Posted in: Horror, Interview, Movies | Tagged: colony, well go usa, yeon sang-ho

Colony Director Yeon Sang-ho Discusses AI-Inspired Zombie Horror Film

Director Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan) spoke with us about how AI inspired his latest horror film, Colony, Gianna Jun, Koo Kyo-hwan & more.

A decade after Train to Busan, writer-director Yeon Sang-ho is looking to challenge us again in the way we think about the zombie genre in his latest action horror film, Colony. The film follows the struggle of isolated survivors trapped in a building, quarantined amidst an unknown outbreak, as they fight for survival against the unpredictably evolving infected. At the center of the outbreak is Seo Young-cheol (Koo Kyo-hwan), a genius biologist who envisions a new humanity through his pathogen, but in his path is biotechnology professor Kwon Se-jeong (Gianna Jun), who lost her position while fighting injustice. She's not only trying to save the survivors, but also, for the sake of humanity, to extract the vaccine from the ambitious threat. Yeon spoke with Bleeding Cool about how artificial intelligence (AI) and collectivism inspired Colony, how he developed the idea with writing partner Choi Kyu-seok, how he created the hive-like pathogen, how Jun and Koo became perfect contrasts, and his most difficult scene to film.

Colony Writer-Director Yeon Sang-ho on Blending AI and Zombies into Hybrid Horror

BC: What's the inspiration behind Colony, and how did you develop the idea with Choi Kyu-seok?

Yeon: The writer Choi Kyu-seok and I had worked together on Hellbound, and after we wrapped up Hellbound Season Two, which also is a commentary on the perils of collectivism, we were talking about what the actual origin of this fear or anxiety that we have of collectivism. What we came upon is that in this age of high-speed information technology, where this gives rise to almost a universal or collective intelligence, which of course in our era is shaping up to become AI. We thought that AI essentially is a threat to individual thought and individuality itself, and that is where the idea of Colony came about.

What do you like about working with Choi as a creative partner?

Writer Choi Kyu-seok comes from the animation world, and we were actually friends at Sangmyung University. He was in the animation department, and I was in the painting department. Because of that, naturally, we talked a lot about what we liked, our preferences, and I think as friends we have a very strong understanding of where our preferences and our artistic sensibilities lie. After that, we went in our own ways creatively, and also we got married, we had children, and it was hard to find the time to continue those conversations. We thought, if we actually work on a project together, maybe we'll be able to continue on those creative conversations that we really have come to cherish. So, I worked with Choi Kyu-seok on the comic series of 'Hellbound,' and I've also worked with him on Gyesirok, which is called Revelations (the English title), and then Colony as well. I really hope to continue this artistic collaboration in the future.

How did you develop the evolution of the infected, and were there things you thought about having them do that you opted against?

I was inspired by how AI is being developed in the way that the zombies are developing or evolving in this film. I think sometimes when we see AI, it seems so human-like sometimes, but then there are times where it makes mistakes that a human being would never make. I thought that was a very interesting facet to develop. I wanted the process of these zombies being updated to be quite different from the human learning experience. I think that most of my ideas were applied to this film; I can't think of anything where I thought I wouldn't use this. One point that does come to mind is that there is a part of the film where one of the zombies is doing an internet search or searching on the computer, and I was worried that it would look too human. But the modern dance choreographers that worked in developing the zombie movement for us made it in a way that was so uncanny and a bit grotesque, so I'm satisfied with how that came out.

What did you like about having Gianna Jun and Koo Kyo-hwan as your leads and why they worked so well as Kwon Se-jeong and Seo Young-cheol?

I would say that for Gianna Jun, her character Kwon Se-jeong is a person who lies on the complete opposite point of collective intelligence. Therefore, she is kind of a lone wolf, but she is a confident character; it's a position that she chooses to be in. Because Gianna Jun has acted such iconic characters in the past, I wanted her to play Kwon Se-jeong, and I feel that she was a very good fit for this character.
With Koo Kyo-hwan's character, Seo Young-cheol, he is a mad scientist, but he is also an extraordinary character and scientist. I wanted an extraordinary actor to play this extraordinary character. Actor Koo Kyo-hwan, who I've worked with in the past, is an actor who has always shown me an extraordinary side to him every single time I've worked with him, and that's why I wanted him and was able to secure him as the actor to play Seo Young-cheol.

What was the most difficult sequence to film?

I would say the ending car chase/car action sequence was the hardest. Because we wanted to really do a realistic filming of the scene, the actor Kwon Se-jeong was actually in the driver's seat, and in the passenger's seat there was a stunt driver who was driving the car. A lot of the zombies that are climbing onto the car and hitting the car in that sequence are actual stunt people. We had prepped extensively for that shoot in particular because it was a dangerous shoot. Even though we'd prepped quite a bit, I remember being quite nervous on that shoot.

Well Go USA's Colony comes to theaters on August 28th.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!