Tuesday, October 20, 2020

We'll survive together.

Remember a short time ago, when you'd watch an end of the world flick and you'd think, imagine having to stay inside all the time, scrounging for food, barricading yourself in from zombies/weather/sound-monsters/what-have-yous as the government failed you and your family wjile all once-reliable social systems collapsed? Remember when the end of the world was a far-fetched idea that greenlit a movie...

... and not just a story on your local news after one last check on the weather?

That poster on the left? I'm pretty sure that's featured on Netflix's preview panel for the 2020 flick #Alive, and being the asshole that I am, thought it showed the likely protagonist taking a goddamned selfie surrounded by f--king flesh-hungry zombies. While a movie proudly boasting that idea would, on the right night, certainly be my cup of tea, Il Cho's flick is a bit more serious than that. Oh, it's still an end of the world zombie-infested nightmare, it's just a bit more...quiet? than you might expect.

Joon-woo is a twenty-something streamer living in an apartment with his family. One day, when they are out, the news flashes in the background something about a highly contagious illness spreading throughout the country. Joon-woo, like all characters in these movies, doesn't exactly notice. Well, not until the wifi signal goes out. 

Once it's clear that this event is quite the situation, our dude realizes, like I assume many of us would, he's utterly f-ked. He's alone, he's out of food and water, everywhere he looks, flesh-eating zombies are running rampant turning the few survivors braving the hordes. Joon-woo's like f--k it, and decides to kill himself. And I'm not sure you can blame him. 

Pretty much out of nowhere, in what should have been his final moments, someone lets Joon-woo know he is, in fact, not alone. With this mystery person in play, Joon-woo not only has the ability to live, but also a reason to, um, too. It's all kind of hokey, no doubt, but the admittedly clunky/slow-burn love story kept me engaged. Especially when they took it to the streets.

This guy is such a dick.

What should probably be left in the streets, are the Yays and Boos. But it's hard you know? I mean, these two are like that member of the party who has been hiding their zombie bite from the rest of us. Yeah, they'll eventually kill us all, but there's some weird level of honor in that betrayal

For some reason, this reminds me of school.
Yaaaaaaaaaay!
  • Early on, a little girl gives her mom the okey-doke and chows down and yep, it's that kind of party.
  • Holy shit. Was that the best ramen commercial ever? I don't really eat that stuff anymore (being raised in Hawai'i will do that to you), but I'm pretty sure I was not only hungry, but totally aroused, too.
  • Mystery Person, aka Kim, is an absolute f--king legend. I loved her whole approach to pretty much everything.
  • Initially, Joon-woo's drone comes up absolutely f--king clutch. But at one point, inadvertently, it almost f--ks EVERYTHING (this scene is tremendous).
  • Man, his neighbors house was so f--king clutch, I couldn't stand it. I'm convinced my own neighbors' house would present a similar bounty of riches, but either Steve or Sharon could easily take me, so I'll just stick to the friendly wave when I'm getting the mail.
  • I haven't seen such a cool split screen since The Rules of Attraction. Okay, maybe I have, but I can't remember...anything. Ever. 
  • A bit reminiscent of The Professional, I love the fact that Kim takes care of her plant in the midst of all the chaos.
  • Anytime they go outside is the best time. 
  • 8th Floor Guy. Wow.
  • And finally, I gotta say, I just generally dug the low-key vibe this movie offers. It's tense, but not unbearably so, and it's also kinda sweet at the same time. Kim and Joon-woo are just trying to make the best of it, and they have zero f--king clue how to really proceed. And that's just about their relationship. Never mind the blood-thirsty a-holes trying to kill them all the damn time.
Woodchuck to Gray Squirrel. Woodchuck to Gray Squirrel.

Booooooo!
  • Seriously, why would you open the door? I don't do that shit on a Wednesday, let alone in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.
  • But how else would Neighbor Guy get in and absolutely ruin everything...
  • What was with those weird Marilyn Manson-video style opening credits? Seemed...odd.
  • Look, I know that getting a cell phone signal would be absolutely crucial, but that move over the railing? That's a bad call.
  • For as emaciated and just altogether f--ked as Joon-woo gets after damn near a month in the shit, he, uh...kind of looks good?
  • Remember when I gave 8th Floor Guy a Yay? That was when I first met him. 
  • And finally, I know ending these movies is always pretty hard, but this shit here is the wrong kind of ridiculous. I'm not usually a guy who throws around the word corny...
Even though it's the 20th of October, I don't think I've got many more 'scary' movies left in me. Up next is a certain box-office shocker from earlier this year which definitely could be classified as something to watch at Halloween, but I think the streak ends there. I really want to see the new Borat movie, and that f--ker drops on the 23rd. 

Though, from the trailers, it looks like Trump supporters are going to be prominently featured, so scratch that - the streak continues.

I mean, those f--kers are terrifying.


6 comments:

  1. Just skimmed this one, homie. I plan on watching it over the next few days.

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    1. Nice. Looking forward to swinging by and see what you thought of it!

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  2. HA - I thought something similar about the poster. I'd seen Tweets about the movie and how gamers could survive anything so I thought that dude was doing a live stream while hanging from the balcony!

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    1. Yeah, the whole gamer-angle is way less important than I would be, and honestly, that's okay with me. Some aggro gamer mowing through hordes of the undead would have been rad, but this takes a way less...gnarly approach. I'm sure that other movie exists...and I've seen it 10x...but that's not this one!

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  3. I've heard quite a bit about this one, and I think I'll check it out soon too.

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    1. Really? That's surprising. I'll take a look at your thoughts when you post them!

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