Train to Busan Director Sets His First English-Language Horror Film

Train to Busan director Yeon Sang-ho has sealed a deal with TriStar Pictures to direct his first English-language horror film. Released in 2016, Train to Busan would go on to become a global hit, earning a massive $98.5 million dollars worldwide against a budget of just $8 million. The zombie action-horror flick is regarded as one of the best in the genre, often lauded for its emotional story of a father and his estranged daughter trapped on a train during a zombie outbreak in South Korea.

As per Deadline, Sang-ho’s first English-language horror film will be titled 35th Street, and while plot details remain under wraps for now, it is being described as another action-horror movie, something the director has become known for. He’ll team up with Ryu Yong-jae to pen the script, as the two are no strangers to one another and have previously collaborated on Train to Busan’s sequel, Peninsula, and the 2024 Netflix hit, Parasyte: The Grey.

Train to Busan

Release Date

July 20, 2016

Director

Sang-ho Yeon

Cast

Yoo Gong , Yu-mi Jeong , Dong-seok Ma , Su-an Kim , Eui-sung Kim , Woo-sik Choi

Runtime

118

Casting details for 35th Street have yet to be revealed, as the project is still in the early stages of development at TriStar. A release date has also yet to be set, but the movie will be produced by both Appian Way and WOW POINT, who had a hand in producing Sang-ho’s previous Netflix projects The Bequeathed, and Parasyte: The Grey, which is a live-action spinoff of the popular manga series.

Yeon Sang-ho Is a Unique Voice in the Horror Genre

Getting his start in 1997 by directing short films, Yeon Sang-ho is perhaps one of the most unique voices in the horror genre. He’s created a number of projects across film and television, and has remained fearless in his experimentation with storytelling and delivery, bringing fans both live-action and animated horror movies and TV shows over the years. While his first foray into features was with the 2011 animated film, The King of Pigs, it wasn’t until 2016’s Train to Busan that Sang-ho really found his groove.

In addition to releasing the live-action Busan in 2016, Sang-ho also released an animated prequel to the film titled Seoul Station, which followed a father searching for his daughter during the period before the zombie outbreak in South Korea. He’d follow both films with a sequel in 2020, known internationally as Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula, which was set to premiere during the 2020 Cannes Film Festival before it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the film was released theatrically on July 15, 2020, and would go on to take in $42.7 million dollars at the box office against a budget of $16 million dollars.

Related

The Best International, Non-English Horror Movies This Century, So Far

The world of horror is appreciated globally, and this sampling of recent international films are sure to have you terrified and keep you up at night.

As fans eagerly await more details about Sang-ho’s first English-language project, 35th Street, they can at least take comfort in knowing that if the movie is being billed as an action-horror film, the director will make good on that promise and deliver something that’s sure to please. Given his history, there’s no doubt that the story will also pack an emotional gut punch as well.