Even considering the insane popularity of post-apocalyptic fiction in general, the zombie apocalypse subgenre is the most widespread. There are thousands of films, TV shows, and video games about zombies, but among them all, The Walking Dead franchise stands tall and proud as the most popular and model zombie apocalypse.
Many TWD fans like musing about what they would do and how they would survive a real zombie apocalypse with all the knowledge they already have about the undead and their weaknesses. But guess what? The Walking Dead’s zombies are pretty pathetic in comparison to some others — and we’re not even talking about Left 4 Dead’s mutated variants.
Enter Train to Busan.
This 2016 movie is a South Korean take on the zombie apocalypse, and it’s way more terrifying than The Walking Dead. It doesn’t feature various mutated undead like other franchises, and it has no mystical or paranormal twists, either. In its essence, the undead in Train to Busan have the same traits as in TWD. Except one.
They’re just as fast as their prey.
Train to Busan’s zombies have the ability to sprint and, unlike living humans, they are not prone to exhaustion. No matter how fast you can run, you’ll eventually grow tired and will have to slow down…but not the zombies. They’ll be right behind you, and as soon as you slip, an entire party of them will feast on your exhausted body.
As if that wasn’t enough, the transformation also happens way quicker. From what we can see in the movie, the closer to the head a person is bitten, the sooner they will turn into a zombie. If the bite is on the neck, there are only a few seconds before their terrified screams will become undead growls, and they will join the hunt.
Apart from their speed, Train to Busan’s zombies are very similar to those in The Walking Dead: they’re stupid, unable to use tools, and react to sounds and visuals. However, both the ability to sprint restlessly and spread the infection way faster turn them into formidable and genuinely scary foes that are not to be taken lightly.
If you haven’t watched this Korean movie, give it a shot — and you’ll likely lose most of your TWD-inspired desire to become part of the post-apocalyptic society. Were the Train to Busan’s zombie to take over, there wouldn’t be any society left at all.
