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We currently find ourselves in a bit of a downswing in terms of zombie cinema. A decade ago, we were still in the midst of Walking Dead fever and it felt like a new zombie film was out every week. And there was nothing more impressive than Yeon Sang-ho’s Train to Busan, the 2016 South Korean horror film that felt like an emotional gutpunch. I was lucky enough to get to see it in theaters a few weeks ago and it was a mind-blowing experience. Now, it’s slowed down (with the focus seemingly shifting to sharks) but that doesn’t mean we aren’t treated to some flesh-eating action occasionally. And there’s never been more reason to get excited than to see the Sang-ho return to the zombie genre with Colony.
I was able to pick Yeon Sang-ho’s brain about his approach to zombie films, and why he wanted to take a more evolved approach with this film. Sang-ho said “So, you know, the biggest, the most, the best strength of a zombie film is it reflects the fear, the hidden undercurrent fear of any given society at any given time. So, you know, when I made Train to Busan, that of course showed what Koreans were going through socially and in all other aspects. So I wanted to reflect that, so I focused on showing the fear of Koreans at the time. And for Colony, you know, what is our current fear? Our society has changed. We are exchanging information at a breakneck speed, and through that, we are becoming more and more collectivistic. That’s how people think; that we have to come up with a consensus instead of maintaining or contributing as an individual. So on top of that, I think the extreme form of this manifestation of collective thinking is AI. And so those are two factors that I wanted to express as a warning that our individuality shouldn’t be rendered powerless.”
The zombies are very different in Colony versus his other zombie films. So I picked his brain about how his direction changed, with these now being evolved zombies. “So when I made Train to Busan, of course we hired breakdancers and stuntmen to create zombie movements. But for Colony, yes, of course we had our existing teams, but again in this movie what’s emphasized is that these creatures are moving having the collective intelligence. So you have to show, manifest that intelligence through their movements. So I invited three separate teams of contemporary dancers whose style is more leaning toward avant-garde. And what I emphasized with them is like, I know they’re moving all together, but don’t make their movements all alike, because imagine when you play a piano, all your 10 fingers hit different keys and create harmonious music.“
And these movements results in a very unique brand of the undead. One of my favorite aspects of these new zombies is how they form together like they’re Voltron. And it was shockingly done with practical FX. “So Colony uses minimal CGI (computer-generated imagery). So what you see is what our choreography team created. You know, the dancers, they were already very used to creating group dance sequences, and so they used each other’s bodies to come up with that kind of movement. So I felt amazed, and I was enthralled by their movements and what they created.”
This is also his fourth collaboration with actor Koo Kyo-hwan, so he gets into why he’s such a special actor that he likes to collaborate with. “So Koo Kyo-hwan played this main antagonist character, Seo Young-chul. The character itself is very unusual. He is exceptionally smart. So I was thinking who can embody this character, and the first candidate was Koo Kyo-hwan. First reason: he himself as a person is a very exceptional man, meaning the characters he creates and the way he approaches acting is different from most actors. And also on top of that, he is a film maniac, and he himself is also a filmmaker, and he’s a fan of subculture genres that I like as well. So we communicate very easily, and he understands what I want him to create, and he can do it.”
This was a great talk, and Sang-ho clearly has a great understanding of the genre. You’re going to want to make sure to check out Colony before it leaves theaters.
Colony plot:
Horror master Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan) directs a new Korean zombie thriller starring Gianna Jun and Koo Kyo-hwan. Professor Se-jeong (Ji-hyun) is thrust into a bloody nightmare when a rapidly mutating virus is released during a biotech conference causing authorities to seal the facility. Trapped inside with no escape, Se-jeong along with a small group of survivors must fight to stay alive while the infected undergo horrific transformations.
Colony is currently playing in limited release in theaters.
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The post The director of Colony (and Train to Busan) talks on why he created “Evolved Zombies” and how they reflect modern society appeared first on JoBlo.
