‘Rampant’ brings two wildly disparate genres together to produce what is the first historical zombie period piece, and the results are heart-pounding and stunning.
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‘Rampant’ is inarguably the most original zombie film since ‘Train to Busan’ (2016). Directed by Kim Sung-hoon (‘Confidential Assignment’) and produced by the same company behind ‘Train to Busan’, ‘Rampant’ brings two wildly disparate genres together to produce what is the first historical zombie period piece, and the results are stunning.
Secret Garden’s Hyun Bin (‘The Negotiation’, ‘Confidential Assignment’) plays Prince Ganglim, the son of the King of Joseon, currently under the rule of the Qing Dynasty. Raised and currently living in China, Ganglim reluctantly returns home in order to carry out his late brother’s last wish: to bring his pregnant wife to China, where she will be safe from zombies and palace politics.
Starring opposite Hyun Bin is Jang Dong-Gun (‘Seven Years of Night’) as the conniving Minister of War Kim Ja-joon, who plots to stage a coup and take over the throne. Taking advantage of the outbreak of the zombie virus, Kim plans to have the zombies overrun the palace before his men dispatch of them with imported European rifles.
A reluctant successor to the throne, Ganglim slowly learns to accept his responsibilities as the de facto new king, changing from self-centred womanizer to a leader who cares about his subjects.
One question the producers had surely asked themselves was how they were going to top the action in ‘Train to Busan’. The answer: more zombies. While the zombies in both movies are more or less equally dangerous, there are now masses and hordes of them that the palace guards, peasant rebels, and Ganglim, who is a skilled swordsman, have to deal with. The action set pieces are intense and incredibly well staged.
Well written, carefully choreographed, and superbly directed, ‘Rampant’ marks a heart-pounding new chapter in the zombie genre.
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