#Alive

You'll wish to go shopping after watching this

Alive won’t break any new ground as far as Zombie movies but it follows the formula well. It's not a scary zombie film, it's more about the loneliness, the isolation and the will to live through it. But with that being said, there were a few big jump scares while our main character, Joon-Woo is looking through apartments for food and other essentials. The zombies themselves looked amazing and so creepy. The transformation of those creatures sends shivers up my spin. The chase scenes themselves were very exciting. The sheer number of the zombies chasing our MCs made the chases very tense and gripping. The dialogue throughout the film is rather limited with not much being said given the characters' situations but I found that they were able to convey communication really well thanks to their facial expressions and good use of the technology around them. Joon-Woo using his phone and his drone and Yoo-Bin using her laser pen to good comedic effect but showing her smarts using rope to send food, saving Joon-Woo from starvation. Just a good solid film from a production and story standpoint. I enjoyed every moment of the film. One of the biggest criticisms of the film that I have is that it's very short compared to most Korean films (which are mostly 2 hours plus in my experience). Perhaps some scenes are cut out or the writers didn’t feel the need to drag the story out longer. There is room to develop the film more, I feel.

The performances in Alive were really good throughout the film. The acting from Yoo Ah-In is particularly strong as well. He brings a good sense of frustration and regret to the role during the opening 40 minutes where it is basically a one man film. The short cameos from Jeon Bae-soo and Lee Hyun-wook provided some nice spice. Park Shin-Hye was solid in the film as well. Her character is very resourceful and friendly to living things such as her plants and Joon-Woo. That came across in her acting - Shin-Hye is a very soft natured person naturally so the role was perfect for her and her other roles. Again, there weren’t many lines but she sounded natural and on-point when called upon.

I just want to point out the brilliant soundtrack. From what I heard, it was only two or three songs (Break by Beenzino and Sail by Inni) but Sail by Inni in particular had a real tension fueled vibe to it. The eerie synth sound brought gravitise to the scenes it was used in.

Read More

Playdoh zombies and wattpad storyline

if you want to wait 45mn (out of 1h35mn) to have some storyline, let’s dive in. The zombies looks like they are made out of playdoh (gives you a good laugh though) and the plot is not plotting.
Acting is good for the main female character, I’ll give you that but the male one, not convinced.
The fight scenes ? Remember TikTok and slowmotion era ? Well, yes, same thing.

Maybe I’m too hard. Oh, and when there is FINALLY something happening after some advertisement from nutella and some virtual reality brand, this is the end of the movie

I love zombie media, loved All of us are Dead for example but this one ? I should have dropped it

Read More

Fun for an evening

I liked it and probably will watch it again a few times with friends or family.

Didn't blow my mind, but I especially cherished how they used the "kids now only think of using their phones" and turned it into something positive for the film.
It's not the kind of movie that portraits extreme violent/action moments, so if that's what you're looking for, better watch another movie.

Story: Was good, can get kind of boring by half the movie, but quickly recovers.
Acting: Probably the best part, they did a good job portraiting each character and their motives to do what they do.
Music: Didn't stick out, just finished it and can barely remember anything from it.
Rewatch Value: Probably for a few more times after never watching it again.
Overall: Give it a try if you like movies that go further than a few explosions and focus more on character development/story.

Read More

Minimal yet effective

It's a bit of "Home Alone" with zombies. Almost the entire film happened in one location (Joon-woo's apartment), and we get a sense of how lonely it was for him. My eyes were glued to the screen watching this. The introduction of the character Yoo-bin brought a breath of fresh air into the film, and the interaction between the two was great to watch. I don't think there's anything new in this film though, as this is very similar to a French zombie film “The Night Eats the World", but it's still very gripping in its execution that you can't help but grip the edge of your seat while watching this. Effective use of moments of silence, dark environments, narrow hallways as well as the building's setup. It was a great watch.

Read More

It’s more like a parody of a zombie movie

If you like actual good zombie dramas and movie this is not it. I watched this a couple months ago but I still think about how bad it is. The plot is very slow and boring. They barely talked, I had to watched it on 2x speed. The characters are so stupid, I mean that’s pretty typical for zombie dramas but still annoying. And finally the worse part for me is the zombies themselves. Honestly I could’ve acted like a better zombie not trying. They were practically humans with makeup on, and wayyyyyy too smart in a bad way. It literally felt like a parody of a zombie movie the way they were acting. Everytime I watch ppl recommend this movie I laugh bc there’s no way if you actually had good taste in zombie media you’d like this. BUT to each their own🧏‍♀️

Read More

Our ML woke up one day amidst chaos. The news reported of an outbreak that turned human into basically, zombies. It will probably take the government about 60 days or so to contain the problem and all our ML had to do was survive.

Nothing new on zombies. They're practically blind with good hearing. And they moved fast unlike some theory that zombies moved at snail pace.

Our ML had limited food supplies and no sense of survival. However, as days past and one after another problems arises, he realised the gruesome matters.

The 2nd half of the movie was the turning point for our ML when he found out he wasn't the only survivor in that area. His survival sense kick in albeit a bit clumsy.

With no food, water, electricity, wifi or connection from the outside world, both ML and FL decided to move to the 8th floor of the apartment complex.

I was rooting for them. The 8th floor indeed look untouchable. It was clean with no zombies. However, another problem arose. And the movie could do without that problem. I was rolling my eyes and thank God our FL was not a damsel in distress.

Read More

The beginning gave me Shaun of the Dead vibes. Everything starts off seeming fine and then bam... not fine. There's zombies everywhere. Though they seem much more like people on bath salts than zombies... or at least what we know of usual zombies.

I liked that this movie was more focused on the two survivors and how it feels to be stuck inside, alone while an apocalypse is happening... the dread of not knowing if you'll survive or not... the feeling of loss and hopelessness but then the hope that comes when you're at the end and ready to end it all but then something good happens to make you want to fight for life again.

Unlike most zombie movies which are simply scary and meant to give you good gore and such and that are about the actual end and not if you die, but when you'll die, I really liked that this was the opposite. Hope, the will to live and doing whatever it takes to survive... different from most zombie movies and to me that's what makes it so darn good.

This movie was so good and I'm glad I watched it! I recommend it to anyone who is thinking of watching it.

Read More

my opinion

the production was good, I can't complain .
I also say that the performance was incredible, it would be a sin if I complained.

I love the actors, I loved the characters.

Of course, not everything is perfect, I can't lie, but what a drama that doesn't have a single flaw.

So in conclusion, I recommend...

I say it's worth watching, maybe it's bad for some, but for me it was good.

This is just my opinion, you better watch it and have your own opinion.

I don't know what to say, because I think everyone has their own opinion.

Read More

If you've got an hour to spare.

I stumbled across #Alive one day on Netflix and was drawn to the cast since I've got a soft spot for Park Shin Hye and Yoo Ha In has been in some great dramas. I loved the acting and desperation throughout the movie, but other than zombie apocalypse it doesn't scream ANYTHING else to me. It was a decent time filler if you are flipping through Netflix and does not require too much if any brain power.

I wish Korea (and asian countries in general) gave more light to the movie scene compared to full length dramas because sometimes I really need a two hour movie to scratch the itch, but this unfortunately didn't fill the shoes.

Read More

Great Little Zombie Movie

I usually take notes on the shows/movies I watch as I go but I flew through this one so quickly I didn't have time. I thought this was a great movie. It was definitely a nice break from the 16 episode, hour long dramas.

I thought Yoo Ah In (Oh Joon Woo) was great in this movie. I was a little disappointed that Park Shin Hye (Kim Yoo Bin) was in it. My first time seeing her was in Pinocchio and she drove me nuts. Even when you hit the part of the show where she's supposed to be a better person, she just wasn't. She didn't really redeem herself in Heirs either, but this one went much better. I was actually rooting for her character which has been hard to do in past dramas. lol

I wish they had made it a bit more clear if his family made it. I'm guessing since the calls came through in the chopper all that time later that they must have after that voicemail but I wished they'd maybe showed them being with their family.

Read More