The South Korean horror film Train to Busan made a daring narrative choice that most Western zombie movies steer clear of. This is because South Korean horror has earned a reputation for embracing not only the social commentary that zombie movies are known for but also pushing the emotional intensity of their stories further than most Hollywood productions ever dare to. While Western movies often hint at the darkness buried underneath the surface, South Korean releases like Train to Busan stare it straight in the face.

As one of the most intense, fast-moving zombie movies of all time, Yeon Sang-ho’s Train to Busan struck a chord with viewers not just in South Korea but around the entire world and served as the basis for an entire franchise. With an acclaimed animated prequel тιтled Seoul Station and a standalone sequel called Peninsula, the compelling worldbuilding of Train to Busan meant audiences wanted to learn more about its terrifying zombie outbreak. However, one storytelling choice set Train to Busan apart from other zombie films, and its shocking implications made the outbreak even more bleak than it first appeared.

Train To Busan’s Zombie Virus Affects Animals Too

The Virus Was Not Limited To Just Humans

Like so many zombie movies before it, the premise of Train to Busan is related to a bio-engineered virus that turned the population into aggressive, bloodthirsty, zombified infected. However, unlike other zombie properties like The Walking ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, 28 Days Later, or The Last of Us, the virus in Train to Busan also affects animals. This heartbreaking revelation meant that we couldn’t even hold on to the hope that nature could thrive following the societal destruction of the outbreak, and instead, the entire world’s ecosystem would fall prey to a terrifying virus that affects every living creature, animal and human alike.

At its core, Train to Busan tells the story of the workaholic father Seok-woo attempting to connect with his estranged daughter Su-an, only to be confronted with the dire effects of a zombie outbreak while riding the train from Seoul to Busan. While Seok-woo, Su-an, and the other pᴀssengers struggle to survive in the claustrophobic and enclosed pᴀssenger carriages, it’s terrifying to realize that not even animals were spared from this devastating outbreak. Although Yeon’s film was grounded in human emotions, the dark implications of animal infections made its impact all the more tragic.

Animals Being Infected In Train To Busan Makes The Story So Much Darker

This Revelation Makes The Virus Appear Unstoppable

In most Western zombie media, there’s a small glimmer of hope that even if humanity cannot thrive in the post-apocalyptic aftermath of a zombie outbreak, at the very least, the animals can reclaim nature. However, Train to Busan quickly shatters that illusion when we’re confronted with an infected deer at the beginning of the film. Having been hit by a farmer who was driving on the road, though the animal appeared ᴅᴇᴀᴅ at first, it soon rose from the ground, and viewers were confronted with its empty, soulless, unᴅᴇᴀᴅ eyes.

The implications of animals being infected in Train to Busan are not fully explored in the film itself, yet they encourage endless questions from the audience about how the outbreak will progress after the film ends. In other zombie-related media, human survivors can carve out some semblance of existence as they create makeshift communities and attempt to rebuild what has been lost. While this could be possible in a world where only the humans infected need to be contained, survival feels practically impossible when all animals are vulnerable to the virus.

The dark consequences of the animal infection in Train to Busan make Seok-woo’s heroic efforts to save his daughter feel futile, as this virus looks set to affect every member of the population sooner or later. As a truly all-encompᴀssing outbreak, the infected deer implies that even insects could spread the virus to human victims, and a simple mosquito bite would cause you to turn into a bloodthirsty, murderous zombie. These dire consequences are a prime reason why Western media tends to avoid the topic of infected animals altogether, and it makes Train to Busan even darker than we had at first imagined.