GHOST TRAIN movie poster | ©2026 Well Go USA

Rating: Not Rated
Stars: Joo Hyun-young, Jeon Bae-soo, Choi Bo-min
Writer: Jo Ba-reun
Director: Tak Se-woong
Distributor: Well Go USA Entertainment
Release Date: February 17, 2026 (digital)

GHOST TRAIN could be described as an anthology, but since the framing device is also the primary narrative, it’s more like a horror story with a number of little side excursions.

Most of GHOST TRAIN is set in and around the (fictional) Gwanglim subway station in Seoul, Korea. We learn that 7.3 million people take the subway every day in Korea, but Gwanglim station has by far the highest rate of rider disappearances.

After an opening showing us an actual ghost train that does real damage, we’re introduced to Da-kyung (Joo Hyun-young), who has dubbed herself the Horror Queen. For those who wonder how big a deal YouTube is in non-English-speaking countries, GHOST TRAIN shows us that the online platform is huge in Korea, with offices full of people making their livings as vloggers.

Da-kyung is an ambitious young woman. Her horror channel ratings have dropped, but she hopes that, by getting the rundown on some plausible incidents from the station master (Jeon Bae-soo), she’ll be able to attract viewers again.

The station master protests that he thinks exploiting other people’s tragedies is reprehensible. He seems less impressed by Da-kyung’s conviction that the world has a right to know and more persuaded by bribes of exotic liquor (Da-kyung’s father is a brewmaster).

It seems odd (at least, the movie doesn’t comment on it) that, with subways conveying huge numbers of commuters daily, Gwanglim is so sparsely populated. Then again, the place’s reputation is such that we don’t know how it gets enough passengers to have its massive disappearance statistics in the first place.

This emptiness certainly ups the creepiness factor, as do the stark environments and lighting, shades of gray color schemes, and the way bits of the station master’s stories – a man banging his head against a wall, a nose bleed – keep showing up in Da-kyung’s visits to Gwanglim.

At the same time, Da-kyung pines for cheerful, handsome co-worker Woo-jin (Choi Bo-min) but worries that he may be more attracted to their high-rated beauty influencer. When the station master counsels Da-kyung to examine her own motives in chasing fame, will she listen?

What GHOST TRAIN lacks in big jump scares (there aren’t many), it makes up for in chill factor and some disturbing makeup and production design. Director Tak does a good job of making us feel like we’re trapped here along with the characters.

He also gets a wonderful performance from lead Joo, who is positively endearing each time she does her anxious, over-dramatic Horror Queen intro. Jeon handles the station master’s personal dichotomies – grumpy yet talkative, concerned yet remote – with sturdy precision.

GHOST TRAIN may not be the most terrifying or graphic quasi-anthology out there, but it’s satisfyingly moody and weird.

In Korean, with English subtitles.

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