Rampant (창궐, Changgwol) is a 2018 South Korean historical/zombie film directed by Kim Sung-hoon and starring Hyun Bin and Jang Dong-gun.
King Lee Jo of the Joseon Dynasty is subservient to the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. Lee Young, the Crown Prince, attempts a coup to free Joseon from China's influence. He fails thanks to Kim Ja-joon, Minister of War, who wants to overthrow the king and take the throne himself. Lee Young is forced to commit suicide. His pregnant wife Gyeong-bin takes shelter with his half-brother, Prince Lee Chung (Hyun Bin). Meanwhile a Joseon soldier has been bitten by a zombie, and when he turns he starts the spread of the infection all over the country.
Contains examples of:
- Action Girl: Deok-hee kills zombies with a bow and arrow.
- Arrows on Fire: Deok-hee fires burning arrows at the zombie-infested palace. Lee Chung uses one of them to set the place on fire.
- Audible Sharpness: Heard many, many times, like when Prince Lee Chung draws his sword after finding out that the soldiers sent by Ja-joon have not come there to escort him to the palace, they've come there to murder him.
- Battle Amongst the Flames / Rooftop Confrontation: The final battle between Lee Chung and Kim Ja-joon takes place on the roof of the burning palace.
- Blood from the Mouth: So-yong coughs up blood after being infected.
- Death of a Child: When he turns into a zombie the soldier's first victim is his young child.
- Driven to Suicide: Lee Young is forced to kill himself so his subordinates will be spared.
- Evil Chancellor: Minister of War Ja-joon, who is plotting to overthrow the Lees. Eventually it's revealed that he deliberately facilitated the zombie outbreak so he could use it as an opportunity to take the throne amidst the chaos.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Zombies can do this. When one soldier sticks his sword in a zombie's gut, the zombie simply slides along the length of the sword until he can reach the soldier.
- Kill It with Fire: Lee Chung lures as many zombies as possible into the palace then sets it on fire.
- Lap Pillow: The king lies down with his head on his concubine's lap as he complains about The Chains of Commanding.
- Neck Lift: Ja-joon does this with Lee Chung at one point during their final battle.
- Our Zombies Are Different: These zombies have Tainted Veins and Prophet Eyes, hate sunlight, are attracted by sounds, and can be killed by decapitation or being stabbed in the heart. Turning into a zombie takes at least a day. Someone who gets bitten in the hand can delay their transformation by cutting off their hand.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Averted by the king, but played straight by Lee Young, who tries to protect Joseon from China, and Lee Chung, who fights the zombies and kills Kim Ja-joon.
- Seppuku: Crown Prince Lee Young kills himself by slicing his stomach open, in front of his father, after the king calls his anti-Chinese guerilla troop treasonous.
- Zombie Infectee:
- The soldier who starts the outbreak was bitten by a zombie on board a ship, then went home without realising he was about to become a zombie too.
- Kim Ja-joon gets infected. He attempts to delay his transformation by cutting off his hand.
