Colony (2026)

Colony has the smartest zombies of the year and some of the thinnest humans. Yeon Sang-ho, who made Train to Busan, locks a crowd inside an office tower after a scientist with a grudge turns a slime mold into a weapon, and the infected share everything they sense through mycelium, getting sharper after every failed attack. That’s a legit scary idea. The people running from them get one trait each, so the losses barely sting. Jun Ji-hyun’s Se-jeong, a fired professor, reads the horde like a lab report. The best thread belongs to a security guard and his sister (Ji Chang-wook and Kim Shin-rok). She guides everyone through the building from the CCTV monitors and a group chat. It can’t decide between brainy sci-fi puzzle and goofy creature feature, so it half commits to both. It made $53.1 million worldwide. A 6.3 because the monster is brilliant and the humans are placeholders. $799 says you spot fuzzy mold on a forgotten loaf of bread this week and wonder, for one long second, if it’s thinking.

What works: The hive-mind infected are a genuinely fresh twist on the zombie movie, and the brother-and-sister thread at the security desk is the strongest part.

What doesn’t: Most of the survivors are one-note, so the losses don’t land, and the film wobbles between smart sci-fi and silly creature feature.

Who it’s for: Train to Busan fans who want a bigger, stranger outbreak and don’t mind thinner characters.