We’ve gotta give it to director Kongkiat Komesiri for going all ambitious with Operation Undead. It’s a zombie film alright, and it does come with all the usual tropes—blood, gore, and violence in plenty. It carries an unmistakable unhingedness that’s often seen in Southeast Asian genre cinema. But unlike most zombie affairs, things are drastically different here. This is not a story about an apocalyptic world where a bunch of humans have to kill these brainless monsters in order to survive. Instead, the zombies are sort of heroes in this story that doesn’t shy away from using its war backdrop to the fullest. Operation Undead is not quite fun, has a rather depressing ending, and much of it drags, which makes it difficult for me to call it a good film, no matter how much I appreciate the effort. Let us take a closer look at the plot and clear your confusions, in case you have any.
Spoilers Ahead
What happens in the movie?
This is a story set in Thailand during the Second World War. Right after finding out his fiancée, Pen, is pregnant, Corporal Mek from the Thai army is informed that the country is under attack from the Japanese, and he has to immediately report for duty. Mek’s brother Mok, who’s a junior soldier, is also called upon for military duty. Unlike Mek, who puts his country before everything and proudly joined the army some years ago, Mok’s heart is not into it. All he cares about is his family—his mother, Mek, and Pen. When the captain of their troop comes to their home to take Mek and Mok away, the corporal goes without hesitation, but his younger brother flees. Their mother, Tran, is not quite happy about both of her sons getting called for war, especially given her husband is no more. The captain does mention that Mek and Mok’s father was a traitor (it’s not revealed what he did).
Mok might have got away, but little did he know about the terror that was awaiting him. If you think the Japanese soldiers are the threat here, then you’re wrong. The real deal is this bioweapon, Fumetsu-A-44, which basically works contagiously when the host bites into another person. The Japanese have a host, Nobu, on whom they’re experimenting with the severity of the weapon. The trouble begins when Nobu infects one of the Thai soldiers, and from there on, it’s complete chaos, and Mok becomes a victim of that.
Does Mok go on a killing spree?
This is where Operation Undead proves that it’s a different ball game. Mok does turn into a zombie who has his regular flesh-eating urges, but his consciousness is not completely gone yet. And that’s the same for everyone who has turned. They do remember who they are while fighting the uncontrollable hunger for human flesh. For some, though, it becomes a problem controlling the unholy desire. There’s this horrifying scene of an infected Thai soldier literally chomping on a fellow soldier’s face. As time passes, the carnage only intensifies, and this becomes a concern for both the Japanese and Thai armies.
Realizing the experiment has not gone as per the plan, the Japanese bring in Captain Nakamura and his task force that is literally called ‘force of destruction’ to take care of the situation. As most of the zombies are Thai soldiers, the Thai military has no option but to work with the Japanese. Quite naturally, Mek has to join an operation that can potentially end his brother. Well, Mok is no longer who he was, but in this story, zombies are not mindless monsters. The similarity with Warm Bodies in that aspect is unmistakable, though I wouldn’t blame this movie for going that way.Â
Does Mek also turn into a zombie?
Here comes the shocker. After Mok suffered that kind of fate, nobody probably expected Mek to also turn into the same thing as his brother. But this movie dares to go there. Although, logically, this is something that was going to happen anyway; because Fumetsu-A-44 is already out of control, and no matter what Nakamura believes, he is unable to contain it. Mek probably would have survived for a little more time had he not pursued Mok. With the Japanese deliberately killing another turned soldier, Sak’s family, in order to instigate him (and then kill him), complete chaos breaks down. As the Thai soldiers were already facing the dilemma of killing their fellow countrymen because of what they’ve become, this only worsens the situation. The Japanese and Thai soldiers turn against each other. Mek and Mok’s captain dies, as do many other Thai soldiers. This is when Mek spots his brother and shoots him, hoping to end his suffering. Not only does he fail, Mok ends up biting his brother and turning him into a zombie.
Do Mok and the other zombies manage to save the villagers?
Concluding the situation has gone completely out of their control, Nakamura comes up with the only solution warmongers like him could contemplate: kill the villagers, who are mostly the families of the (now zombie) soldiers. Killing all the humans would mean no evidence of anything, which would save the skins of the Japanese. Except they fail to recognize that their own weapon has turned quite a threat for them. There are way too many zombie Thai soldiers now, who are uniting together to do what’s needed to be done to the Japanese. Their advantage is they can’t be killed easily. Despite Mok telling him not to, Mek turns Pen into a zombie only to stab and end her for good. Mek seems to not handle his new situation as well as his brother. Mok, on the other hand, becomes pretty determined about saving the remaining human villagers from the Japanese. This only shows the kind of growth he had over the course of the story.
So that’s exactly how it goes. The army of the undead faces Nakamura’s Japanese army and makes a feast out of them. The villagers survive and get a new lease of life thanks to all these zombies. In the end, Mok has no choice but to use a bazooka and destroy everyone, including Mek, with fire. His own fate remains unclear, but considering everything, I don’t think there’s much hope left for our hero.
