When the undead start ravaging a mall, it’s impossible not to think about George Romero. The influence of the Dawn of the Dead filmmaker is pretty inescapable in zombie movies in general, but it’s particularly pronounced when one of them adds a dab of social commentary to its bloody mayhem. In this way, Yeon Sang-ho is one of Romero’s most faithful disciples: Beginning with Train to Busan in 2016, the Korean writer-director has used a series of zombie-themed horror-action hybrids to explore big ideas about social cohesion and individual self-interest. His latest, Colony, is no exception.
Colony is unrelated to the Train to Busan movies, and takes place in a shopping center that’s also hosting a research conference tied to a top-secret lab where scientists have been conducting risky experiments within biting distance of the public. That might sound far-fetched, but mixed-use skyscrapers like Colony’s (fictional) Dongwoo-ri Building are fairly common in places like Seoul. Still, having these wildly different locations literally stacked on top of each other is an apt metaphor for the film, which crams a lot of ideas into its familiar framework.
