Emergency Declaration: A Gripping Blend of Genres
Passengers and crew aboard a flight from Incheon to Honolulu find themselves in a terrifying situation: a biological attack. An unknown virus is rapidly spreading through the cabin, claiming the lives of those infected. A government task force, led by the Minister of Transport, desperately seeks a way to evacuate the people trapped in the airborne nightmare, but no airport is willing to accept the plane. As the condition of those on board deteriorates and fuel runs low, the situation becomes critical, leaving the doomed passengers with only hope for a miracle.
So-jin Kim as Kim in a still from “Emergency Declaration”
“Emergency Declaration,” a disaster film, skillfully blends different genres. The suspense of a thriller is interwoven with the intrigue of a detective story, heightened by the sentimentality of a drama. From the opening scenes, it’s clear that the source of the biological threat is a strange young man who suspiciously asks an airport employee which flight has the most passengers. It soon becomes apparent that the terrorist has a specific goal: to release a deadly virus on board the plane “just because it’s fun.”
A Race Against Time
While the passengers remain blissfully unaware, a detective plot unfolds on the ground, typical of South Korean genre cinema. Even before the ill-fated flight is fully boarded, the Incheon police receive a tip about a possible terrorist attack. The investigation reveals that the biological attack is the work of Ryu Jin-seok (Im Si-wan), a microbiologist fired from a major pharmaceutical company, who thoughtfully posted a video message online outlining his wicked plan to kill innocent passengers. From this point on, the film becomes not only a classic detective story but also a poignant drama, as the frantic police officer, Koo In-ho (Song Kang-ho), has his beloved wife on board the doomed plane.
Song Kang-ho as Koo In-ho in a still from “Emergency Declaration”
Familiar Tropes, Fresh Execution
Among the passengers, particular attention is given to a single father, Park Jae-hyuk (Lee Byung-hun), who is taking his young daughter, Soo-min, to Hawaii. Other passengers include a group of frightened schoolgirls and a selfish individual who prioritizes his own safety above the rescue of others. In other words, a standard cast of characters for a journey in any similar film. Characters with similar traits appeared in the film’s close relative, the South Korean hit “Train to Busan,” although there isn’t a pregnant woman on board this aircraft. The homages to the popular zombie horror film don’t end there. For example, the scene preceding the outbreak of the virus in “Emergency Declaration” strongly resembles scenes from “Busan,” in which a girl also tries to get to the restroom but is beaten to it by one of the passengers. Some similarity can also be seen in the episode with the aforementioned selfish man, ruthlessly pushing people with symptoms of infection to the back of the cabin for the sake of a “safe zone.”
So-jin Kim as Kim in a still from “Emergency Declaration”
Avoiding the Undead Trope
In “Emergency Declaration,” the dead do not return, so the already tense conditions for survival do not turn into a bloody massacre with flesh-eaters. Moreover, the Americans already made such a movie fifteen years ago. The idea of a zombie virus on board an airplane was embodied in the horror film “Flight of the Living Dead.” This film, in turn, became a kind of parody of the action film “Snakes on a Plane,” released a year earlier, in which a flight from Honolulu was terrorized by aggressive vipers.
Unexpected plot parallels in “Emergency Declaration” can also be drawn with “Airplane!” by Jim Abrahams and the Zucker brothers, and some visual techniques clearly resemble Christopher Nolan’s “Inception.”
A Worthy Addition to the Disaster Genre
Of course, a contained thriller with a possible fatal outcome is a well-worn trope. Nevertheless, the creators of “Emergency Declaration” have managed to create a decent alternative to numerous disaster films. The Koreans are unparalleled in the genre of detective thrillers, which is why even such a trite topic as an emergency situation on an airplane evokes genuine interest.
Im Si-wan as Jin-seok in a still from “Emergency Declaration”
This film is notable primarily for its stellar cast. The police detective is played by the main character of the Oscar-winning “Parasite,” Song Kang-ho. The role of the single father went to a frequent guest of American action films and the central character of the bloody thriller “I Saw the Devil,” Lee Byung-hun. The image of the microbiologist-terrorist was embodied by a member of the K-Pop group ZE:A, also known as the actor in the series “Strangers from Hell,” Im Si-wan.
Throughout the film, director Han Jae-rim masterfully builds tension, and towards the end, he arranges real emotional roller coasters for the audience. At one point, what is happening on the screen cuts off the oxygen to the viewers, and a symphony of sighs and sobs sweeps through the hall. The film should have ended there, it would have been much more powerful. However, instead, the director continues to waste film for another fifteen minutes of running time, during which the situation radically changes in favor of the passengers, but not a strong ending. I want to deduct a few points for the banal plot and subjectively weak ending, but overall, “Emergency Declaration” has proven itself quite worthy.