Train to Busan

I like a horror set-up that takes something ordinary and makes the sensible options disappear. Train to Busan puts passengers on a train from Seoul to Busan as a zombie outbreak begins. Getting off ought to be the obvious answer. Suddenly, even the thought of the next stop feels less comforting.

For me, the frightening part is having so little room to think while everyone around you needs to make decisions. A train has a timetable; panic has other ideas. This is the kind of fear that makes a journey feel much longer than it is, even when all you know is where the train is meant to end up. I would put my coffee down for that, which is about as serious as I get.

Choose it for a dark night when you want to feel properly tense rather than gently unsettled. It suits someone who likes a survival story and can bear the idea of being stuck with other people when things go wrong. If your preferred scare is a faint noise upstairs and plenty of time to investigate it, save this for a braver evening. Make your hot drink first. At least one part of the night can go to plan.