Fantasia 2026: COLONY
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Back in 2016, director Yeon Sang-Ho burst onto the international scene with TRAIN TO BUSAN. It captured audiences' attention with a steady mix of biting commentary, terrific performances, and gut-wrenching dread. It was the shot in the arm that many zombie enthusiasts needed. The prequel and sequel that followed? Not so much. Now, a decade later, he returns -in a way- to the subgenre with COLONY. A film that is a relentless nightmare of a thrill ride, propped up by some of the same hallmarks that make his previous success so indelible.
At the world-renowned Chains Bio Conference, beleaguered and unemployed Professor Se-jeong (Gianna Jun) is dragged to a speech by her ex-husband, Professor Kyu-seong (Go Soo), in hopes of getting her a new job. While waiting to approach the company's CEO, Kang Woo-Cheol (Kim Jong-tae), she sees him engaged in a heated argument with former researcher Dr. Seo Young-chul (Koo Kyo-hwan) in a VIP room. Unfortunately, Se-jeong leaves before she can witness the aftermath, in which Suh injects Woo-Cheol with a vial, Woo-Cheol vomits a copious amount of white viscous fluid, and turns into a mindless zombie (for lack of a better term).
Needless to say, things only get bleaker for everyone from there.
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From the jump, Sang-ho litters the film with hints of where things are going, before launching full-throated into chaos, insanity, and bloodshed. He invests in a relatively traditional set-up, introducing several side characters, while establishing the skyscraper setting. Not from a technical standpoint, mind you, but as a distraction for when the movie seemingly erupts into a full horror show and never stops moving.
Just like with TRAIN TO BUSAN, COLONY focuses mostly on a diverse motley crew of individuals trying to survive the chaos that surrounds them. Among them are the two professors there's a police officer (Lee Jung-ok), a security guard (Ji Chang-wook), his wheelchair-bound sister (Kim Shin-rock), and eventually Dr. Young-chul himself, after becoming a valuable asset with the vaccine coursing through his veins. Sang-Ho (written with his REVELATIONS co-writer, Chio Gyu-seok) plays against convention with a few of the characters, allowing for some genuine tension not just in who might make it through the events, but how they do so, as well.
Not wanting to exhaust the audience too much, Sang-Ho shifts the film's focus occasionally to a team of scientists and security officials outside of the skyscraper. Following as they try to handle (and fail) things on a bureaucratic level. Interestingly, among the ministers is Professor Kong (Shin Hyun-been), the current wife of Kyu-seong. She mirrors Se-jeong with her steadfastness when it comes to getting things done. Something that flies in the face of the scared and weary government officials.
The action deftly switches back and forth between the two groups more in the second half, and manages to do so without ever breaking the tension. That's due to both a horrific exploration into Suh's abandoned lab, as well as the command center where Kong and company have to watch Se-jeong and her group in stunned silence.
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What makes it all work so well is how COLONY handles its central threat. The exact makeup of this hive is terrifying to behold. It's a living, breathing network of connected minds that continually evolves the more it comes into contact with the survivors. Moving from initially lashing out at anything that resembles a human, to balling up together to scope surroundings and even blocking tall hallways. Just when you think the film can't get any weirder, it doubles down. All the while slathering every nook and cranny with a white mucus-like goop that feels like the slime cannons from GHOSTBUSTERS 2 haywire.
What heightens the horror is the film's decision to tackle the majority of the hive's action from a practical standpoint. Blending the work of contortionists and stunt actors helps lend the hive an otherworldly quality, in a way that CGI can't always capture. This is the stuff of nightmares, in ways you never cared to imagine before.
COLONY is a take-no-prisoners horror thriller that in a way feels like a perfect airport paperback novel. It doesn't do anything too outrageous; it doesn't have commentary that's too pointed to alienate people, and even restates certain elements of the plot so everyone can follow along. Yet that's not a bad thing at all. By streamlining the story, COLONY can spend all its energy on creating the most visceral and creepy experience possible. In a way that most Hollywood studios could only dream of. Put this on your watch list immediately.
