“Badland Hunters is a tale of survival—an apocalyptic state post-earthquake in Seoul, Korea”.
“Badland Hunters is a sequel to 2023’s Concrete Utopia, which set a benchmark among Korea’s top five highest-grossing films and won multiple awards. Critics highly praised Concrete Utopia, which was selected as South Korea’s entry for Best International Feature at the Academy Awards. However, Badland Hunters fails to live up to expectations and can be considered a disappointing successor to Concrete Utopia.”
Netflix recently added a new feature film, Heo Myeong-haeng’s directorial debut. The movie was produced by Byun Seung-min (Ballerina) with Kim Bo-Tong, the creator of Netflix’s D.P. series, and Kwak Jae-min, its writer. The cast features Don Lee (Train to Busan, Eternals), Lee Hee-jun (Chimera), Lee Jun-young (D.P.), Roh Jeong-eui (Our Beloved Summer), and An Ji-hye.
The film’s protagonist is Don Lee, and the story revolves around his role, Nam-san, who becomes a hunter for a local village. The main plot focuses on Nam-san, accompanied by a teenage boy from the village named Choi-ji-wan. Together, they embark on a mission to rescue Su-na, a girl abducted by mad doctor Dr.Yang Gi-su.
Su-na and her grandmother were misled by the teacher living in a nearby apartment complex who claimed to provide clean water and decided to attend school and live in this post-apocalyptic haven. However, it is soon revealed that the apartment complex is less benevolent than it seems. Su-na finds herself held captive in a camp populated by dangerous cultists, ruled over by the tyrannical doctor Yang Gi-su (played by Lee Hee-joon). Su-na must rely on Nam-san and his team to save herself and the local inhabitants.
Nam-san and his team face hazardous obstacles on their journey. The film features some truly fantastic fighting sequences, and the second half is packed with thrilling zombie action that is highly entertaining. Speaking of the acting, the cast delivers strong performances throughout. However, the storyline was a bit disappointing and felt disjointed. Nonetheless, despite the fantastic action sequences, the story gaps still needed to be filled.
Watch the Official trailer Badland Hunters:
