Alive won’t break any new ground as far as Zombie movies but it follows the formula well. It's not a scary zombie film, it's more about the loneliness, the isolation and the will to live through it. But with that being said, there were a few big jump scares while our main character, Joon-Woo is looking through apartments for food and other essentials. The zombies themselves looked amazing and so creepy. The transformation of those creatures sends shivers up my spin. The chase scenes themselves were very exciting. The sheer number of the zombies chasing our MCs made the chases very tense and gripping. The dialogue throughout the film is rather limited with not much being said given the characters' situations but I found that they were able to convey communication really well thanks to their facial expressions and good use of the technology around them. Joon-Woo using his phone and his drone and Yoo-Bin using her laser pen to good comedic effect but showing her smarts using rope to send food, saving Joon-Woo from starvation. Just a good solid film from a production and story standpoint. I enjoyed every moment of the film. One of the biggest criticisms of the film that I have is that it's very short compared to most Korean films (which are mostly 2 hours plus in my experience). Perhaps some scenes are cut out or the writers didn’t feel the need to drag the story out longer. There is room to develop the film more, I feel.

The performances in Alive were really good throughout the film. The acting from Yoo Ah-In is particularly strong as well. He brings a good sense of frustration and regret to the role during the opening 40 minutes where it is basically a one man film. The short cameos from Jeon Bae-soo and Lee Hyun-wook provided some nice spice. Park Shin-Hye was solid in the film as well. Her character is very resourceful and friendly to living things such as her plants and Joon-Woo. That came across in her acting - Shin-Hye is a very soft natured person naturally so the role was perfect for her and her other roles. Again, there weren’t many lines but she sounded natural and on-point when called upon.

I just want to point out the brilliant soundtrack. From what I heard, it was only two or three songs (Break by Beenzino and Sail by Inni) but Sail by Inni in particular had a real tension fueled vibe to it. The eerie synth sound brought gravitise to the scenes it was used in.