SUMMARY: Joseon’s king is a Qing puppet. The crown prince tries to overthrow the king but his plan fails. The coup involved getting help from the Dutch. Instead, the war minister who is also after the throne orders his men to board the Dutch ships for weapons. There is a flesh-eating zombie on the ship and one of the Joseon soldiers is bitten and gets infected. When he leaves the ship, he spreads the disease to others. The result? Joseon is overrun by flesh-eating zombies. This is much worse than going against the Qing from the outside and fighting political corruption from the inside.
In “Rampant”, the king of Joseon is weak and spineless. He whimpers and crawls in front of the Qing and pays tribute while his son, PrinceGang Lim, has been taken hostage. While in Qing, the prince enjoys himself to the fullest, partaking in the food and drink and mainly enjoying the beautiful women. He would rather not return home. Why should he? He won’t have any authority since his brother is the crown prince. Besides the women of Joseon are probably not as beautiful.
Back in Joseon, the crown prince tries to lead a rebellion. He did not wish to bow down to the Qing and made a deal with the Dutch to purchase weapons. However, the minister of war, Kim Ja Joon, discovered the plan and framed him as a traitor. In the end, the crown prince committed suicide. But not before sending word to his brother, Gang Lim, who was in Qing. He asked him to return and to protect his wife, the crown princess, and their unborn child. Gang Lim intended to honor his brother’s last wish but when he returns to Joseon he lands in Jemulpo, unaware of the danger that awaits him.
When Kim Ja Joon found out about the crown prince’s plan, he boarded the Dutch ship and took possession of the weapons. He planned to usurp the throne. On the ship, there was a man who was infected with a deadly disease that made him want to eat flesh. He was a zombie. One of the soldiers was bitten by him and infected. The soldier’s home was Jemulpo and when the soldier went home he killed or “ate” his wife and child and then began ravaging everyone else in his village. The ones infected who did not die became zombies just like him. It wasn’t long before the entire village was infested with “demons”.
Jemulpo was the first place Gang Lim arrived. He wondered why it was deserted and why nobody from the palace had come to greet him. When the night fell, the zombies came out. He couldn’t believe what he saw but his survival instinct kicked in and he started fighting for his life. Others were also fighting the flesh-eaters and they joined him. No sooner had he finished fighting the monsters, the assassins arrived. Gang Lim killed them all and decided to go to the palace, and find out what was going on!
Gang Lim’s arrival at the palace was a surprise to Kim Ja Joon because the minister of war thought that either the zombies had killed him or the assassins he sent had succeeded. But Gang Lim was alive and well. Instead of his father greeting him warmly, the king asked why he had come home. Gang Lim assured him that he had no interest in the throne. He only came back at his dead brother’s request to take the crown princess back to Qing with him.
Even though Gang Lim did not intend to stay in Joseon, he immediately assessed the situation in and out of the palace. Outside the palace, flesh-eating “demons” were running rampant and the infected population was growing. Inside the palace, there were “demons” in the form of corrupt nobles and court officials being led by Kim Ja Joon. Going back to Qing might not be possible for Gang Lim, since it was a very high probability that he would either be killed by the demons within or the demons without. One thing was certain, he wasn’t going to die easily.
Where to Watch Free: Samsung TV Plus On-Demand K-Content
My personal rating is the same as My Drama List.
I am rather surprised at some of the high ratings. This movie is barely less than 8 out of 10 stars. Perhaps an extra point was given for Hyun Bin. He looks so regal dressed in traditional Joseon clothing for royals.
“Rampant” was a box office bomb and received mixed reviews. But if you’re in the mood for a zombie flick or TV show to watch for Halloween, this movie ought to do it, even though you might not find the zombies very frightening.
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Well Go USA Entertainment. “RAMPANT (2018) Official Trailer | Menacing Korean Zombie Horror Thriller | Directed by Kim Sung-hoon” [Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJi3nYrXtv8.
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