Wasteland Hunters is a dystopian action film from South Korean martial arts director Heo Myung-haeng, set in a post-earthquake Seoul where everything from skyscrapers to society has collapsed. In the chaos, an intrepid hunter sets out to rescue a teenager who has been kidnapped by a crazed doctor and held captive in a camp full of dangerous cultists.
That's hard enough, but our hero Nam-san (played by the always fantastic Don Lee of The eternal and Train to Busan) may have bitten off more than he can chew: As if the wandering mobs of bad guys weren't enough, it turns out our hero also needs to fight a bunch of things that are just as deadly and considerably deadlier. These ingredients (and the trailer below) mean it's one of the new Netflix movies this year that's definitely piquing our interest.
Badlands Hunter looks like another South Korean hit
If the trailer is any indication we're in for some proper, shocking, aaagh-they-want-your-brain fun.
Wasteland Hunters is one of the fruits of Netflix's investment in South Korean talent, which has also brought us shows like black knight. Post-apocalyptic chaos seems to be a common theme so far, because it also takes place in a grim dystopia after a massive disaster, in that case, a meteorite impact. It has been very successful and Wasteland Hunters may do the same – after all, who doesn't love a high-octane actioner in a deeply dystopian world where almost all our heroes encounter is trying to kill them, starring one of the most charismatic actors in the game present?
The hope here (and it's a comparison that some YouTube commenters have noted) is that Wasteland Hunters It has the same quality as Don Lee's zombie thriller Train to Busan, which is a favorite of the TechRadar team. It currently sits at a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, with one critic calling it “the best zombie apocalypse movie of all time.” That had a different director, and Wasteland Hunters It seems to have a bigger and more epic scope, if it's even half as good then it'll be a good candidate for our list of the best Netflix movies.
Wasteland Hunters will stream on Netflix worldwide starting January 26.
