Here's a tip when being chased by zombies and you go through a door....close the door behind you!!!!
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elfulge8 December 2019
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ctowyi3 October 2016If I am not wrong, Yeon Sang-Ho's Seoul Station was made earlier than Train to Busan, but it was not released because the studios feared it will be a disaster because animated feature films don't do well in Korea. But of course the massive success of Train to Busan changed all that.
Seoul Station is neither a prequel or sequel to TtB, but it uses the same father-daughter plot device to great effect. How the zombies apocalypse began is never told and the story zooms in on certain groups of people who are trying to survive in the zombie pandemic and the government locking down hard on the people.
ST (my local newspaper) gave it 4.5 and said it is the better of the recent two Korean zombie flicks. IMHO it is not. It doesn't push the envelope of the genre to anywhere new. In all fairness to it, neither did TtB. But what TtB managed to do awesomely right was it suddenly made the genre fun all over again. The energy was infectious and relentless as the motley crew was stuck in a fast train going to God knows what. I just love the amazing ideas the rag-tag team comes up with to move from one zombie-infested train car to the next. Seoul Station, on the other hand, just isn't that fun. The tone is much serious and ominous. Unlike having some good-looking actors we can ogle at in TtB, we get the disenfranchised of Korean society. By that I mean the homeless and the other people at the lowest rung of the social ladder. Yeon is obviously commenting on the Korean society and the narrative is not even subtle. He also explicitly implicates the government in its elitist way of running the country.
I like the bare animation style - the characters are drawn in hard lines and Yeon is adamant in portraying the unlikable characters in unlikable ways. There is no sugar- coating here. But the unlikable qualities give way to more interesting characters. I found myself getting sucked into the story as different pockets of people try to handle or escape their dire situations. Our attention is focused on the father and daughter who are trying to make their different ways towards each other in a city crawling with zombies. I thought the story is just moving towards the inevitable and was totally gobsmacked by a twist I didn't see coming. Even the irony of climatic setting hit me in the guts.
Seoul Station is a good companion piece to Train to Busan, but on its own it feels somewhat smaller in scale and less urgent. -
raymondsternadel23 February 2018The beginning and middle of this movie were decent. Not perfect by any means though.
The zombies were a bit strange to me. They seemed robotic. Meandering around and then suddenly swiveling their heads to lock onto people that they just happen to know are there. Also, the lunging onto people and then the other zombies completely ignoring the freshly downed human flesh didn't seem realistic to me. Is there a one zombie per person rule I should know about?
The worst part of the movie though, and least believable part, was the dude pretending to be the father the entire movie and then being revealed as some person trying to collect a debt. Are you serious? The fucking zombie apocalypse breaks out and you are that determined to wade through a city of the undead and punch policemen to find a girl that owes you money? Hahaha.
Overall, I find that last part of the movie to not only detract from the quality of the movie but also add some comedy that wasn't there before the reveal.
Watch Train To Busan if you want a really well done foreign zombie flick and leave this one for the bottom of the barrel. -
moviexclusive1 October 2016Thanks to the runaway success of 'Train to Busan', writer-director Yeon Sang-ho's animated feature 'Seoul Station' is seeing the light of day outside the film festival circuit. The latter was in fact completed earlier, but its mature subject matter for a genre largely associated with family-friendly material meant that it needed a commercial anchor on which to boost its 'sell-ability'. And indeed, between the two, it is 'Train to Busan' that is likely to appeal to a wider audience, premised as it is on conventional action horror thrills like '28 Days Later' and 'World War Z'; on the other hand, 'Seoul Station' is more akin to George Romero's 'Night of Living Dead' in that it is established primarily with the intention of using the zombie outbreak as a metaphor for social malaise, such that those looking for similar commercial sensibilities will likely be disappointed.
That's not to say the latter is the poorer film by comparison; on the contrary, 'Seoul Station' has greater depth and significance than its successor, and we suspect those who like their gore with brains will in fact find it superior. It is as well that, though billed as a prequel, the film is really more fitting when seen as a companion piece to 'Train to Busan' – other than the fact that they both deal with a zombie outbreak in Seoul, there is absolutely no relation between the events or characters of either film. A decidedly smaller-scaled affair, it unfolds predominantly through the eyes of four characters – a young runaway prostitute Hye-sun (voiced by Shim Eun-kyung), her good-for- nothing boyfriend Ki-woong (Lee Joon), a man who claims to be her father Suk-Kyu (Ryu Seong-ryong), and last but not least a homeless man whose name we never learn desperately trying to find help for patient zero.
That patient happens to be one of the homeless too, who is seen at the beginning stumbling through the titular station promenade bleeding and in pain. A pair of well-heeled young adults whose conversations about universal healthcare seem to hint at their social consciousness notice him, but they stop short of helping when they catch whiff of the old man's 'homeless' stench. Oh yes, there is social critique right from the beginning, as Yeon delivers admonishment on the indifference and even outright disdain of Korean society towards its downtrodden even as it claims to be otherwise. Yeon's criticism at both the institutions and the people within comes into even sharper focus as the old man's fellow homeless is frowned at by social workers and turned away by the police when attempting to seek help for the old man's none-too-well condition.
Seen in that light, the outbreak is not only comeuppance but also social levelling, reducing rich and poor and any individual alike on the social ladder to a single denominator – that of a bloodthirsty undead driven by the same thirst for blood. There is no doubt where Yeon's sympathies lie, especially given how Hye-sun, Ki-woong and Suk- kyu are by virtue of their social status among the marginalized in society. A tiff between Hye-sun and Ki-woong earlier on separates the couple, and the latter spends most of the subsequent time with the former's father Suk-kyu trying to locate her with the help of mobile communication. As much as the estrangement between father and daughter is part of the story, their interpersonal character drama never becomes the narrative's driving force, in part because of a neat nihilistic twist at the end and in part not to distract from the social commentary.
If it isn't clear yet, the latter is the film's emphasis, and it is therefore no coincidence that Hye-sun will end up at one point with several dozen survivors trapped in an alley between a fully-armed military blockade determined to keep out what they think is an insurrection by a plebian mob and a make-shift barricade meant to keep the zombies on the other end at bay. It is also no coincidence that Hye-sun will stumble into a lavish interior decoration showroom meant to showcase the city's high-end apartments that neither Hye-sun or the other two characters will ever be able to afford, a point which Suk-kyu makes as he marvels at its opulence when he finally catches up to Hye- sun. Throughout, the divisions between the social classes as well as the attitude of the bureaucracy towards these divisions becomes the film's pivot, and more than delivering the standard-issue zombie thrills, is its motivation.
Certainly, there are some palpably tense moments in Hye-sun's struggle to stay alive, but these are no match when compared against the white- knuckle sequences in 'Train to Busan'. That is both a function of the genre (live-action versus animation) as well as the deliberate intention of its filmmaker, of which 'Seoul Station' is a much more intimate and personal work akin to his previous two critically acclaimed animated films - 2011's 'The King Of Pigs' as a disturbing and violent exploration of childhood bullying and the trauma it leaves, and 2013's 'The Fake' as a blistering critique of organized religion. Like we said at the beginning, those looking for the same wall-to-wall action or suspense in 'Train to Busan' will likely be underwhelmed by 'Seoul Station', but if you like your helping of zombie gore and guts with brains, you'll be satisfied by the bite that this zombie flick takes off of society's inequalities and injustices. -
amesmonde13 February 2019After a homeless person a zombie virus spreads rapidly and a woman must reunite with her boyfriend while her father also searches for her.
From director Yeon Sang-ho, packed with social realism especially around gender, this is an animated prequel to Train to Busan. Seoul Station is refreshingly different from its predecessor. It's avoids stereotypes, has plenty of tension, atmosphere, has all the blood, guts violence you'd expect but also has a solid twist at the end.
Highly recommend. -
kosmasp18 May 2017While others not only boarded but also ride the Train to Busan (title of the live action picture), we also get this animated feature which plays in the same "universe" as the other movie. Having said that, you do get different characters in the starring roles and a movie that does indulge in what would happen if a zombie epidemic hit a city. Relationships between characters and story-lines begin to unfold, as much as some of the human psyche is.
It's a nice little add-on or spin off to Train to Busan, but it's not a must watch to get the other movie or vice versa. It's also very explicit with its violence as is the other movie and we get a lot of action scenes too. It does get a bit cliché here and there (father/daughter story) and has some minor flaws along the way. Even so it is more than entertaining to watch -
Even if it is animated, the characterizations and dialogue are pretty good including the facial animation.
The tension builds slowly and spares some time for some exposition but it creates a very effective atmosphere of slowly growing paranoia and fear.
There are enough interesting twists to keep you engaged until the ending and the climax is pretty dark. Like most apocalyptic films it has a final decision that you didn't see coming.
This is the first animated zombie film I have ever seen so I have to rate it the best. Well worth watching. -
hearthstoneivan15 November 2017Unofficial animated follow-up to "Train To Busan", Seoul Station focuses more on its characters (that could be an idea more fleshed-out) and their emotions. This time around we have only а few survivors to follow around as Korea crumbles. The animation is a matter of taste, as sometimes objects look semi-3d and I get how that might look unnatural to some people. The aesthetic of Seoul is a great playground for haunting scenarios. Illogical decisions are occasionally made, but this has become kind of a trademark for zombie movies. A great twist caught me by surprise in the and the last 10 minutes were breathtaking. Recommended if you liked Train To Busan or just need a decent horror anime movie.
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Seriously?!?!?! The "dad" was just a pimp. That totally killed the whole vibe of the movie especially after the whole message behind the first movie was doing whatever it takes to save your family. This plot twist made my rating go from a 7 to a 4 really fast. Stupid af.
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Reno-Rangan14 April 2017I have mentioned in my review for 'Train to Busan' that it has a prequel, but an anime. This is it, this is the one from the same director. Releasing them in a short time apart has advantages, as well as disadvantages. Like comparison is unavoidable, yet being different format is a big excuse. But both the films going have its fans backing.
This is not a high standard anime, but acceptable due to the quality of the narration. Yes the story was good. Like the live-action film, there are many unexpected thing happens. Particularly, you cannot trust anyone in this kind of survival game. It was a slow opening, followed by picking up the pace once the chaos was unleashed and then ended with a nice twist.
Once you watch this, you might say it could have made a decent live- action. I thought the same. Prequel or sequel, not bad at all, though it can't be compared to the original. Everything was a one night event, but not entire film takes place at Seoul Station. It all begins there, yet this film as well fail to detail on the source. Like from where it all started. Apart from that, quite an enjoyable anime with a few great tense moments.
Like any ordinary day, the Seoul Station was calmly shutting down for the day at near midnight. But for the homeless people, it is a roof over their head. One of them discovers that his brother got injured badly, so he seeks help from the authorities nearby. On the other side of the tale, a father who finally discovered his runaway daughter staying with a young man. So the two rides together to find her who went out. Soon they all come to know the people are behaving weirdly. And after realising the serious threat of it, its now running for life. But would they successfully track down what they're looking for is revealed in the final segment.
❝If I had a place to go, I would not have stayed at Seoul Station.❞
After watching a very satisfying live-action zombie film, and after learning about this one, I was looking forward to this day. A well made film, particularly after an average initiation, how it developed and ended was excellent. Most of you would enjoy the second half better. Overall, it has a good runtime and the interesting characters.
The voice-over looked fine. Since I didn't understand the language, it was not a big deal. Though the visual, I mean the sketches should have been a little better. In some parts, you will know that they used digital backgrounds, perhaps from 3D to 2D, particularly in the running scenes where you won't notice enough. So there should be some negatives and for me it was the connection between these two titles. The two films' timeline overlaps. I mean the final section of this and the opening parts of the other film.
Since it took place in the night time, most of the people were not aware of what's going on in the streets. As a daybreak follows, more people on the street, big chaos and we know what happened afterwards, especially from the train passengers' perspective. Like I mentioned earlier, not knowing the origins of this sudden outbreak is the disappointment after watching both the films.
You might have heard that 'Train to Busan' is set to remake in Hollywood. If you haven't watched that, you should do now and following, this one too. Because of the connection, yet not compulsory as these films do not share much detail. It was just like 'Cloverfield' and '10 Cloverfield Lane'. Keeping update is worth suppose in the future any follow-up film are made. I liked this one, but a little lesser than the original. The other major difference is, watching the zombies (attack) in anime version is a different experience. Maybe you can say less frightening, those who are easy prey for such film. Anyway, worthy film. I would particularly suggest it to those who saw the previous film.
7/10 -
The movie itself was good with decent plot. But the main character that it follows around was infuriatingly stupid and useless. By far one of the least useful people i have ever seen in a movie. They were put there solely to make drama and get people killed. Their complete inability to shut any door ever was by far the most frustrating thing to watch in any zombie movie i have ever seen. They just lack all basic skills.
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jjenk91130 December 2018This film has been touted as the prequel to Train to Busan. Being a standalone film, however, would not have been successful, because animations, from my understanding, don't do well in Korea.
Anyway, I thought this animated film is excellent. Animation is good, the voice acting is over the top at times and, as the header states, it has a satisfying ending that pulls the movie together. I was invested with Hye-Sun and her boyfriend throughout their struggles to try and survive the night. If you liked Train to Busan, you'll like this. -
philwilson27127 October 2020Not without it's flaws, but for fans of the zombie genre, definitely worth a watch. The animation and art style is done well, especially when we get some POV shots. I personally love zombies in animation, I think it really works well visually. And these zombies, while not terrifying, have a good overall look, with piercing eyes, dark veins showing, and plenty of blood. The overall story is pretty basic, but with some nice social commentary which really makes you think about how homeless people are perceived by the rest of society. Is it subtle? No. Does it need to be? Not at all. The point is that these homeless characters play a central part in the plot and are shown in a very sympathetic light. Especially when compared to the actions of authority figures such as the police and armed forces. I think it's also very relevant that the homeless guy who accompanies the main female protagonist for much of the story never reveals his name or his circumstances. He essentially remains a total stranger to us, just like the man you might pass in the street. We don't need to know his circumstances or life story though, just that he is a human being with emotions, same as the rest of us.
Speaking of emotions, characters can appear overly emotional at times, almost to the point where it becomes whiny and slightly pathetic, although I think this may be a cultural thing to do with how Koreans express their emotions compared with westerners, so I endured several scenes of over the top crying.
The female lead character is also the most hapless person ever to try and survive a zombie outbreak. She spends half the film crying, running around with no shoes on, leaving doors open whilst being chased, and is constantly expecting the men she meets to help her. BUT the final act plot twist goes some way to explaining this behaviour, and I won't say any more because it is a major twist that was done brilliantly.
In fact the final act is why I give this film a stronger rating. I was going for a 6 or maybe a 5, but like I already said, the twist at the end sheds a new light on certain characters and helps other elements make more sense. Overall, a fairly standard zombie story, at times elevated through thought provoking, moving emotional moments. -
KineticSeoul21 January 2017This is another Sang-ho Yeon's animated movie that takes on a dark, nihilistic, skeptical and overly cynical direction. That tries to mainly show the negative, selfish and manipulative side of human nature. How just about everyone does things out of their own motives and agenda. While the good intention people get wiped out very quickly. This is shown in one scene where one guy tries to save a girl hanging on a wire and ends up paying for it. But what makes this film work is that the overly selfish and angry banters works when it comes to the context and scenarios of the setting. And I did find it unique how it delved into status in society and how the poor is treated worse than dogs in Seoul. And how people show their real face depending on the circumstances and situation. To my surprise this animated movie wasn't as apocalyptic and chaotic as I expected. Instead I found it more subtle and plays out more like a drama. Since it's animated I thought Sang-ho Yeon would take advantage of it and would have put in a lot of chaotic effect which would have cost way more for a live action. One of the main disappointment comes from the animation, which looked very cheap. I am not a fan of cel shaded animation and it just appeared like they cut back a lot when it came to the animation. I think I saw better cel shaded animation on a PS2 during cut-scenes when it came to certain parts. Also if you are expecting some sort of connection between this and "Train to Busan" you won't be getting it. Overall, this is a depressing zombie movie that is a social commentary on society's injustice.
5.8/10 -
bob the moo13 August 2017I watched Train to Busan recently, and like everyone else I enjoyed it and appreciated the color in the characters combined with the simple social commentary in there about working. It wasn't earth- shattering stuff though, since it was still a genre film, and did still paint in broad strokes, giving characters tragic, heroic, or comeuppance style exits. The prequel Seoul Station takes a similar approach although with several key differences. Of course the narrative and setting differs, but the biggest chances are in focus and tone. In this prequel we are in the lowest classes – the homeless, those hustling try to make it through the next day, those not seen by regular people. The tone is also significantly harsher and bitter than Train, and there is almost no sentiment here at all.
This is a satisfying change and makes the film more effective as a zombie film. We those trying to do right by others are let down by those above, and consumed by those below them (the raging zombies). Those that last the longest are those that generally look out for themselves and take opportunities without thinking of others, while those that pause for the sake of others are usually lost. I'm not suggesting that the social commentary is worthy of great discourse, but at the same time, looking back at 2016 as the year where angry protest votes against establishment figures gave us Brexit and Trump, it is hard not to view the film in this light – with the authorities failing those at the bottom, only for a destruction and unfocused rage to destroy what those in authority were seeking to build.
The film carries this cynicism through from start to finish, and produces some good plot turns that feed into this even more. It can seem overly harsh at times, but I enjoyed how simple and stripped down it was in what it did. The animation was not wholly successful – I didn't always like the appearance or movement of the characters within the landscape, although it did give it a cartoony/comic-book feel which did also help with the genre feel. Mostly though it worked and moved well, with the plot and action making me less concerned with such specifics.
In the end, it is the sense of cynicism and harshness that makes the film work, with the plight of those on the edge of society being a strong focus, and linking to what happens when support networks fail so dramatically. -
pradeepcindidimple26 December 2020#Seoulstation (2016) Seoul Station is a zombie apocalypse animated film which is a pre-qual to Train to Busan (2016). The animation and voice acting is good. Interesting twists to keep you engaged and it has a satisfying ending part. This is the first animated zombie movie i have ever seen. well worth watching if you like Train to Busan.
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David-Grant4 September 2018An animated prequel to Train to Busan with few big answers to that films questions.
"Father", Estranged Daughter and Useless Boyfriend try to find each other in downtown Seoul as a Zombie infestation pushes them from underground to the roofs.
As usual, the living are as dangerous as the undead. Be it ambulance drivers determined to get the healthy to a hospital, a vengeful pimp or the central defence upholding a state of emergency. Basically the Korean underclass are beaten down one way or another.
Good animation in a very realistic look. Always moving along at pace.
My one irritation - the female lead has a serious door closing problem! Never an opportunity missed to not hold up her pursuers. -
tinie_au27 September 2016I don't know why, but 2 of the main characters (the daughter & her boyfriend)kept irritating me throughout the film, but redeem themselves at the end in a way you wouldn't expect.
Conversely, the father who started out the film heroically in search of his daughter, in the end proves he's anything but.
The social commentary of how we judge & fear the mentally ill & homeless is exemplified well, particularly in the only scene with a bit of humour in it where the daughter & her homeless companion are desperately trying to lift the security roller door in an attempt to escape the clutches of what appears to be a zombie running towards them.
Like Train to Busan, the final father & daughter scene was quite devastating, but in a COMPLETELY different way! It's an ending that caught me by surprise emotionally & shows there are fates worse than being killed by the undead. -
willandcharlenebrown25 January 2020First off keep in mind the reviews are correct that the movie has absolutely NO tie to the Train to Busan movie. Not a single character connection nor origination of how the virus started. Either way it was a great story line but how sad to find out at the end the sad looking for her was actually her pimp and he kills her then she eats him. Shakespeare pimp sleeps with a prostitute tragedy zombie style.
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custardarded9 August 2022All the animations are super stiff. There were literal scenes where I thought people were actually cardboard cutouts or mannequins.
The characters were unbelievably dumb and annoying.
Can't believe I sat through it all. -
rdoyle2929 October 2017An animated prequel to "Train to Busan" from the same writer/director, it follows multiple characters through the beginning of a zombie outbreak in Seoul. It's decent, but it's not the film that "Train to Busan" is. Where that film has a solid, driving plot, this film meanders quite a bit, relying very heavily on characters making repeated dumb decisions. Most of the main characters in this are homeless people, which is the source of some well-meaning, but extremely crude political themes. It really recovers it's momentum in the last act with some interesting twists.
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patches8929 December 2021Was known as a prequel to Train to Busan but like the sequel that came out recently doesnt cut the mustard. I didnt care for the story or characters at all and actually found them quite annoying. The animation was the best part about this.
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cherold24 April 2019After watching the South Korean zombie thrillride Train to Busan, I looked up the director, Sang-ho Yeon, and learned that his early career consisted not of live-action thrillers but of animated dramas that took on serious issues. I then watched Seoul Station, which is an animated feature about the same zompocalypse that seems to be a bridge between those early films (which I still haven't seen) and Busan, mixing zombie action with a serious message about the plight of the homeless.
Apparently made before Busan but not given wide release until that movie's success, Seoul Station begins with an injured homeless person staggering through the city. A homeless friend can't get help from the harsh world, the homeless guy turns into a zombie, and all hell breaks lose.
The action is constant and the characters are interesting if not generally likable. It's got some interesting twists and takes a dim view of the police. The animation is fine and possibly motion-captured but not much of it is memorable.
It's really a good movie, and at some point I will check out Yeon's other animated films. I'd recommend it. -
Leofwine_draca26 April 2017SEOUL STATION is an interesting animated zombie film from South Korea, made as a kind of prequel to the huge hit TRAIN TO BUSAN but otherwise quite different in scope and style. Those looking for zombie film thrills and antics will find a few scenes of interest, but otherwise this is something quite different: a piece of social commentary, something which will be no surprise if you've seen the same director's bullying drama KING OF PIGS.
The story follows a number of working class characters as they encounter a zombie outbreak and struggle to survive. The characters have real depth here and the director is more interested in charting their internal struggles in relation to society than the actual zombie threat; the dramatic climax of the film doesn't feature zombies at all. The animation is basic but the film is fast-paced and always interesting, even if it's a lesser piece in comparison to TRAIN TO BUSAN and KING OF PIGS. -
Darkside-Reviewer25 January 2020This Korean animated movie is a prequel to the hit Korean zombie movie Train to Busan which was released the same year as this animated prequel having first watched Train to Busan I was looking forward to finding out more about how the zombie infection gets started in Seoul Station and how the story would link up to the movie sadly I was a little disappointed as this prequel doesn't answer any questions or even really links to the original movie it is more of a stand alone story that involves a young woman trying to escape from the zombie infection while her boyfriend and father try to link up with her and rescue her and while the story is good and the characters are interesting and the movie does have very good animation plenty of blood and action it just doesn't feel like it has anything to do with Train to Busan more just a side story in the same universe and while it isn't anything special it's still worth a watch especially if you enjoy zombie movies and animation style movies.