RAMPANT Review – The Epic Medieval Zombie Film We Didn’t Know We Needed
Starring Hyun Bin, Jang Dong-gun, Jo Woo-Jin
Written by Hwang Jo-yoon
Directed by Kim Sung-hoon
Few things get on my nerves more than people complaining that the zombie genre has grown stale. Just look at recent undead films like Train to Busan, or the upcoming Overlord and Anna and the Apocalypse and see how just much there is to do with the genre that hasn’t been done yet. Zombies in 17th century Korea with Lord of the Rings-style action is certainly another idea I can’t believe took this long to get made.
The film follows Prince Ganglim from Joseon, an ancient Korean kingdom, who returns home from a long imprisonment abroad to find his home ravaged by creatures known as Night Demons. He will have to rally his kingdom to fight both the man-eating monsters and a group of treacherous ministers.
Rampant sets the stage with a tense and thrilling opening scene featuring the naval boarding of a pirate ship. Cannons go off, bodies drop to the water like flies, and explosions light the sky. After the battle dies down, a group of Joseon soldiers find crates loaded with guns and a not-so-dead crewmember that bites one of their own. The transformation is slow, with the soldier able to speak normally despite being covered in blue veins and having an insatiable hunger for meat – culminating in an unexpected meal he finds in the bedroom he shares with his wife and infant child.
After a promising start, the zombies take a step back and the film spends a big part of its runtime on a sub-plot involving a paranoid king fearing an uprising by his subjects and a new invasion by the Chinese, and a minister scheming to take over the kingdom. It’s a convoluted way to show that Joseon has troubles of its own and that it needs a new ruler, but hey, what are Korean thrillers if not complex!
With that being said, you’re here to see people slash and dash their way through waves of zombies – and that’s exactly where Rampant excels at. There are three big set pieces in the film, and they look straight out of Lord of the Rings. There’s some gorgeous cinematography at play, with overhead shots showing you the sea of demons flooding the walls of the royal palace and a preference for fast cuts over shaky cam that allows you to easily follow the epic action.
What sets Rampant apart is its use of the time period. The production design are exquisite, with grand sets for the towns and the palace, and elaborate traditional costumes that transport you back in time. As expected, the choreography is just stunning. The demons’ bodies twist and warp as they seize upon their victims, and the warriors fly through the battle in an elaborate dance of death, running up walls while cutting heads like there’s no tomorrow.
When it comes to the zombies, Rampant makes some unexpected changes to the mythology. These night demons can be killed by sunlight just like vampires, and you can kill them by destroying either the brain or the heart. Thankfully, they are still as terrifying as you’d expect, and the film doesn’t shy away from gore.
A gripe with the film is that the characters are flat and one-dimensional. You have a very on-the-nose villain with no motivation, a side-kick slave that serves as the comic relief, and a group of badass warriors taken from every RPG ever – there’s an archer, a swordsman, and even a warrior monk. Prince Ganglim (Hyun Bin) gets the only resemblance of a character arc, as he must learn to grow out of his immature, rascal ways, and accept his responsibilities towards his people.
But honestly, who the hell cares? While the film takes a while to embrace its insane premise, you still get badass sword-wielding warriors taking down a swarm of zombies wearing “hanbok” clothes, and blockbuster-style battle scenes in grand set pieces. Train to Busan gave us a compelling character-driven zombie film in a confined space, but Rampant finally gives us the Korean epic-scale zombie film we never knew we needed.
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RAMPANT
Summary
Rampant takes a bit to get to the good stuff, and its political subplot is a bit dull. But once the zombies start attacking, the film gives audiences spectacular sword fights in epic set pieces. What more could you want?
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