[Review] 'COLONY' (2026): Zombies Fighting the Imperfection of Communication, Directed by Yeon Sang-ho
Director Yeon Sang-ho, who has relentlessly explored the zombie apocalypse through *Train to Busan*, *Peninsula*, and the animated prequel *Seoul Station*, once again examines the ecological characteristics and evolutionary potential of "zombies" in his latest feature, *COLONY*. If zombies truly existed, what would they react to, what would be their power source (nutrients), and where would their survival end? While Danny Boyle’s recently released *28 Years Later* introduced a peculiar mutant strain, let us examine this new case presented by global zombie expert Yeon Sang-ho.
The film opens in a high-rise building in downtown Seoul. A man calls the police, announcing that he is about to launch a biological terror attack. He then injects himself with a vaccine and administers the virus to a professor with whom he shares a mysterious past. The transmission of the virus is faster than anyone could imagine. Instantaneously, bodies contort, eyes roll back, and the infected crawl and sprint through the building, viciously biting, tearing, and infecting others. Kwon Se-jung, a biotechnologist attending a conference in the building, witnesses the rapid spread of the outbreak. To survive and avoid being bitten, she begins to rely on scientific deduction.
The zombies we have encountered in cinema so far share a few common traits: the outbreak of a virus, infection through physical contact, and an explosive, sudden spread. This requires scientific remedies and horror-style elimination tactics completely different from traditional vampire hunting. Generally, to counter zombies whose primal instincts are maximized, humanity needs quick reflexes, scientific knowledge, and the ultimate sacrifice driven by humanism. Director Yeon Sang-ho adds scientific imagination to these conventional tropes. What if a swarming horde of zombies followed someone's orders—and what if those instructions were delivered systematically?
Yeon lays out the entire scientific blueprint for *COLONY* early in the film. During a presentation by Professor Kang Woo-chul (Kim Jong-tae) at the conference, the film introduces the ecology of ants, which possess a unique scientific method of communication. Citing entomologist William Morton Wheeler, the professor describes the ants' networking system as a form of "collective intelligence." The film’s villain, Seo Young-chul (Koo Kyo-hwan), has been researching this exact trait: the exchange of information through organic matter and the integration of multi-party connections. In nature, this is the pheromone, an ant's secretion.
This Nobel Prize-caliber imagination is seamlessly fused with the zombie genre. The secretions scattered throughout the high-rise act like neurons or a 5G network, allowing the zombies to corner, capture, and convert humans into their own kind. This biological, ecological, and sociological setup is the driving force that keeps *COLONY* gripping until the final frame. The zombies learn, evolve, and form a social collective, threatening the existing human community. Of course, the culprit behind this is Seo Young-chul, driven by a twisted scientific conviction to "push humanity to the next level."
What enriches this zombie crisis is the "Dunguri Building," where the disaster unfolds, designed in a classic "Grand Hotel" narrative style. The academic tension between Koo Kyo-hwan and Kim Jong-tae, the deeply human bond between Gianna Jun (Jeon Ji-hyun) and Go Soo, and the unique sibling dynamics of Ji Chang-wook and Kim Shin-rok form the sturdy structural steel of this desperate battle for survival.
Gianna Jun’s performance as an "ecologist" delivers action sequences on par with Milla Jovovich in *Resident Evil*. Kim Shin-rok's role, executing tactical control via CCTV, is equally gripping. Furthermore, Ji Chang-wook’s action in the latter half of the film accelerates into full throttle, delivering pure excitement. It arguably marks a new milestone in bare-handed (plus a knife) one-on-one zombie combat.
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| Director Yeon Sang-ho |
Director Yeon Sang-ho’s latest work, *COLONY*, tells the story of humans fighting against a breed of zombies made far more dangerous through "ant-like collective intelligence" and "networking capabilities." Just like Director Yeon, we must keep studying—if only to survive the zombies. **Reviewed by Jae-hwan Park**