Alive
In “Alive,” a zombie film where it would have stood out more if it had a bit of personality or even an angle for the usual zombie apocalypses, the thrills are sporadic. It just moves from one state of mediocrity to another, completely lacking any creativity or even being able to show us anything new; notwithstanding its’ depiction of a relatable man who is forced to self-isolate due to deadly virus infection, beyond all reasonable doubt, blood drenched zombies are much better entertainments.
Although your main character might seem underdeveloped when the actor playing him is super endearing (Ah-In Yoo was previously seen in “Burning”). A tech savvy and PC gamer Jun-u resides in an apartment block somewhere in Seoul with his parents before it falls apart. That’s pretty much all there is to know about him then; during these scenes he’s not really that lively or even slightly exciting as well. He was more like an archetype for youth in general so that people of all different ages could picture themselves as Jun-u. In this regard, it seems like such a missed opportunity by the movie considering how closely it mirrors modern isolation; however, the film’s unexpectedly severe tone may be blamed for that too.
When the rest of Jun-u’s fellow countrymen turn into flesh-eating monsters due to some unknown disease, he chooses life over death. From inception up until now has always been his mantra: “Just survive.” He gets his food together in one place and locks himself indoors and even partakes on some fancy liquors belonging to his father. This kind of towering confidence also means that it can easily come tumbling down just as strong at times.
As food becomes scarcer and loneliness sets in darker than ever before Yoo video blogs the experience and gives us incredible performances throughout this period when things start falling apart. Right before calling it quits forever, he discovers another resident across from him Yu-bin (Shin-Hye Park). She has also managed to create her own ways of living through this period, and is even more cunning than her counterpart. However, just like Jun-u, her part in the movie is shallow because we can see that she acts tough more than we can feel anything for her as a character, which means that she is not accorded the same importance.
Both performances express that their aim is to stay alive throughout despite Matt Naylor’s close plotting and an uncomplicated message. “Alive” falls within those category of zombie movies where apocalypse is nothing but a trial to test our choice of hope they often struggle with it as well especially when they have to deal with any zombies that come near them. However, good news usually comes just on time as expected according to the sentimentality of the story.
“Alive” isn’t particularly novel by being very similar in concept to a better 2018 French film called “The Night Eats the World,” but unoriginality isn’t what makes it weak though; rather, “Alive” rarely breaks new ground and instead relies on very loud scare tactics here or there where there are hardly any surprises beyond some occasional jump scares or cool zombie killings.
For someone who others might say was inspired by passages of action herein described as underwhelming such as a scene where a zombie swipes at an annoying drone flown by Jun-u from outside his apartment window via a rope tied around his neck while hanging off Jun-u’s balcony before eventually falling over backwards killing itself almost immediately this would be considered lackluster.
In “Alive” lies the equilibrium of a zombie story: its emotions are unmistakable as it is the zombie stuff, which is okay, with detailed make-up work and creepy choreography creating some nightmarish extras. However, the movie is simply built to be low in expectations and you either take it or leave it. It’s not fun when a movie keeps telling you that this is all there is while you want something to hold onto.
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