Film Review: Operation Undead (2024) by Kongkiat Komesiri

“Operation Undead” is an excellent zombie movie, both for the action and horror, but also for its anti-war and historic comments

As we have mentioned before, the zombie genre is one that has been done to death throughout the history of modern cinema. However, a number of filmmakers who still decide to deal with the concept, manage to find new elements to add, in one of the reasons zombies keep going (pun intended). Thai Kongkiat Komesiri is definitely among those. 

The film begins in 1939, during World War II in Chumphon Province, where Mek, a new sergeant, just learns that his girlfriend is pregnant. In the meantime, his younger brother, Mok, is in the Youth Soldier unit, and as war has not yet hit the area, spends his time having fun and shenanigans with his fellow soldiers. Alas, it is at that moment that the Japanese forces approach the area, and the whole population face death and destruction. The Japanese, however, apart from taking over the province for strategic reasons, they have also decided to test a new biological weapon on the locals. The result is a superhuman horde of Thai soldiers that function like zombies, but a number of them still retain their conscience. Not to mention they have a leader. Eventually, Thai and Japanese forces declare a ceasefire to deal with the threat, and Mek receives a special covert mission to clean up the area alongside a Japanese combat unit, unaware that this might include his own brother.

The uniqueness of Kongkiat Komesiri’s approach to the zombie trope is actually multifold. Evidently, the most obvious one is the fact that the zombies still have a brain and can think and feel, while the fact that they are organized under the leadership of a ‘commander’ adds even more to the threat they present to the humans. More impressively though, is the way the filmmakers use zombies to show the dehumanizing nature of war, or even civil war one could say, as this time brother faces brother. Furthermore, the accusation towards the Japanese for the experiments using humans they undertook during the various military expeditions, is also palpable.

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Lastly, and probably even more impressively, the parallel with Thai history during WW2 is quite eloquent in a rather intelligent approach. Thailand actually made an agreement with the Japanese that led to an armistice and military alliance treaty that allowed the passage of Japanese troops towards British-held Malaya and Burma. After the invasion, the cooperation continued, and eventually led to the government splitting into two factions, one Pro-Japan and and pro-Allies. As the actual war hit the country very briefly, the victims were very few but Thais suffered deaths due to diseases that reached more than 5,500 thousand. Evidently, the parallel with the story could not be more obvious. 

All the aforementioned, as much as the impact of what the two armies and the zombies are doing on the area, to the locals, induce the movie with an intense sense of drama, which works quite well most of the time. Unfortunately, on a number of occasions, and more towards the end, the movie goes into intensely melodramatic paths, something that definitely detracts from its impact. At the same time, this element, the zombies, and the anti-Japanese sentiment is probably what will make the movie popular in Korea, with K-Movie entertainment already having purchased the rights.

The acting by the two main protagonists is quite good. Nonkul as Mek and Awat Ratanapintha as Mok are quite good in their antithetical roles, while handling the drama in a style fitting to the overall approach of the narrative. Supitcha Sangkhachinda as Mek’s girlfriend is also good, particularly in the dramatic parts. 

Expectedly, though, “Operation Undead” is also about the action, and in that regard, it definitely thrives. The zombies look as scary as possible, with the occasionally frantic editing that results in sequences of thunderous speed adding much to this element. The brutality is found in large proportions, adding to the entertainment the movie offers, in a style that zombie lovers will definitely appreciate. The sound is also greatly implemented, adding to the agony and tension, while the job done in the cinematography does not omit highlighting the beauties of the area.

Despite the fact that it definitely goes a bit too strong on the melodrama, “Operation Undead” is an excellent zombie movie, both for the action and horror, but also for its anti-war and historic comments that definitely deem it a stand out in the category.