The Great Cultural Evolution

Colony (Yeon Sang-ho, 2026)

South Korean filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho gained prominence with his action horror classic Train to Busan (2016). His aptitude for epic spectacle, claustrophobic action and bloody horror was on full display, as well as an unexpected strength for human drama. The result was a film that surpassed expectations of its simple zombies on a train premise. A remarkable achievement for a zombie film  to stand out today, given its over-saturation. Since then, Sang-ho has been unable to produce anything of a similar calibre again. His latest film Colony (2026), a quasi-zombie film (technically infected humans), is an attempt to replicate his past success with a unique twist.

This time around, Sang-ho swaps the confined and claustrophobic compartments of a train with a multi-storey building, containing a conference centre and a shopping mall. So far, so Dawn of the Dead. Villainous scientist, Seo Young-cheol (Koo Kyo-han) reveals his intentions in the opening moments by calling the police to report his imminent bio-terrorist attack at the Doongwoori Building. The location of a presentation by his former employers at Chains Bio. The twist: he has injected himself with the only known vaccine.

Subsequently, the film introduces an ensemble of characters who are trapped in the building during the outbreak. These individuals are recognisable templates drawn from various disaster films: a smart leader, a secondary antagonist who creates a power struggle; the one who needs to prove their past abilities; and the lame duck who endangers everyone. The rest serve as mere cannon fodder. While derivative, their purpose is to demonstrate how they are forced to change and adapt to survive against a virus that does the same.

The film’s central focus is the virus itself. After Young-cheol injects the Elon Musk-like CEO of Chains Bio with the infectious virus, it spreads rapidly within the complex. Initially, the infected exhibit a frenzied, quadrupedal state; mistaking cardboard cutouts for real people. As the infection progresses, the zombie-like horde begin to develop intelligence and evolve. They gain the ability to walk upright and distinguish between real and virtual individuals. When an infected person acquires a new skill, it communicates this to others via the fungal mycelium it secretes and spreads throughout the building. Throughout the film, the infected horde exhibits a behaviour that's reminiscent of meerkats posing together. Their milky eyes flicker as they receive the latest bio-firmware update. The infected share a collective intelligence and function as a hive mind. A bit like Reddit, innit?

Upon realising they are quarantined in the building, the survivors are compelled to locate Young-cheol, the human vaccine, in the hope of receiving any kind of rescue. They negotiate their way to his last known location by feeding false information to the infected hive and tricking them with different scents. It’s an ingenious plan from their group leader Kwon Se-jeon (Jun Ji-hyun). However, she and the rest of the survivors discover Young-cheol is motivated via revenge, and is willing to change the human race forever in what he considers progress. Thus, the scientist villain makes it even more perilous for the group who apprehend him, as he intentionally gets himself bitten by his infected former boss, and now able to tap into the hive mind and control them.

This is where the conflict between the individuals and the collective must be resolved. The survivors are compelled to blindfold Young-cheol to prevent him from revealing their location. They communicate via a WhatsApp group to ensure he cannot overhear them. However, Young-cheol is aided by a massive army able to overcome many of his restrictions. A former ally is now part of the colony. Thus, the infected can eventually read phone texts. That's not all, they can communicate, operate firearms and drive vehicles within hours. They are already smarter than some of the survivors. Consequently, with the assistance of our antagonist, they are able to overwhelm the small rescue team attempting to apprehend Young-cheol with relative ease.

Sang-ho manages to deliver Colony with his trademark focus on spectacle. The action set pieces are particularly grandiose in the finale. The horror elements are also noteworthy. The scene in which the infected mimic a paraplegic survivor being carried on the back of her brother as a three-person contorted monstrosity, is particularly chilling. However, this comes at the expense of shallow character writing and plot holes. It's evident in a bully receiving her comeuppance or a predictable betrayal. A security guard is able to take on multiple infected with a kitchen knife feels very far-fetched. Nevertheless, I found these flaws forgivable given the enjoyment I derived from the film. If anything, these weaknesses appeared intentional; demonstrating the collective intelligence of a hive mind system against the reckless individualism of the human soul. Therefore, I perceived Colony as a metaphor for the horrors of AI and/or communism. Take your pick!

Colony is a divisive film. While I found it intensely enjoyable and was able to overlook some of its flaws, I can understand why others cannot. Ultimately, its unique take on the zombie/infected outbreak formula was what won me over; compensating for its other shortcomings.