Director Yeon Sang-ho, visiting the Cannes Film Festival for the first time in 10 years since “Train to Busan” (2006), shared his excitement, saying, “The feeling of wanting to come back again is slowly creeping in.”
“Colony,” invited to the Midnight Screening of the 79th Cannes Film Festival, met global audiences on the early morning of the 16th (local time) at the Lumiere Theatre.
Director Park Chan-wook, the Jury President of the competition section, personally welcomed Director Yeon on the red carpet with a warm hug.
During a round interview with Korean media on the afternoon of the screening, Director Yeon recalled, “I didn’t know Director Park would come to the red carpet, so I felt a bit shy and didn’t know what to do with myself.” Director Park reportedly gave a short word of encouragement, saying, “Amazing, Yeon Sang-ho,” on the red carpet.
“Colony” depicts the struggle of survivors, including biotechnologist Kwon Se-jung (played by Jun Ji-hyun), to escape a mass infection outbreak in a large city shopping mall.
The film offers a fresh kind of horror, portraying zombies as beings that communicate efficiently like ants or fungi, sharing intelligence as if they were a single body.
The idea of zombies with “collective intelligence” stemmed from Director Yeon’s interest in the difference between artificial intelligence (AI) and humans.
Director Yeon explained, “While AI is an algorithm that is the sum of ‘universal thinking’ and lacks minority opinions, humans are beings capable of expressing minority opinions.”
He added, “To intuitively and easily persuade the message that individuality can be a precious human trait, I organized the content through a more difficult process than my previous works (‘Train to Busan’ and ‘Peninsula’).”
“Colony” sparks curiosity with the characteristics of new intelligence-sharing zombies and leaves viewers wondering how the survivors and infected will live on.
While this sets the stage for a sequel like “Colony 2,” Director Yeon stated he has no plans to make a movie sequel.
However, he hinted, “I have written a graphic novel about how the world turns after ‘Colony,’ and I am planning to produce a game based on it.”
Actress Kim Shin-rok, who plays Hyun-hee, an IT professional who uses a wheelchair due to paraplegia, praised “Colony” as the best of Director Yeon’s works.
Kim Shin-rok explained, “It was fresh that the evolving zombies are linked to contemporary keywords like AI, big data, collective intelligence, and games. It asks very modern questions while remaining entertaining, making it more than just a genre film.”
She emphasized, “Not because I’m in it, but I dare to think that ‘Colony’ is the pinnacle of Director Yeon’s work.”
Ji Chang-wook, appearing as Hyun-hee’s brother Hyun-seok, noted, “Although it’s a story about zombies, the depiction of the people within it feels familiar.” He cited the film’s charm as being that the character settings are connected to the reality of ordinary people and the plot unfolds without being too heavy.
Shin Hyun-bin, who plays biotechnologist Seol-hee—who watches the zombie situation from the outside and seeks a solution—commented, “After diving into Director Yeon’s world and spending two enjoyable hours, it’s a movie that gives you plenty to talk about.”
“Colony,” which premiered at Cannes, will be released in Korea on the 21st. Director Yeon and the “Colony” team are scheduled to return to Korea on the 17th to carry out domestic promotions.
