#Alive (2020)

 

Just goes to show how far we'll go to get good phone service

When the preview for #Alive popped up on my Netflix account, I immediately cringed. Netflix is the type of platform that'll get rights to anything and it usually turns out pretty underwhelming. Even the list for "Best Netflix Original Horror Movies" like In the Tall Grass, Malevolent, 1922 and I am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House to me were passable. But then I lingered a bit longer on the trailer. I mean, Korean horror movies are, to date, at the top of its game in the horror genre (let's forget about Peninsula for a second here). But being a horror movie review blog, I knew I couldn't ignore it for too long. So I bit my lips and sat down to watch it. 

#Alive is a movie directed and produced for the sake of feeding the needs of zombie movie fans. It doesn't stand out and it doesn't impress. It takes the same recipe as Train to Busan and just applies it in a different setting. The only difference is, the Korean government doesn't take 24 hours to collapse and it just goes to show that if you live in an apartment building and spend your days locked up inside, you'll be able to survive a zombie apocalypse. 

"Backstreet's back, alright!"

#Alive (can we drop the hashtag?) starts out with a video game live streamer (Duh! How else is this movie supposed to be relatable to the youths of today) alone in his apartment. Unlike a lot of zombie movies where there's a lull in the opening scene, Alive starts out pretty fast, literally up and running. There's no slow introduction, no character backstory. It's basically, guy sits down, guy gets up, BAM! zombies. 

The steamer Joon-woo, played by Yoo Ah-In (Burning, Punch) is now stuck in his apartment as the world around him suddenly and inexplicably turns into a hellish nightmare. The movie plays out in several parts from 24 hours, two days, 10 days and 20 days. During this period of time, you can see Yoo's mental capacity to stay indoors slowly deteriorate, strained further by the fact that his family is also outside trying to survive the zombie apocalypse. 

After 20 days, Joon-woo manages to make contact with another living person that lives in the apartment building across from his. Keep in mind, this is the first living person he's managed to make contact with after 20 days. But that's pretty obvious since he hasn't tried leaving the apartment during that period. 

"Yoo-bin, we need to repopulate the earth" "But there are still a lot of survivors out there" "Shhh.. don't fight it"

Coincidentally, the first living person he makes contact with is the very attractive Yoo-bin played by Park Shin-hye (Pinocchio, Memories of the Alhambra). Immediately, Joon-woo is overwhelmed with hope and the desire to live. I mean, if the only other person i'm stuck with looks like Park Shin-hye, I'd wanna live forever too, amirite?

So the movie progresses pretty straight forward from there. Both of them try to survive as long as they can, holed up in their respective apartments. The difference is, Yoo-bin is smarter and more resourceful than Joon-woo, so it was interesting to watch survival from another person's perspective. 

One incident leads to another and the movie continues from there. I won't spoil it, as this blog is not in the business of spoiling the endings of movie, but I have to say, if you've watched a lot of zombie movies, actions movies and movies in general, the ending is pretty obvious. I just wished that instead of automatic rifles, they had used a mounted 50 cal (wait, is this a spoiler?).

Anyway, the movie is interesting enough. It showcases how one can survive a zombie apocalypse in modern times using technology and other resources. But what I don't get is how public utilities like water and electricity are kind of on-off when it's convenient. Like, lights don't work, but digital door locks and the internet still work? I mean, c'mon~ 

It also highlights that, during this Covid-19 pandemic, none of us will be able to survive 20 days in lock down without trying to kill ourselves. 

Also this movie highlights the dependency for social media as the only reason Joon-woo and Yoo-Bin were rescued (okay... umm... spoiler?) is because Joon-woo uploaded a post to social media, and that's how the rescue teams have been tracking survivors - through social media. 

All in all, it was a good movie and I have no regrets watching it. It's a nice fix for horror junkies. After the horrible or lack of good horror movies us fans have been served with, it was nice to finally watch something like Alive. 

I give #Alive three ghost emojis out of five. 👻👻👻 The only reason that it didn't get four ghost emojis, is I wish it was a bit longer.