Il Cho's 2020 action-horror movie pits Park Shin-Hye and Yoo Ah-in against a horde of highly energetic zombies.
In #Alive, Oh Joon-woo (Ah-in) is a gamer who woke up from unexpected news. A mysterious disease is quickly spreading all over South Korea inciting aggressive and cannibalistic behavior on people. Determined to survive the apocalypse for his family, Joon-woo locks himself up inside his apartment. Until he met Kim Yoo-bin (Shin-Hye), who might know a way out of this nightmare.
#Alive is far from an original film. It delivers nothing new about zombies and survival as a whole. But even though it's a fairly average film, it's surprisingly a satisfying movie as it takes cues and inspirations from all the zombie movies (and even TV shows) that preceded it. From the highly energetic zombies in reminiscence to Danny Boyle's "28 Days Later" to its core which is about family and survival resembling Yeon Sang-ho's "Train to Busan", the movie takes in what works and use it to its advantage.
Moreover, #Alive's most compelling attribute is how it closely reflects the pandemic that every country is facing. The movie showed real-world problems despite its fictional premise, like the pros and cons of technology and the importance of stockpiling of water and ready-to-eat foods. Survival becomes a daily chore both in a zombie apocalypse and a pandemic.
In general, #Alive proves that zombie movies aren't dead yet. Especially as we faced the adversities caused by the pandemic, Il Cho's movie has become a reflection of what survival feels and looks like.
#Alive may not be a deep movie and that's a missed opportunity. But, it is entertaining and exhilarating, and that is enough for it to stay alive.
3/5
3/5
