Colony, 2026.
Directed by Yeon Sang-ho.
Starring Gianna Jun, Koo Kyo-hwan, Ji Chang-wook, Shin Hyun-been, Kim Shin-rock, and Go Soo.
SYNOPSIS:
Professor Se-jeong (Ji-hyun) is thrust into a bloody nightmare when a rapidly mutating virus is released during a biotech conference causing authorities to seal the facility. Trapped inside with no escape, Se-jeong along with a small group of survivors must fight to stay alive while the infected undergo horrific transformations.
Yeon Sang-ho is no stranger to the zombie genre; with 2016’s Train to Busan, he delivered a film many consider one of the best zombie movies ever made. While I personally wouldn’t go that far with my assessment, it’s undeniably to say it was a breath of fresh air for the genre. Now, in 2026, he returns with a new evolution of zombie storytelling in more ways than one with Colony. A properly gross, slimy zombie horror film with a fresh concept that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
Colony’s fresh take on the genre is that its zombies have hive-mind intelligence through a mycelium network. So essential when one zombie learns how to tell the difference between a cardboard cutout of a human and a real person, they all learn it. This becomes a tool that our cast of survivors, led by Professor Se-jeong (Gianna Jun), can use to their advantage, such as tricking the zombies into believing humans have a strong perfume scent, only to cover themselves in antifreeze, a polar-opposite smell.
It also allows the threat to evolve throughout the film; too often in zombie films, the audience jokes that we could outrun them, especially the ones which walk, but here they may start by crawling, but if one learns to run, they all can run. If one learns where the survivors are, they all learn it. This gives our characters room to be genuinely smart against the viral threat, rather than relying on the kind of inexplicably stupid moments that often re-establish danger in traditional zombie films. There is only one moment in Colony where a character does something inexplicably dumb.
However, for any zombie film to work, our survivors need to be captivating for most of the runtime, as the audience wants to root for them and to survive the outbreak. Our survivors in this film do a commendable job. Gianna Jun is excellent as Professor Se-jeong, using her scientific background to guide the survivors while also learning how to form connections after years of isolation. Ji Chang-wook is another standout as Choi Hyun-seok, a security team member who carries his disabled sister on his back, adding tension and horror as the zombies begin to mimic their movements.
The film’s villain, Seo Young-cheol, played expertly by Koo Kyo-hwan, is another standout. We learn early on that he can contribute to and interact with the hive mind, allowing him to see through the zombies, which creates some genuinely tense moments. On one hand, the zombies may be mindless creatures, but he is not; he’s a cunning psychopath who views his terrorist attack as a twisted experiment. The rest of the cast are also strong, though they do fall into familiar archetypes synonymous with the genre.
The set design and makeup might be the strongest aspect of the film. The zombies look absolutely gnarly from the get-go, vomiting white liquid as their bodies slowly contort on the ground. But it’s when the fungus begins to spread across the walls that the once-normal building transforms into a slimy, disgusting infestation. It’s a clever way to show the virus spreading without constantly needing to depict people being turned into zombies.
Colony proves that Yeon Sang-ho still knows how to direct a proper, gripping zombie flick. Equally tense as it is disgusting, the film is a blast, a reminder that the zombie genre can still be inventive. It had me hooked from the opening moments right through to the credits, delivering an experience that was genuinely great fun.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Ewing
