Train to Busan

Yeon Sang-ho's Train to Busan is the film that proved the zombie genre still had masterpieces left to give. Set almost entirely on a bullet train during a zombie outbreak, the film uses its confined setting to create relentless, claustrophobic action sequences while simultaneously delivering the most emotionally devastating character work in any zombie film since Romero. Gong Yoo's performance as a selfish fund manager who learns to sacrifice for his daughter is the emotional core that elevates Train to Busan above every zombie film of its era. The supporting cast — particularly Ma Dong-seok as the tough-guy husband protecting his pregnant wife — is uniformly excellent. The film's final act will destroy you. South Korea proved it could master any genre, and the rest of the world took notice.