‘#Alive’ Review: From Great Graphics, to Graphic

No food, no weapons, minimal practical skills: What’s a doofus gamer to do when facing murderous opponents he can’t kill with a joystick? Oh Joon-wo, the protagonist of “#Alive,” hunkers down in his apartment and tries to wait things out. This can only work for so long — the single-minded attackers are undead and have all the time in the world.

A Korean import now streaming on Netflix, “#Alive” deftly mingles the zombie and siege genres. Escalating “food is running out!” tension only adds to the lockdown suspense.

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For his feature debut, the director Cho Il never takes his foot off the gas pedal: minimal exposition, no back stories, little dialogue, a plot that’s cut to the bone — this is a fat-free but full-flavored treat.

The world goes to pot in the film’s first three and a half minutes, when a news report announces the quick spread of a mysterious infection whose symptoms are “screaming and a bleeding of the eyes.” Also, cannibalism.

For almost half the running time, Joon-wo (Yoo Ah-in, who made quite an impression in the offbeat thriller “Burning” two years ago) is home alone. Most zombie movies involve the suspenseful scavenging of grocery stores and horrifying vistas of a destroyed world. Here, days trickle by in an apartment as Joon-wo passively waits for the situation to improve. Hopelessness hits him hard after he’s slurped his last bowl of instant noodle, but fortunately a resourceful neighbor, Kim Yoo-bin (Park Shin-hye), finally makes contact.

She is not impressed by Joon-wo at first (“Could he really be an idiot?” she muses) but quickly the pair put their gadgets, including a drone, to good use as they try to escape their building complex. But where to go?

The only time the film stumbles on a cliché is with the late introduction of a supporting character engaging in a make-believe scenario we’ve seen many times. Aside from that, “#Alive” is a nifty little thriller that proves that you can always find signs of life in the most undead of genres. And the finale, far-fetched as it is, suggests that even a society atomized by isolation can find connection.

#Alive
Not rated. In Korean, with subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 38 minutes. Watch on Netflix.

Source: Movies - nytimes.com

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