#RizRecommends #Alive

Origin: South Korea

Release: 2020

Playing Time: 98 minutes

My rating: Four out of five stars

Photo by John-Mark Smith from Pexels

In #Alive, a South Korean zombie film, online gamer Oh Joon-Woo (Yoo Ah-In of Burning, The Throne, Sungkyungkwan Scandal) finds himself alone and trapped in their family’s midrise apartment unit when a virus outbreak hits the city.

From the unit’s balcony, Joon-Woo witnesses his infected neighbors kill and eat each other. He barricades himself from zombies using their fridge to block the door. As food and water supply (and internet connection) dwindle, he also finds out his family gets killed by the infected.

Eventually, Joon-Woo loses water, electricity and even internet connection. Growing desperate, he starts to hang himself until another survivor, Kim Yoo Bin (Park Shin Hye of Miracle in Cell No.7, Pinocchio, Memories of the Alhambra) suddenly tries to catch his attention using a laser pointer.

Yoo’s nuanced performance brought to life a character we could relate to in this time of pandemic. Much like when we were isolated and helpless when a virus locked down the entire globe, we too become front-row witnesses to Joon Woo’s desperation, grit, resourcefulness and dependence on the internet to survive.