Rampant

Rampant is a 2018 South Korean period post-apocalyptic action horror film directed by Kim Sung-hoon. It was released on October 25, 2018. The film features a clash between exiled prince Lee Chung (Hyun Bin) and the Joseon minister of War Kim Ja-joon (Jang Dong-gun) with the backdrop of a spreading zombie plague. It received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office bomb, grossing $12.4 million worldwide against a production budget of $15 million. Plot In the Joseon dynasty, King Lee Jo is viewed as puppet to the nearby Qing dynasty of China by the Joseon nationalists. His son, Crown Prince Lee Young, plots to buy European arquebuses to drive away the Qing and at the same time removing his weak-willed father. The plot is exposed by War Minister Kim Ja-joon, who holds influence over the king and frames it as a rebellion. Kim meets the Europeans and learns that they have brought zombies (called "night demons"). The crown prince comes to his father and begs him to consider his proposal to oppose the Qing as they now have firearms but the impotent and stubborn King refuses to listen to his son. To save his men, the Prince commits suicide as penance so that his subordinates will be spared. Joseon forces destroy the European ship and retrieve the arquebuses, but a Joseon soldier is bitten by a zombie. He returns to his village, where he turns and spreads the infection. The zombies crave human meat and blood, are attracted by sounds, repelled by sunlight, and are stopped by decapitation or piercing of the heart, as well as separation of spinal vertebrae but methods of killing are inconsistent. The crown prince left a request that his wife Gyeong-bin and unborn child be raised by his younger brother Lee Chung in China for their safety. Lee Chung had previously been left out of Joseon's order of succession as tribute to the Qing and grew up abroad in the prosperous Qing. Lee Chung returns with his companion Hak-Su, landing in Jemulpo, but is attacked by Joseon assassins sent by Minister Kim and other ministers, who are plotting a coup. The noise of the battle draws an attack by zombified villagers. Lee Chung and Hak-Su are assisted by local partisans, including Park Eul-ryoung, former lieutenant to the crown prince, and archer Deok-hee. The Jemulpo partisans ask Lee Chung to become crown prince, but he declines, wanting to return to China.