Zombies
have gone global. There are examples of the shuffling hordes in films from
dozens of countries, but none has had the ravenous impact of Yeon Sang-ho’s Train to Busan. It might just be the
best zombie movie since the original Night
of the Living Dead, but his film is not radically dissimilar to Romero’s world
or that of the Walking Dead. However,
Kim Sang-hoon puts a distinctly Korean-spin on the genre, by turning fleshing
eating zombies loose in a Joseon-era tale of courtly intrigue. The kingdom faces
foreign, domestic, and undead peril in Kim’s Rampant (trailer
here),
which opens this Friday in New York.
Technically,
Prince Ganglim has been a hostage of the Qing emperor, but the wastrel playboy
loved every minute of it. Much to his regret, he has returned to Joseon to
protect the late crown prince’s wife and unborn son. Alas, the heir apparent
martyred himself in front of the oppressive King Lee Jo (their father) to protect
his rebellious followers. Logically, Ganglim must now be the crown prince, but
nobody is happy about that prospect—least of all him.
Naturally,
Prince Ganglim is rather put out when he is not met by a welcoming party that
befits his stature. He is even more annoyed when a gang of assassins arranges a
tardy reception. Arguably, the zombie attack is somewhat fortuitous, even though
Ganglim probably could have handled them on his own. He might be a profligate
hedonist, but the prince is also a skilled warrior. Regardless, the incident
forces the Prince to get real, acknowledge the rampaging “demons,” and forge a
reluctant alliance with the local rebel underground, including the attractive
but contemptuous Deok-hee and the badass Buddhist Monk Daegil. Frustratingly,
the king and his treasonous ministers are difficult to convince. Mostly, they
prefer to keep their heads buried in the sand, but Minister of War Kim Ja-joon fully
understands the demon apocalypse, which he intends to exploit for his own
political gain, sort of like FDR deliberately allowing the Japanese sneak
attack on Pearly Harbor—allegedly.
Hardcore
zombie fans should understand there is not a lot of undead action in the first
half of the film, but in this case that is a good thing, because it means Kim
and screenwriter Hwang Jo-yoon invest the time to fully establish the political
intrigue and royal family dysfunction. The Joseon court is not merely a
colorful backdrop. The conspiratorial skullduggery and the zombie uprising are
thoroughly intertwined, which is a major reason why Rampant is so satisfyingly cool.
Hyun
Bin cuts the right figure for Prince Ganglim. There is no question he has the
leading man look and the action chops, but he nicely brings out the Prince’s
humanity over time. Jeong Man-sik shows a hitherto unseen shtickiness as Ganglim’s
man-servant Hak-su, but he still manages to redeem himself at crunch time. In
contrast, Jang Dong-gun is cold, clammy, and ruthless as Kim Ja-joon, but he
never seems to enjoy being evil.
When
the zombies attack in earnest, Kim Sang-hoon goes big, creating huge, inspired
centerpiece sequences that combine zombie horror with martial arts sword play. This
is movie magic at its finest. Yet, the awakening of the Prince’s sense of
responsibility and idealism is also pretty stirring stuff. Comparisons with
Yeon Sang-ho’s smash hit will be inevitable (especially since the publicity
materials herald it as the new zombie film from the production company that
brought you Busan), but Rampant really is its own film. Highly
recommended for fans of zombie movies and action-historicals, Rampant opens this Friday (11/2) in New
York, at the AMC Empire.
