GANGNAM ZOMBIE: World War Zzzzzz

GANGNAM ZOMBIE (Blu-ray)

2023 / 81 min

FROM WELL GO USA

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat😾

There’s only one aspect of Korea’s Gangnam Zombie that’s even remotely interesting, and it happens right at the beginning. Well…almost at the beginning. First, we have to sit through a prologue that features the film’s protagonists running from undead hordes until one of them appears to be taken down. But it doesn't really create any anticipatory tension because we've seen set-ups like this a million times before and are already certain of its outcome.  

Then the story flashes back 24 hours to the one interesting part…the origin of the virus that triggers the zombie outbreak in the first place. It’s caused by a stray cat who scratches a pretty thief trying to rob a truck. This amusing moment suggests maybe the movie is gonna have some fun with the genre by turning traditional tropes on their ear.

In this place, they are the food court.

The moment is fleeting, though. The rest of Gangnam Zombie is a tedious, derivative bore. An interminable first act introduces an assortment of characters who are either dull as dishwater or supremely obnoxious, exacerbated by pedestrian performances. Additionally, most attempts to inject comedy into the narrative come across as broad and juvenile.

When the film (finally!) gets around to the outbreak itself, it primarily consists of the sprinting undead chasing the cast around an office building and parking garage. Some live, some die, but even the death scenes are fairly lethargic and largely free of the gore that has saved even bad zombie movies from being a complete waste of time. Dust off your old copy of Train to Busan instead.