A Squid Game actor who starred in one of the best zombie films of all time

South Korean films and television shows have delivered spectacle without limits, with shocking violence and shocking twists. “Squid Game,” whose second season recently premiered, is no exceptionand one of the series’ leads, Gong Yoo, previously starred in another South Korean genre gem.

In “Squid Game” Gong plays the recruiter, the enigmatic and well-dressed agent who lures potential players by challenging them to a game of Ddakji. The recruiter’s handsome face and friendly demeanor make it easy for his character to convince unsuspecting debtors to try their luck – both at ddakji and at the mysterious higher-stakes game.

In Train to Busan, the same pull draws you in and has you rooting for Seok Woo, a divorced workaholic trying to escape a zombie outbreak with his young daughter Su-an. Zombie films are now a tried and tested genre; We’ve seen all kinds of zombies, from the emotionally intense “The Last of Us” to the parodic “Shaun of the Dead.” But “Train to Busan” offers much more.

What is “Train to Busan”? one of the best zombie films of all time is his relentless energy. Much like the speeding train the characters are trapped on, once it gets going, it never lets up.

The premise: An infected woman jumps onto a high-speed train full of innocent commuters, who then have to escape the growing horde of zombies. From the frantic handheld camera shots to the fast-paced editing, we are rocketed into this horrific situation from which there seems to be no escape. The most frightening thing about these zombies – aside from the close-ups of their distorted, gleeful smiles and rotting flesh – is that they are fast and driven by a bloodthirsty instinct that is difficult to escape. Their wild violence, combined with the train’s small, claustrophobic space, creates one adrenaline-pumping sequence after another.

But through all of this craziness, Train to Busan never loses sight of the devastation and human pain that comes with becoming a zombie. We often see close-ups of fathers and daughters, husbands and wives, and all sorts of friends and family who are deeply affected by the transformation of their loved ones into these mindless creatures. “Train to Busan” has a strong emotional core even in its scariest sceneswhich led to an incredibly moving finale. “Train to Busan” explores the heartbreaking underside of losing control and becoming a monster while also showcasing gritty apocalyptic action. You get to see a lot more of Gong Yoo’s acting skills in this film, as his role as a recruiter in Squid Game, while crucial, is smaller.