive, resourceful, and genuinely exciting to watch.

Take the scene where Joon, played by a wonderfully engaging Lee Re, uses every inch of her car to escape the streets of Seoul after rescuing former military Captain Jung-seok. In the third act, Joon being chased by one of the many nameless human goons, uses her wits to discover a collected horde of zombies, turns on her headlights whilst twisting her car around to direct the horde pointedly at her enemy.

The action here is invigorating, and more importantly, easy to follow. The CGI may be distracting to some, but these are the best scenes of the film. For what Sang-ho and his co-writer Ryu Yong-jae lack in skill with a pen, he makes up with his skill behind the camera. In another world, Sang-ho would direct a Fast and Furious film to much acclaim.

It is unfortunate then, that the rest of the film feels so derivative and dull. The set pieces feel overly familiar, the dystopian city feels strangely deaden in even considering it’s overwhelmed by zombies. You long for the thick vibrancy that covered the streets with personality in John Carpenter’s Escape from New York. While talented actors such as Kwon Hae-hyo, Lee Jung-hyun, and Koo Kyo-hwan are wasted in thankless one-note roles.

The ending limps towards its underwhelming finish leaving the audience nothing but a decent few bites of an overall underwhelming meal.

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