COLONY/ GUNCHE.

Korea, 2026, 122 minutes, Colour.

Jun Ji-hyun, Koo Kyo-hwan, Ji Chang-wook, Shin Hyeon-bn, Go Soo.

Directed by Yeon Sang-ho.

For almost 60 years, living dead dramas have been very popular, zombies and all the variations. One wonders what it is in human nature that these stories, bizarre and frightening, ever-increasing horror, that response so well to them, especially at the box office and on streaming.

Yeon Sang-ho directed quite a thrilling zombie film in the 2010s, Last Train to Busan. It struck a chord, not only for his career, but around the world.

Colony/Gunche is his new living dead frightening drama. Not only the living dead and variations on this theme, but also questions about science, medicine, AI, human communication.

The setting is a convention, scientists, business leaders, experiments and exploiting the possibility for human communication by touch and contact and control, paralleling communication in the animal world, the insect world.

And, there is the 21^st century variation on the mad scientist, wanting to avenge the death of his scientist father, working with mind control by infecting as many as possible, a mass movement of these living dead. And, the film is even more striking in the behaviour of the creatures, the employment of a range of dancers and gymnast-athletes who are able to contort their bodies, combine their bodies together in alarming images of being controlled.

There is a principal central character, a scientist who has a strong personality, with her ex-husband and his new wife and daughter, stepping in with understanding and action, taking charge of a surviving group, trying to outwit the mad scientist and his control.

In its own way, it is very well done, frightening in its visuals, in its mind and behaviour control theme, in the imagining of the living dead in their actions, and raising all kinds of questions, ethical, moral, and how to deal with this kind of apocalyptic threat.

1. The work of the director, thrillers, focus on the living dead, plagues and threats?
2. The prologue, the introduction to the doctor, the experiments, signs, human communication? The threats?
3. The title, the reference to the community created by the experiments and infection, the creatures in themselves, living dead, working in a pack, controlled by the scientist, group thinking and reactions? And the visuals of the creatures, movement, wounds, infection, gymnastics, coming together as single creatures…?
4. The situation of the conference? The introduction to the scientist, her former husband, his recommending her, their bickering, her demands? His second marriage, his daughter, communication with the family, the packing to move for their holiday? His wife as a scientist, the devotion of the daughter?
5. The conference, collective information, communication between creatures, the animal world, and some communication without speaking? Experiments? For positive communication and a better world? The threats of it being abused? The scientific aspect, the technology aspect, financial and business?
6. The speech by the expert, the impact, his vision, the response of the scientist and her ex-husband? The meeting, cut short, his phone call, the threats for the sabotage and terrorism, her following him, his confrontation with the doctor, his being wounded, transformed, trapped?
7. The youngsters, going into the diner, the meal, the frightened young woman, bullied?
8. The beginning of the transformations, the increasing number of living dead, rampaging? The group taking shelter? The group in the diner? The living dead, impacts, the sounds, look, frightening, bashing on the glass doors…?
9. The police, the warning, getting organised, setting up the headquarters, inviting the scientist, the discussions, the expertise, the SWAT team, planning tactics?
10. The group, heroism to rescue the youngsters, the scientist and his going out to help, heroism, transformed? The effect on his ex-wife? And the phone calls from the family?
11. The security guard, his sister, carrying her, his becoming more involved, her expertise, getting to the control centre, her communication, watching? Eventually becoming besieged, sacrificing herself, her being kept as bargaining, with her brother?
12. The various members of the survivors, the older man, his offering to go out and rescue, successful? The large businessman and his complaints? Eventually the police chief? The young people and their being part of the survivors?
13. The invading team, their being over, transformed, attacking?
14. The emergence of the doctor, the flashbacks to his father, business details, finance, suicide? His motivation, his skills, his plans, the fascist motivation, the leader and the control? His enjoying this, his exercising it, his eventually being captured, and yet his continuing control?
15. The scientist, using her wits, ways of escaping the living dead, the various perfumes and scents, distracting, yet the scientist and his counteracting them with the control?
16. The impact of the drama, the continued escapes, the various deaths and transformations, fears, the hysterical young woman, her bullying the other woman, the apology, betraying her and pushing her into the living dead, their both being transformed? The scientist and his observing this?
17. The security guard, focus completely on his sister, resentment, fighting against the group?
18. The scientist’s wife and her expertise, going to the laboratory, the monkeys, the number one, the issue of the vaccine, the first victim, the scientist himself?
19. The dramas of the continued escapes, the continued deaths and transformations, the scientist using her wits, phoning the wife, combining their ideas?
20. The buildup to the combination, outside, the living dead outside the building, attacking the gathering, mayhem? The scientist and his continued control? Observing where he went, the car, the buildup to the confrontation, the fight with the scientist, his being overcome?
21. The background to the police chief, with the group, the headquarters, the Minister, the political issues, changing the headquarters?
22. The final seeming resolution, the two women taking the blame for what had happened, the number of people transformed standing as icons, their future? And the possibility for a sequel?