Train to Busan (2016)

Forget the zombies for a second. The real monster on this train is a middle-aged executive in a nice suit who’d shove anybody off the platform to keep his seat. Yeon Sang-ho knows people are the scariest part of any outbreak, and he builds the whole movie around who helps and who hides. Gong Yoo plays a workaholic dad who starts out cold and slowly figures out what matters. Ma Dong-seok steals every scene as a tough guy who wraps his arms in tape and treats the infected like a rowdy bar crowd. The honest weakness is that the selfish executive is pure cartoon, and a few passengers exist only to make bad choices. The set pieces are tense and smartly built, and they never get gross. It made $94.1 million worldwide on a reported $8.5M, and it holds a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. A 9.0 because it’s a thrill ride with a heart that hits harder than any jump scare. $7,599 says you hear one cough on your next commute and quietly move to another car.

What works: The train setting keeps every fight tight and clever, and Ma Dong-seok and Gong Yoo give the chaos a real emotional core.

What doesn’t: The selfish executive is a cartoon villain, and a few side passengers feel like they exist only to make the worst possible choice.

Who it’s for: Anyone who thinks zombie movies are all the same, and people who don’t mind crying at an action movie.