Much like the movie, this review will be to the point.
“#Alive” came out straight to Netflix this year, 2020. I think it got some immediate attention because the fanbase for zombie movies is quite vast. And I’m part of that group. I really love zombie movies, and I really do not discriminate the type of zombie in a movie, fast or slow moving. Doesn’t matter to me.
“#Alive” tells the story of Oh Joon-woo, who is an online gamer. Not that it really matters what he does. Immediately, the movie thrusts you into the chaos of an infectious outbreak that quickly spreads through Oh’s apartment complex, and assumedly, the world outside the complex. Through the rest of the movie, you follow Oh’s experience as he tries to survive the apocalyptic outbreak that turns regular people into cannibalistic killers. He is alone in his apartment and, at first, seemingly the only survivor in the entire apartment complex.
Describing the infected: There was some cool chill factor to the way that some of the zombies moved in some parts of the movie. A lone infected person moving through a narrow hallway with quick jerky movements where you hear bone-cracking sounds to accompany the affect made me cringe. Not sure why that wasn’t followed throughout the movie’s entirety. Whereas, in other infected people, they were the typical fast flesh-eating zombie, attacking in overwhelming hordes.
To the critique. I always like to start with the ‘good’.
I believe the production was well done. Even though this ended up being a typical infection/zombie movie, it felt fresh for some reason. “#Alive” is definitely current as a lot of people have been in quarantine across the globe and could relate to the feeling of being stuck inside for long periods of time. The movie relies on tension and situational horror rather than overly gory Zombie kills, but still managed to remain interesting. The pacing was good with no lulls throughout.
In the Middle.
“#Alive” sticks to the basics regarding the zombie movie tropes, which some people will like, and some will not. There aren’t amazing bad asses with a trove of weapons to fend off the infected. There is quite a bit of action, but it’s not in your face John Woo style. To mention too, the dubbing was not that bad, one of the better dubbed horror movies I’ve seen. And, I have seen REALLY bad dub before.
And there’s a ‘However”.
If you go into watching this movie expecting a great storyline, something ground breakingly new in this saturated sub-genre, you will be sorely disappointed. There are significant plot holes throughout. Which, if you look for those things while watching movies, they may be quite obvious. If you don’t care about that too much, then you might be alright with this movie. There are also a lot of Zombie movie cliche sprinkled throughout the movie.
This really is just a typical Zombie movie and it certainly has its flaws. Was this an award-winning, drop-your-drawers, immediately go buy and yell about it from the top of a skyscraper?
No.
But it was definitely worth a one-time watch! I suggest you give it a try, especially if you love zombie movies, including the clichéd ones. It was fun.
Enjoy!
“#Alive”
Released: 2020
Rating: TV-MA
Director: Il Cho
Writer: Il Cho (screenplay) & Matt Naylor
IMDB Rating: 6.2 out of 10
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%
Runtime: 98 minutes
Free Streaming as of this Blog: Netflix
Comments