Notable Cast: Gianna Jun, Koo Kyo-hwan, Ji Chang-wook, Shin Hyun-been, Kim Shin-rock, Go Soo
Ten years after setting the world ablaze with his smash-hit zombie phenomenon, filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho has spent the years releasing a plethora of films spanning many genres, such as thrillers, more horror, sci-fi, and even a superhero film. The man is quite busy and has put out many successful films, and a few miniseries at that. Yeon is a busy man, and in just one mere decade, he has put out his fourth zombie offering into cinemas across the globe. In the line of those before it: Train to Busan, Seoul Station, Peninsula, and now... Colony. This film takes the zombie formula, sets it in a high-rise mall, and while the setting is very familiar, the execution and the ideas within the story are quite unique and make for one of the freshest offerings in the zombie sub-genre that I've seen in many years. Add putting Gianna Jun back on the big screen for the first time in a long while, and you have a formula for success.
Professor Se-jeong (Jun) is attending a biotech conference one evening in a room on one of the many floors inside of a high-rise mall. We have restaurants, a myriad of stores, and, as the floors climb, office spaces and conference rooms, et cetera. Once the "hivemind" focused science presentation concludes, a crazed terrorist launches an attack and spreads a specialized virus within the hallway right outside. The infection begins to spread in classic zombie fashion, and Se-jeong and various other survivors find themselves fighting to survive and planning their escape. I don't wish to delve too much into the details, but the formula itself feels quite tried and true, and where Colony truly shines and sets itself apart is in the small ideas and the way things are executed. The zombies learn, adapt, and ultimately evolve as a group via a hive-mind communication system. The infected will stop, and yes, before I continue, I know some people will be screaming these aren't traditional zombies, but purists aside, I think these are zombies, but anyway... they stop, and one begins to click its throat and screech, and the others stop and take in the newly learned information, and they begin to transform their abilities. I don't want to spoil anything once more, but where this leads and how it plays out are very thrilling and refreshing, with so many unique ideas on display.
Characters in Yeon's zombie films have always been a strong point in these stories, and while maybe not reaching the emotional heights of Train to Busan, Colony probably has the best bunch of characters with the most unique traits out of all of them. They perhaps don't get fleshed out as well, or not as much time to shine as in other offerings; still, these characters and their traits or even gimmicks always have their moment to shine, and we see the film circling back in on itself repeatedly to bring these beats and character archetypes into a full-circle moment, and it happens time and time again. There is a character in a wheelchair, for example, and the film showcases her relationship with her brother quite well, and her being in the wheelchair bleeds into the zombies' learning, and into the story, and this comes up an is harkened back to tie and time again, and this happens with many characters across the board, and it is great, offering smaller but very impacting emotional moments, and helps to build the way the film keeps taking the many turns that it does. I never quite knew what evolution would bring next, or what intense situation our group would find themselves in around every corner. No one ever seems safe, and danger lurks within every single corner of this massive playground that is the high-rise mall. Many great sequences unfold within, and Colony has some of the most distinctive and satisfying zombie carnage put on screen since Romero's iconic classics.
In addition to Yeon's frenetic action and stellar filmmaking, certain performances stand out, such as Gianna Jun as the tough and extremely intelligent Professor Su-jeong, the vehicular lead who pulls other great side characters along as she spearheads the action and keeps the plot advancing. She does action so well, and it takes me back to her work in Kingdom or Blood: The Last Vampire. She is one of the most versatile actresses working in South Korea, and it was great to see her in a big theatrical film once again.
The standout performance to me, more than any of the side characters or Jun herself, would be the villainous performance by ever-impressive Koo Kyo-hwan, who steals the show every time he comes into frame. He has this sort of timid presence on the surface, but an unhinged tenacity and determination that boils over as he watches this premeditated terrorist attack unfold. The strings he pulls are impressive, and I love watching him manipulate everyone around him. He also, and no I'm no native speaker of Korean, does this thing with the way he speaks that I really love. It adds this small oomph to his already terrifying and unhinged character. He feels like a comic book villain, but never leans into farce or playing it too melodramatically. He nails the role, and I think folks will be looking back at his performance in this horror offering for many years to come.
With a unique spin on the zombie formula, the way things unfold in the ever-twisting narrative, many fun characters, and exhilarating set pieces that keep the action moving at a brisk pace, Colony stands among the very best cinematic offerings that Yeon has to offer. I am a massive fan of his early animated works (King of Pigs, The Fake) and his mammoth known as Train to Busan, but I think this stands nearly shoulder to shoulder with those great pieces of cinema. This is a very confident piece of action horror, and a zombie movie determined to win its place in many moviegoers' hearts this year. One of the best of 2026 for me thus far, and while this film isn't a masterpiece, any stretch, it is a near-perfect piece of popcorn entertainment, and it gets my highest recommendation for people looking for a good time.
Written by Josh Parmer
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