‘Train to Busan’ is Leaving Prime Video on December 30

Apocalyptic thrillers can go either way, especially when it comes to zombies. The bad ones are so bad they’re not even considered fun, and the good ones? When they hit, they really hit, and you know you’re watching something special. That’s the case with the South Korean movie Train to Busan, which is arguably one of the best zombie movies of all time that’s on the same level as Dawn of the Dead. Sadly, if you’re a Prime Video subscriber, and you haven’t seen it, you better watch it soon because your time is almost up.

As with many movies, Train to Busan’s run on Prime Video is coming to an end on Dec. 30, meaning you just have a few days left to catch this 2016 masterpiece that was directed by Yeon Sang-ho. Starring Gong Yoo as Seok-woo, a workaholic investment manager, the film traces his journey to take his estranged daughter (Kim Su-an) from Seoul to Busan, South Korea, to see her mother – when a zombie apocalypse breaks out.

Director Yeon Sang-ho over an image from Train to Busan

Train to Busan Director Sets His First English-Language Horror Film

Yeon Sang-ho’s first English-language horror film will be titled 35th Street, and it’s being described as another action-horror movie.

On the surface it seems pretty cut and dry, but Train to Busan is so much more than your average zombie flick. It’s an emotional story about a father’s guilt over not making enough time for his family and suffering the consequences of his actions, which leads to him making the ultimate sacrifice in a harrowing act of redemption. The zombies aren’t just zombies, either. They’re an allegory for societal pressure that adds an extra layer to Train to Busan that really packs a punch. Of course, an apocalyptic thriller like this wouldn’t be the same without gore, and Sang-ho’s movie has that in spades, making it the perfect film that has something for every die-hard fan.

‘Train to Busan’ Was a Box Office Smash

Hitting theaters in South Korea on July 20, 2016, Train to Busan was a smash hit at the box office, earning a little over $80 million dollars against a budget of $8.5 million. It saw a limited release here in the United States and other territories, but by the time it was all said and done, its worldwide take reached nearly $100 million, making it the highest-grossing film of the year in the East Asian country.

Its success spawned two more movies in the series, but they weren’t live-action films like everyone expected. Instead, Sang-ho followed up his zombie thriller with a pair of animated movies: a prequel titled Seoul Station, and another titled Peninsula, which is not a direct sequel, but rather a story that takes place in the same universe.

Like most profitable films overseas, Train to Busan was all set to receive an American remake – The Last Train to New York – but the status of that is questionable right now. Produced by James Wan and Gary Dauberman, the film’s title was revealed in 2021, as was the release date of April 21, 2023. However, Warner Bros. removed it from its schedule in mid-2022, and slid Evil Dead Rise into its slot instead. Since then, everything has been quiet on the status of the movie, which leads us to believe it’s no longer happening, at least not in the near future.

That’s probably for the best, as the original is a near-perfect movie that doesn’t need retooling for American audiences. It’s a well-crafted story with a lot of heart that deals with universal themes that we can all identify with, no matter the language. If you’ve yet to see it, check out Train to Busan before it leaves Prime Video on Dec. 30.