Macabre...ish Horror Review: Flu

Flu, 2013/ 121 min

Brothers smuggle immigrants into Seoul, South Korea via shipping container but all but one dies from an unknown illness and then it passes to the brothers who, upon going to a clinic for treatment, starts an outbreak.

One brother Byung Ki refuses to talk and his brother dies which seriously stifle the health authorities efforts to stop the spread of the illness. A doctor in the ICU discover their video of the immigrants in the container.

Hospital staff locate the container and discover the illness to be an aggressive virus, H5N1 strain that can kill within 36 hours. They incinerate it but they’re too late, rats have fed from the bodies and spread through the city. The city is immediately quarantined. An EMT, Ji-Koo is seen throughout the film and ties many unrelated moments together and sets the pace of the events.

The survivor from the shipping container, Monssai, saves a feisty, little girl from being run over, Mi-reu. Her mother, In-hae is a doctor on the front lines of this disaster. The city is in turmoil as the quarantine and local evacuations are ordered. Mother and daughter flee to the safe zone but they’re only letting virus free people through but Mi-Reu is positive. In-hae has a risky idea that could change everything. But violent clashes, the failing infrastructure and political in-fighting has made the environment hostile.

The Prime Minster reinforces the quarantine with armed forces and the place absolutely descends into chaos as rumors spread that the infected are being shot, bagged alive and tossed into mass graves. Chaos and politics threatens to destroy everything and the answer was right under their noses the entire time.

Another good one, this is well paced and enthralling and at times, heavy and tough to watch. Emotional flick. Even though I’ve seen this before, I kept waiting for zombies but it’s still good without them. Good cinematography and story. Really good ending! Well done.