‘Colony,’ a K-zombie film following ‘Train to Busan’... An evolved zombie shaped by anxieties in the AI era

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[Financial News] The film "Colony," which drew attention after being officially invited to the Midnight Screenings section of The 79th Cannes Film Festival, topped the weekend box office in its opening week.
\r\nAccording to KOBIS on the 25th, "Colony" attracted 1,281,679 viewers from May 22 to 24. Its revenue share reached 71%, and its cumulative audience stood at 1,499,969. The film surpassed 1 million admissions just four days after release, making it the fastest-grossing title released in the first half of this year.■ Yeon Sang-ho’s new zombie film after "Train to Busan" and "Peninsula""Colony" is Yeon Sang-ho’s latest work, following the K-zombie craze sparked by "Train to Busan" and "Peninsula." This time, he has unveiled a new kind of zombie equipped with collective intelligence. The film depicts a mass infection outbreak in a large shopping mall in the city center, where trapped survivors confront infected beings that evolve in unpredictable ways.
At a press conference on the 20th, Yeon said, "If existing zombie films combined classic zombies with a specific setting, 'Colony' is a work that focuses on the zombies themselves," adding, "It is a film where the zombie is the protagonist."
The zombies in the film are different from the usual kind that are driven only by the instinct to bite. They have completely lost their individuality, share and update information with one another, and keep evolving. They crawl on all fours, then suddenly stand upright and walk on two legs, attacking survivors as a group. 
Koo Kyo-hwan, who plays the genius biologist Seo Young-cheol, carries out a bioterror attack on the building and then voluntarily infects himself with the virus to rule over the zombies as their leader. He portrays a character who communicates with the infected and controls them like his own hands and feet.
Yeon drew laughter when he described Koo’s physical acting, saying, "Among ourselves, we called it 'magnesium-deficiency action.'" Koo also joked, "Since Seo Young-cheol is also interacting with the infected for the first time, I used not only hand gestures and footwork but every muscle in my face when I couldn’t control them well. That was thanks to the director showing us such a good example."
To create the zombies’ eerie and original movements, the production brought in not only existing breakdance crews and stunt performers, but also a contemporary dance team.
\r\nYeon said he was satisfied, noting, "Thanks to the contemporary dancers, who have no hesitation in expressing abstract concepts with their bodies, we created a zombie unique to our film that we could not fully imagine at the script stage."
Ji Chang-wook, who plays building security team member Choi Hyun-seok, commented on the expressiveness of the actors portraying the infected. He said, "It was so impressive that this is the first time I have looked so closely into the eyes of zombies in a film."
Regarding the white mucus and sticky visuals vomited by the infected, Yeon explained, "During my research, I found it interesting that ants communicate through pheromones and display collective intelligence, so I introduced the mucus as a visual way to show the connection among the infected."
He added, "I also took a hint from the way a fifth-grade child plays with slime at home."■ AI mimics human intelligence... spotlight on anxieties of our timeThe zombies in "Colony," which lose their individuality and move like a single swarm, evoke the collective behavior of modern people. Yeon previously said he conceived the zombies in "Colony" from the anxieties of modern society created by the rapid exchange of information, collective intelligence, and the AI era. 
The U.S. entertainment magazine Variety praised "Colony," saying it "smartly uses zombies to explore the modern anxiety over how AI and collective thinking erode human individuality."
The film also portrays a range of people trapped inside the isolated building. Jun Ji-hyun plays Professor Kwon Se-jung, a biotechnology professor who speaks for minority views and leads the survivors’ escape by analyzing the behavior and evolution patterns of the unidentified infected. Ji Chang-wook, as Choi Hyun-seok, refuses to give up on his disabled older sister Choi Hyun-hee (Kim Shin-rok) even in extreme circumstances. Shin Hyun-been, who plays Gong Seol-hee, a special investigation team member who lost her husband to the zombie horde, works to resolve the crisis while holding on to reason and conviction amid the chaos. By contrast, a school violence perpetrator and victim make opposite choices in the same crisis, while a police officer symbolizing state authority prioritizes efficiency over humanity, exposing the darker side of society.
Through the contrast between survivors and the infected, the film delivers social commentary along with entertainment. 
Yeon said, "Zombies begin in a primitive state and evolve rapidly, while humans begin in a civilized state but regress under extreme conditions because of selfishness and other instincts," adding, "Through this process, I wanted to depict what remains as the 'core of humanity' in the place where civilization has disappeared."
Meanwhile, instead of making a sequel, "Colony" plans to expand its world through a graphic novel. A game based on the story is also under consideration.
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jashin@fnnews.com Shin Jin-a Reporter