Director Yeon Sang-ho is signaling the evolution of the zombie genre with his new film, 'COLONY'.
'COLONY' is a film about isolated survivors inside a building sealed off due to an unidentified infection, facing off against infected individuals that evolve in unpredictable ways. Having established himself as a "master of the zombie genre" through 'Train to Busan' and its sequel 'Peninsula', Yeon Sang-ho plans to pose weighty questions to those living in modern society through his new work, 'COLONY'.
Director Yeon Sang-ho revealed his directorial intent, stating, "I think communication between people is becoming faster through the internet and social media, and as communication speeds up, I felt that opinions move collectively. I thought that as society becomes more advanced, we might be moving toward a state of collective intelligence rather than individual entities. Through 'COLONY', I wanted to deal with human individuality or cooperation in the face of an organism that moves with collective intelligence."
In particular, the film captures the image of a collectivized society alongside a communication environment that is accelerating through zombies. It is the birth of a new species, so-called 'evolving zombies'.
The infected in 'COLONY' are beings that continue to evolve by sharing information with each other, reminiscent of modern society where information is exchanged and communicated in real-time. While focusing on the existing concepts of zombies, Director Yeon Sang-ho plans to deliver a fresh shock with new zombies that capture the state of the current era.
Director Yeon Sang-ho stated that despite having worked on numerous projects, this filming set was a special experience. He shared his unique feelings about the 'COLONY' set, where the world he created unfolded right before his eyes, saying, "When working on projects with creatures, it's usually CG, so you have to shoot in a state where there is nothing. But for 'COLONY', it was good because I could shoot while seeing the zombies right in front of my eyes, so it definitely felt realistic." Based on this realism, the film is expected to provide extreme suspense to the audience amidst the infection crisis.
Finally, he emphasized the fun and message he wants to convey to the audience with 'COLONY', saying, "I hope you enjoy the movie while feeling very intuitive suspense. And I hope it becomes a film where you can talk about individuality, collectivity, and human identity after leaving the theater."
'COLONY' is scheduled to be released in theaters on May 21.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Ji-hye)