They operate on biological and computing principles. I had to look this one up! The outbreak is caused by a bio-engineered strain of slime mould designed for cell regeneration. The infected connect via microscopic airborne fungal networks and chemical pheromones. Sensory data (vision, sound, scent) is shared in real time across the entire horde—so if one zombie learns how a door latch works or sees a survivor, the entire group instantly knows too. A bit like Plur1bus (2026), I guess! As more people are infected, the "network" gains more processing power, allowing the horde to perform complex tasks like typing on keyboards, mimicking voices, and executing group tactics. Strong chemical scents (like perfume or antifreeze) mask human presence. Water disrupts the airborne network, temporarily stunning or paralysing the horde, and the network relies on a central host/controller strain. If the core controller is killed, the biological signal snaps, causing all connected infected to instantly freeze into a catatonic state. Confused? So was I, which is why I needed help to unpick all that. But then, no doubt, I'm thick! (Gemma.)
To the storyline then, rather than the science - we join a rogue scientist, Seo Young-chul (Koo Kyo-hwan), who tips off the police about an impending bio-terror attack before injecting himself with what he claims is a vaccine to his mutated slime mould bioweapon. Inside the high-rise Dongwoo-ri Building, Chains Bio CEO Kang Woo-chul is demonstrating the revolutionary cell regeneration capabilities of the mould. Kwon Se-jeong (Jun Ji-hyun), a disgraced and unemployed biotechnology PhD, attends the event hoping to secure employment. Young-chul confronts the CEO, accusing him of stealing and plagiarising his life's work. Young-chul forcefully injects Woo-chul with the active mould, triggering a violent mutation. The virus rapidly spreads through the executive floor, prompting automated security lockdown procedures. Counter-terrorism squad leader Lee Bong-seok (Ji Chang-wook) and his team respond but end up trapped inside with the civilians.
So now we get alongside a small group of survivors and the nub of the human interest element of the film - including Se-jeong, Bong-seok, and civilians - who retreat to the building's central shopping centre area. Using her background in cellular biology, Se-jeong deduces how the infected communicate through mycelial sensory links. To move through infected zones, they douse themselves in perfume and antifreeze to blind the horde's chemical tracking and trigger fire sprinklers to saturate the air, disrupting the fungal signals and temporarily freezing the infected!
Learning that Young-chul carries the cure/vaccine in his blood, the group makes a push for the upper floors to capture him. However, because Young-chul injected himself with the original control strain, he possesses a direct neural link to the horde - he can literally see through the eyes of any infected individual. He uses this link to ambush the survivors on their way to the evacuation helipad, resulting in severe casualties.
Outside the locked-down building, researcher Gong Seol-hee (Shin Hyun-been) raids Young-chul’s hidden off-site lab. Her team is ambushed by a horde of infected experimental monkeys. When a soldier shoots the alpha monkey labelled #1, the entire monkey horde instantly stops moving and turns completely rigid. Aha! This discovery proves knowledge of the biological mechanism - the infected cannot function independently if the primary host/node dies.
So that's pretty much the complicated backdrop as to what's going on, and the rest of the film is very much a chaotic chase against the now-controlled zombies - who, as I say, can learn quickly, unlike most zombies out there! As the core team of survivors tries to apprehend Young-chul, with the eventual help of the authorities and a SWAT team, being the antidote, they need him alive. Or so they think. Lots of fighting, killing, maiming, heroics, lateral thinking, adventure and puzzle-breaking ensues as we head towards the, as you might expect, even more chaotic and bonkers finale!
It's all great fun - and funny often - with tension blathered on in bucketfuls as we leap from perilous scene to nail-biting evasion tactics in makeshift hiding places while our survivors try to find a way out of the now locked-down building, avoiding ever-smarter zombies with the authorities doing what they can to not let the "virus" escape into the general public. It's pretty well acted by the leads, no question - and the rest of the extras are clearly having a right old laugh doing the comic and chaotic zombie thing. It really is fun and worth a watch, even if it's a bit too complicated for its own good! A great romp!
No comments:
Post a Comment