‘A darkness looms over the kingdom’
Rampant – original title: Chang-gwol aka 창궐 – is a 2018 South Korean period action zombie film directed by Kim Sung-hoon from a screenplay written by Hwang Jo-yoon. The movie stars Hyun Bin, Jang Dong-gun and Eui-sung Kim.
Plot:
A hero named Lee Chung (Hyun Bin) fights against “Night Demons” to save the Joseon nation. Lee Chung is the son of the king, and the greatest martial artist in the world. Although he is given to the Qing empire as a political hostage, he returns home upon hearing that his brother, the Crown Prince Lee Young (Kim Tae-woo), has taken his own life.
With the nightmarish monsters plaguing the country and the minister of military Kim Ja-joon (Jang Dong-gun) plotting to overthrow the dynasty, Prince Lee Chung (Hyun Bin) will be fighting them alongside archer Deok-hee (Lee Sun-bin) and others…
Reviews:
“Rampant is a highly compelling and entertaining movie which will leave fans of zombie movies and fans of historical movies highly pleased.” Maria Georgiou, Asian Movie Pulse
“When the zombies attack in earnest, Kim Sang-hoon goes big, creating huge, inspired centerpiece sequences that combine zombie horror with martial arts sword play. This is movie magic at its finest. Yet, the awakening of the Prince’s sense of responsibility and idealism is also pretty stirring stuff.” J.B. Spins
“Rampant manages light entertainment during its fairly predictable two hour Joseon zombie romp. Seeing zombies lay waste to the royal palace while wearing hanboks (traditional Korean dress) and other traditional Korean garb is quite pleasing to the eye for originality sake. But Rampant is merely a surface level kind of movie…” The Movie Beat
“While slick and polished, Rampant feels reluctant to commit fully to the intriguing originality of its premise. It excels neither as a zombie film, nor a throne-room drama, while its clumsy subtext lacks any real bite.” South China Morning Post
“Rampant has a promising premise, but it is a bland film that is marred by a predictable plot and cardboard characters. However, the movie much to the satisfaction of fans of zombie movies, they are quick, strong and cruel, not to mention creepy. It also succeeded in giving audiences spectacular sword-fight sequences and some truly beautiful cinematography.” Yonhap News Agency
Technical credits:
121 minutes
Release:
Rampant was released on October 25, 2018.
Well Go USA is releasing Rampant on Blu-ray and DVD on February 26, 2019.
Related:
https://moviesandmania.com/2018/12/19/kingdom-korean-tv-series-action-horror-zombies-2019-overview/
