Gangnam Zombie review by Bobby Blakey
Well Go USA has been bringing Asian cinema to the masses for years and while mostly noted for their martial arts epics they have plenty of horror films in their catalog as well. The latest, Gangnam Zombie stars Ji Il-ju, PARK Ji-yeon from the chart-topping girl group T-Ara, and CHO Kyung-hoon from director LEE Su-seong. Could this flick bring something fresh to the undead genre or will its virus fail to spread?
Gangnam Zombie follows previously normal people who begin to viciously attack other citizens in Seoul’s wealthy Gangnam district and the zombie population grows exponentially and spreads throughout the region. Now, long after injuries forced him to quit the national taekwondo team, an elite former athlete is given one more opportunity to use his talent on behalf of his country as he takes on one final match—this time, against terrifying hordes of the undead.
I am always hesitant with the zombie genre. When they work, they are typically intense, gory and fun, but sadly more often than not they fail to bring much new to the genre. This one used the real life Covid outbreak as an initial catalyst of the story that gave it some real life connections to the chaotic nature of the zombie world. To be fair this is less a zombie flick and more of infected crazed people similar to those in films like The Crazies or 28 Days Later. I prefer this style as it gives them more mobility and insanity to work with and more options to get creative.
On this front the film delivers with plenty of blood-soaked crazies wreaking havoc everywhere. Add to the mix a Tae Kwon Do champion and you infuse the martial arts aspect with the horror element and you should have a
winning combination. When the zombies are attacking and doing their thing it is fun to watch and there is plenty of martial arts added in, but sadly the choreography is slow paced, simple and not overly exciting. I would have just rather had people with random weapons fighting back instead.
The biggest issue here is that it takes so long for anything to happen which becomes an issue when the film isn’t that long to begin with. It doesn’t make it boring or anything it just feels like a lot of wasted time to get to the fun of it all. Like most films like this they have their ups and downs but overall still a fun watch.
If you are a fan of the zombie genre then give it a try and decide for yourself and check out Gangnam Zombie available now on Blu-ray and DVD from Well Go USA.