10 horror hidden gems on Netflix

4. Train to Busan

There’s hardly a good place to be when the zombie outbreak finally hits, but trapped on a train as the passengers slowly turn into ravenous flesh-eaters certainly isn’t the best. In the South Korean horror film Train to Busan, it might very well be one of the worst.

While taking his young daughter Su-an to visit her mother in Busan, Seok-woo ends up fighting for their lives as news of a zombie outbreak is shortly followed by the zombies themselves. The other passengers on the train soon band together into factions for survival, divided by zombie-infested train cars. As the train keeps moving, the struggle for survival only gets more intense.

Like any good zombie horror film, Train to Busan has lots of gore, heart-pounding chase sequences, and who’s-been-bitten drama. It’s the train itself which makes this movie stand out, the constant movement paired with the straight line from engine to caboose which the characters have to travel: there’s no going around a compartment full of zombies. The only way forward is through. The ways in which the characters work around these difficulties—and the drastic measures their circumstances force them to take—make Train to Busan a truly memorable addition to the zombie canon.

And on top of the convincing and heartfelt relationship between Seok-woo and Su-an, the cast of side characters are all vibrant and distinct (especially no-nonsense husband Sang-hwa and his pregnant wife Seong-kyeong). From character moments to clever action sequences, Train to Busan certainly knows how to keep the action moving.