One of the most underrated action movies of 2024,Badland Hunters, is essentially Netflix’s take on a gonzo, surreal,Mad Max-style post-apocalyptic thriller. Every once in a while,Netflix’s original movieswill deliver their own take on the plot and style of a classic action movie. The streamer will keep just enough of the original formula intact to attract its fans, but change just enough that it feels like its own thing and not just a shallow knock-off.
Rebel Moon, a sci-fi epic about a resistance force banding together to fight an evil empire, is Netflix’s version ofStar Wars.Carry-On, a Christmas actioner about an everyman hero foiling a terrorist plot around the holidays, is Netflix’s version ofDie Hard.Rebel Ridge, about a corrupt local police department’s manhunt for a highly capable war veteran, is Netflix’s version ofFirst Blood.Extraction, the high-octane action franchise about an unstoppable mercenary, is Netflix’s version ofJohn Wick. And 2024’sBadland Hunters, a bizarre post-apocalyptic thrill-ride, is Netflix’s version ofMad Max.
Badland Hunters Is A Post-Apocalyptic Action Movie Starring Ma Dong-seok
Badland Hunters Turns Seoul Into A Lawless Wasteland
Released on Netflix on Jul 16, 2025,Badland Huntersis a post-apocalyptic thriller and standalone sequel to the 2023 disaster movieConcrete Utopia. That movie saw a giant earthquake devastate Seoul, and inBadland Hunters, three years after that earthquake,the city has devolved into a lawless wasteland ruled by sadistic gangs.Badland Huntersmarked the directorial debut of Heo Myung-haeng, and it’s a heck of a debut — it has the sure-handed direction of a filmmaker who’s made a dozen apocalyptic actioners.
The story has the gonzo surrealism of Mad Max, with the emotions of The Last of Us.
Ma Dong-seok, also known as Don Lee— the breakout star ofTrain to Busanand standout star of Marvel Studios’Eternals— stars inBadland HuntersasNam-san, a ruthless wasteland hunter who defends helpless villagers from evil gangsters. When a twisted scientist who’s been experimenting on humans kidnaps a young girl from the village,Nam-san embarks on a dangerous quest to save her. The story has the gonzo surrealism ofMad Max, with the emotions ofThe Last of Us, and it’s just as great as that sounds.
Badland Hunters Added An Exciting Twist To The Post-Apocalyptic Movie Genre
It’s A Zombie Movie Where The Zombies Have Fight Choreography
WhileBadland Huntersborrows a lot from post-apocalyptic franchises likeMad MaxandThe Last of Us, it puts its own fresh spin on the genre.Badland Hunters’ post-apocalyptic wasteland isfilled with a mutant army made up of zombie-like creatures, but they’re not the usual mindless monsters seen inthe films of George A. Romero;they’re coordinated fighters who get into a lot of hand-to-hand, well-choreographed action. It’s not especially groundbreaking, but it makes for a fun, unique action horror movie.
Badland Hunters
Cast
Badland Hunters is a South Korean action film directed by Heo Myung-haeng and released in 2024 and is the sequel to 2023’s Concrete Utopia. After Seoul is nearly annihilated following an earthquake and the land is turned into a lawless wasteland, a retired hunter named Nam-san returns to the field to save a teenager helped captive by a mad doctor and a group of cultists.
