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Before Colony, 5 zombie films that shook the Festival
Once again, the living dead take over the Grand Théâtre Lumière for a terrifying Midnight Screening. Ten years (already) after Train to Busan, Korean Yeon Sang-ho thrills us again with Gun-che (Colony), swelling the ranks of the living dead who have appeared on the Festival’s screens.
2004: Dawn of the Dead, the first zombie film to be shown at Cannes
In a remake of George A. Romero’s 1978 classic of the genre, director Zach Snyder draws on digital effects and advances in special makeup to reimagine this tale of a contagion spreading through a shopping mall. His film was acclaimed at the Midnight Screening and by theatre audiences.
2016: Train to Busan, Yeon Sang-ho’s instant cult classic
The director of Colony already depicted subway passengers turning into zombies in his animated film Seoul Station, and Train to Busan was born from imagining what would happen next, and was quickly acclaimed by fans of the genre, who would enjoy the sequel, Peninsula in 2020.
2019: The Dead Don’t Die, Jim Jarmusch’s living dead open the Festival
The year after he captivated the Competition with the vampires from Only Lovers Left Alive, Jim Jarmusch gave us his take on the comedy horror genre set against a backdrop of an ecological disaster, transforming Iggy Pop into a zombie pursued by Adam Driver, Bill Murray, and Chloë Sevigny.
2022: Coupez! (Final Cut) and French-style zombies as seen by Hazanavicius
A zombie film shoot disrupted… by zombies! Michel Hazanavicius revisits a classic Japanese film by Shin’ichirô Ueda, paying tribute to workers in the film industry, starring Romain Duris. This film also opened the Festival.
2026: Colony, Yeon Sang-ho’s comeback film
Ten years after Train to Busan, the Korean who is influenced by Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead), Marc Forster (World War Z), and Danny Boyle (28 Days Later) continues to explore the zombie genre. In Colony, an outbreak begins in a biotech building, and all those infected are connected by a slimy substance. For this film, the director reunites with choreographer Jeon Young, who created the monsters’ movements for Peninsula.
