Starring
Hyun Bin, Jang Dong-gun, Kim Eui-sung, Jeong Man-sik, Jo Woo-jin, Lee
Sun-bin, Kim Tae-woo. Directed by Kim Sung-hoon. (2018/122 min).
AVAILABLE
ON BLU-RAY FROM
Review
by Tiger the Terribleđ
"From
the studio that brought you Train to Busan," trumpets the
tag-line for this one. The studio? Do people really fall for that?
That's like being convinced to pop into to 7-Eleven for a bag o'
Funyuns because you really enjoyed the Twinkies they once sold you.
Besides, inviting comparison to Train to Busan is really
doing Rampant a disservice. The former is, in my humble
opinion, a modern horror masterpiece, setting a bar in the zombie
subgenre that the latter has no hope of reaching. But Rampant is
still a pretty damn good film in its own right.
The
film is a creative mash-up of action, historical epic and bloody
horror. Taking place during the era of Korean dynasties, Joseon is
ruled by tyrannical King Lee Jo (Kim Eui-sung), whose more
compassionate son, Prince Lee Young (Kim Tae-woo), attempts to
overthrow him. Young commits suicide, but not before sending a
message to his exiled brother, Lee Chung (Hyun Bin), requesting him
to return to Joseon and escort his pregnant wife to the safety of
Qing, a Chinese empire. Meanwhile, treacherous military minister Kim Ja-joon
(Jang Dong-gun) is secretly plotting to overthrow the king with the
help of trusted underlings and...legions of zombies.
The
undead are referred to as Night Demons, which have been plaguing
surrounding villages, coming out at night to attack hapless peasants.
They are mostly the stuff of rumors in Joseon and Lee Chung
doesn't believe the stories either until he's attacked on his journey
home. But Kim knows better and keeps one in a cellar with plans to
wipe everyone out - starting with King Jo - and building his own
dynasty.
 |
| "Tag! You're it!" |
Actually,
Rampant does share a few qualities with Train to Busan
that draw favorable comparison. First, the story takes time establishing its main characters (though some might say too much
time). Lee Chung's transformation from arrogant prince to heroic
zombie slayer is engaging. While his comic-relief sidekick, Hak-soo
(Jeong Man-sik), isn't particularly funny, his sheer likability sets-up one of the story's most poignant moments. Kim Ja-joon may not be
the most complex villain to ever grace the screen, but he's suitably
hateful & menacing. Like the best films of the genre, Rampant's real monsters aren't the zombies.
However,
the story takes a while to get moving. It's almost relentlessly
talky during the entire first act and little of the political
intrigue is interesting enough to justify the amount of time we spend
listening to it. But once it gets down to the business of zombie
slaying, Rampant is a bloody good time. The undead siege on
Joseon is loaded with close-quarters action, great swordplay and
tension-filled moments (the prison escape sequence is particularly
noteworthy). My only nagging question is this: After being bitten, why does one major character's
faculties remain intact while everyone else turns
into mindless, white-eyed ghouls? I dunno...maybe I missed something.
Despite
being a bit overlong, with some pacing issues and questionable plot
developments, Rampant is ultimately a big, fun spin on the genre, with an intriguing setting and great production values. It's
no Train to Busan, but you shouldn't hold that against it.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
FEATURETTES
- "Making of"; "Behind the Scenes"; Character Trailer (these are essentially short promotional pieces, all under two minutes each).
TRAILERS
DVD
COPY
KITTY CONSENSUS:
PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS
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