Peninsula (film)

Peninsula (marketed internationally as Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula) is a 2020 South Korean post-apocalyptic action horror film co-written and directed by Yeon Sang-ho. It is a standalone sequel to the 2016 film Train to Busan, the second live-action feature film and the third overall installment in the Train to Busan film series. The plot follows a former soldier who is sent along with a team to retrieve a truck full of money from the wastelands of South Korea, now inhabited by zombies, rogue militia, and a family. The film stars an ensemble cast featuring Gang Dong-won and Lee Jung-hyun.

Peninsula was chosen to premiere in the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and simply released theatrically in South Korea on 15 July 2020, while also being shown at the 25th Busan International Film Festival on 21 October 2020. It has grossed $42.7 million worldwide on a $16 million budget but received generally mixed reviews from critics, who found it inferior to the first film.

Plot
A zombie outbreak storms South Korea, overwhelming the government within a single day. ROKMC officer Jung-seok drives his sister, her husband Chul-min, and their young son Dong-hwan to an evacuation ship. On the way, they encounter a distressed couple with a young daughter, but Jung-seok refuses to help them after noticing the man bleeding. They board the ship, but an infected man turns into a zombie and bites several people in their cabin, including Dong-hwan. Jung-seok's sister refuses to leave Dong-hwan, and he is forced to close off the infested cabin as zombies bite her, preventing Chul-min from entering as armed soldiers arrive. Meanwhile, the United States, NATO, and other nations contain the outbreak by quarantining South Korea.

Four years later in Hong Kong, a guilt-ridden Jung-seok, Chul-min, and two other Koreans are recruited by Chinese mobsters to return to South Korea and retrieve a truck containing US$20 million; if successful, they will supposedly receive half of the money. At night, the team arrives in the peninsula by boat and locates the truck. They fend off and kill the zombie truck driver, but the commotion draws the attention of nearby zombies. Jung-seok shoots several of the zombies and the team escapes.

On their way back to Incheon Port, the team is ambushed by a militia squad led by Sergeant Hwang, causing their vehicles to crash. Chul-min hides in the truck while Jung-seok flees from zombies; the other two team members are killed, one perishing in the crash and the other killed by Sergeant Hwang. Jung-seok is rescued by two sisters traveling in a car: Joon, a skilled driver, and the young Yu-jin. They return to their hideout, where they reside with their mother Min-jung and grandfather Elder Kim. Jung-seok realizes that Min-jung and Yu-jin were the mother and young daughter he had encountered four years ago.

The militia squad transports the truck to their base, unaware of the money inside. They are part of the rogue militia faction known as Unit 631 who imprison Chul-min, forcing him to take part in cruel survival games pitting prisoners against zombies. Private Kim discovers the truck's cash and informs Captain Seo, who contacts the mobsters and plans to escape the peninsula with the truck only by himself. Meanwhile, Jung-seok reveals to Min-jung and her family that an extraction ship awaits his team and the truck at Incheon Port. Min-jung devises a plan to steal the truck and escape the peninsula with her family and Jung-seok.

The following night, Jung-seok and Min-jung infiltrate the militia's base and attempt to steal the truck. While holding Private Kim at gunpoint, Jung-seok learns that Chul-min is alive, and interrupts an ongoing survival game to rescue him, killing numerous zombies and Unit 631 soldiers. Chul-min narrowly saves Jung-seok from a zombie bite, but is shortly shot dead by Sergeant Hwang, much to Jung-seok's dismay. Min-jung fends off Captain Seo and escapes in the truck with Jung-seok, but their route is blocked by a horde of zombies. Joon, Yu-jin, and Elder Kim arrive and distract the zombies on a chase to their car.

The two vehicles make their escape, but Sergeant Hwang and other Unit 631 soldiers give chase. Through strategic maneuvers, the family and Jung-seok manage to disable the pursuing vehicles, killing Sergeant Hwang as he is overrun by zombies. Captain Seo, who had killed Private Kim, ambushes the family at Incheon Port and holds Joon hostage. Yu-jin momentarily distracts Seo, allowing Joon to escape, but the ensuing confrontation results in Elder Kim being fatally shot and Min-jung being shot in the leg. Seo flees with the truck and arrives at the ship's vehicle deck, but the mobsters betray and gun him down. As he dies, Seo reverses the truck to deliberately keep the hatch open, allowing zombies outside to swarm the ship and kill all the mobsters.

Jung-seok and the family manage to signal a passing United Nations Chinook helicopter. The injured Min-jung stays behind to clear a path for Jung-seok and her daughters; the three reach the helicopter, but U.N. troops refuse to save Min-jung, who prepares to kill herself as she is left surrounded by a large horde of zombies. Remembering Chul-min's words about his failure to protect his family, Jung-seok is spurred to rescue Min-jung and shoots the zombies down, allowing Min-jung to escape. Jung-seok, Min-jung, her daughters, and the U.N. troops safely board the helicopter and leave the peninsula, finally escaping the outbreak.

Main

 * Gang Dong-won as Jung-seok: A former South Korean Marine Corps Captain, who feels guilt for not saving his nephew and sister.
 * Lee Jung-hyun as Min-jung: A mysterious lady who had seen Jung-seok four years back while attempting to get out of Korea.

Supporting

 * Kwon Hae-hyo as Elder Kim: The father of Min-jung, and grandfather of Joon and Yu-jin, who attempts to radio out of Busan.
 * Kim Min-jae as Sergeant Hwang: The sergeant of Unit 631 and co-manager of an underground fight club, who leads alongside Seo.
 * Koo Kyo-hwan as Captain Seo: The captain of Unit 631 and the cynical head of an underground fight club, who went insane years after the virus ravaged Korea.
 * Kim Do-yoon as Chul-min: The brother-in-law of Jung-seok, who helps Jung-seok get the cash.
 * Lee Re as Joon: The eldest daughter of Min-jung, who drives an armored car to help survivors.
 * Lee Ye-won as Yu-jin: Youngest daughter of Min-jung, who uses loud toy vehicles to draw out zombies and kill them.
 * Jang So-yeon as Jung-seok's elder sister: The older sister of Jung-seok, who, refusing to leave her infected son behind, succumbed to the virus four years back.
 * Moon Woo-jin as Dong-hwan: Nephew of Jung-seok, who was infected from his stomach four years back, and who Jung-seok regrets not saving.
 * Kim Kyu-baek as Private Kim: The private of Unit 631 and the vice leader of the underground fight club, and Seo's right-hand man.
 * Bella Rahim as Major Jane: The Malaysian UN soldier who is the first to rescue the four.

Release
Peninsula was selected to be shown at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival as part of the Official Selection. However, the festival was eventually cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It was theatrically released in South Korea on 15 July 2020, and was also shown in the Panorama section of the 25th Busan International Film Festival on 21 October 2020.

The film was initially set to release in theaters in the United States on 21 August 2020, but moved to streaming via Shudder and released on 1 April 2021 as "a Shudder exclusive". It was released in India on 27 November 2020.

Home media
In the United Kingdom, it was 2020's fourth best-selling foreign language film on physical home video formats (below Parasite, Weathering with You, and Mulan: Legendary Warrior).

Box office
, Peninsula has grossed $1.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $41.5 million in other territories (including $28.7 million from South Korea), for a worldwide total of $42.7 million.

In South Korea, the film made $2.4 million from 2,338 screens on its opening day, the best total of 2020, and $4 million through its first two days of release. It also opened in Taiwan and Singapore, making a combined $905,000 on its first day. The film went on to debut to $13.2 million over its first five days in South Korea, and a total $20.8 million (including $750,000 from 45 IMAX screens) worldwide. It was the first time since mid-March that the global box office totaled over $1 million. After ten days of release, the film had totaled $19.3 million in South Korea. In its second weekend the film also made another $265,000 from 51 IMAX screens in six countries, becoming the highest grossing local-language title ever for IMAX in Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam with $1 million. By August 7, the film had grossed nearly $27 million in South Korea. The film made around $100,000 from 47 theaters from its Canadian debut, and $213,415 from 151 theaters the following weekend from its United States opening.

Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of with an average rating of, based on  reviews. The website's critics consensus reads: "Although a disappointing sense of familiarity threatens to derail Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula, fans of the original may find it a thrilling enough ride." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Rob Hunter of Film School Rejects said the "film forgoes much of what makes Train to Busan so intensely affecting in favor of a somewhat more generic setting" but said "it's a fantastic idea blending a zombie movie with a heist film, and Yeon has fun with the concept."