The movie, #Alive, shows how easily a virus can become a pandemic and probably describes how many people felt sheltering in place in early 2020. I never thought zombie movies would be relatable to real life, but no one could predict this year.

***Spoilers ahead***

The rundown
It’s a classic story of boy meets girl. Oh, and there is a virus spreading rapidly throughout Seoul, causing people to eat other people. It begins with a young man, Joon-woo, locked in his apartment with few supplies and a sticky note reminding him he must survive. In the beginning, he has water, electricity, and social media to connect to the outside world but no cell service to call. As the days go on, everything gets cut off. He’s desperate, alone, and has a date with a noose. In the act of trying to kill himself, he receives a sign that he isn’t alone. A young woman across the complex with a slew of survival gear and a spiked chair that would make Buffy the vampire slayer jealous teams up with our main man, Joon-woo, to stay #alive.

Why is it a bad/good horror movie?

I don’t think this is a great horror movie, but it was entertaining enough. I wouldn’t say this film is scary, but the faint of heart might find it a little more suspenseful than I did. I think the filmmakers did a superb job of drawing you into the characters and making you want them to survive. In the end, there is a moment that you believe it is over for this duo, and you don’t want that for them. They don’t deserve to die on the rooftop ripped to shreds by the zombies. If you care enough about the characters, I don’t think it can be called a bad horror movie. It had some cheese, but sometimes that’s a good thing.

The creepiest/best/cheesiest scene or quote?

One of the cheesiest scenes is when a fireman zombie, using a thin rope that probably wouldn’t hold the weight of anyone dead or alive, starts climbing up to Yoo-bin’s apartment. Joon-woo attempts to save the day by using his drone to try to fight the zombie. Yep, you read that correctly. To add to the “suspense” of the moment, Joon-woo also has zombies “knocking” at his door. Yoo-bin is unconscious on the floor but comes to just in time to cut the hand off the fireman zombie, and he falls to his final death. The zombies also stopped trying to get into Joon-woo’s apartment for whatever reason.

One other scene that made me chuckle involved Joon-woo and Yoo-bin are waiting for the elevator with a hoard of zombies just outside the glass doors. I’m sure they are panicked, but they looked too casual to me.

Who won the movie?

Kim Yoo-bin – the girl across the complex: She’s a survivor and helps Joon-woo several times. He fails to “save” her from the fireman zombie, but she’s a strong female who saves herself (not saying that she didn’t need help other times). She’s also a believable actress and character. I love it when she fights off the barrage of zombies to get to Joon-woo’s apartment. Shes’ all-around badass. Toward the end, she disappoints me briefly when she suggests they should kill themselves while they’re still human.

3 Good Things & 3 Bad Things

1. I thought the zombies were believable with the milky eyes, bloody wounds, and movement. I had a tough time deciding how to classify these zombies, but I’d say they’re a cross between the Walkers in The Walking Dead and the zombies from 28 Days Later. If you didn’t know there are different types of zombies, I leave you with this: https://zombie.fandom.com/wiki/Types_of_Zombies
2. I loved that Yoo-bin’s plant stole the limelight. I hope it survives.
3. Even though this movie wasn’t the best I’ve ever seen, it still deserves to be seen.
4. A few things didn’t make things believable or took you out of the story because you were questioning it.
5. The close up of Joon-woo eating noodles grossed me out more than the zombies.
6. I wish you would’ve known what happen to Joon-woo’s family. The English translation just said messages. I have to assume they survived because he smiled.