Get yourself ready for a two-hour tense military horror “GP506” or The Guard Post 506 that will revolves around an unexplained mass killing of a whole squad of soldiers stationed at Guard Post 506 inside the demilitarized zone. Isolating the audience in the restricted area of no man's land at the border of North and South Korea, writer/director Kong Su Chang's begin his second feature film following his acclaimed horror “R-Point,” which was the highest-grossing Korean horror film of 2004. “GP506” also made a pretty good result when it’s debuting at #1 spot at the Korean box office on its opening week. Technically, “GP506” is not classified as a horror film but a mystery instead. But I dare you to watch it and then say that it isn’t a horror one. Just don’t go into it expecting to find any a long-haired ghost with vengeance on her mind like many Asian horrors out there–there is nary a one. Nor will you find any other conventions that plague the horror movie genre. But you will be horrified by what is happening–there were some sequences that will makes your eyes almost closed–afraid of what was coming but unable to look away. No man's land since July 27, 1953, the demilitarized zone (DMZ) remains unspoiled by humans, where rare _ and probably many unknown ― flora and fauna flourish. It's a haven for endangered wildlife, but it's also where unique viruses like the hantavirus are found. It's a real place but is shrouded with so much mystery that it allows room for fictional fantasies to take flight. While “GP506” begins like a typical Agatha Christie thriller, it has a touch of ``Alien 4'' or ``Silent Hill'' as it solely takes place within the claustrophobic labyrinth of “GP506.” Once again, this film is not recommended for weak stomachs: be prepared for lots of gore and explosive sound effects complete with an actual K2 grenade launcher.
On the 38th parallel, between the two Koreas, lies the last remnant of the Cold War. "Demilitarized" zone is perhaps the most improper name for one of the most heavily fortified places on Earth. On the south side is the tightly contained Guard Post 506 (GP506), where armed soldiers stay alert for possible aggressions from the North.
One rainy evening, sergeant major Noh Seong-gyu is called to attend to an emergency. A massacre has occurred within GP506, leaving 20 dead and one unconscious. The 30-year veteran and 20 others are dispatched to investigate the bloodbath.
It's a messy situation. There are no signs of external attack and the corpses are mostly unidentifiable. The entire Defense Ministry is on fire because the commander of GP506, first lieutenant Yu Jeong-u, happens to be the army chief's son. They have less than 10 hours to wrap up the case and bring back Yu's body.
Corporeal Gang Jin-won, found with an axe in hand and now lying in a coma, is naturally the prime suspect. "I will now kill our entire unit. We must all be dead by the time this is discovered," says a disturbed-looking Gang in a self-taped video. It seems like another spur of the moment act by a soldier gone mad.
Due to the downpour, the investigation team too becomes trapped in the GP. Noh, however, realizes that there are only 19 dead bodies. The soldiers search the maze-like GP and find lieutenant Yu, alive and traumatized. The 6 a.m. deadline draws near, but Yu refuses to break his silence and tries to escape, violently and to no avail.
Yet, as Noh looks into the case, it becomes clear that there is more to it than what appears on the surface. Bizarre happenings had crippled GP506 long before the killings, but critical files have been destroyed and Yu does everything in his power to keep things hidden. Deeper into the night, one ominous secret unravels after another and the 21 investigative soldiers are doomed to face a similar fate.
Indicator Stars: 3,5 stars out of 5
DVD statistics:
Product Title :The Guard Post 506 (AKA: GP506) (DVD) (Limited Edition) (Korea Version)
Region Code :Region 3
Picture Format :NTSC
Artist Name(s) :Cho Hyun Jae | Kong Su Chang | Cheon Ho Jin
Release Date :July 5, 2008 ( Order your copy here )
Language :Korean
Subtitle :Korean, English
Package Weight :200 g
Publisher :KD MEDIA
Number of Discs :2 DVDs
This edition comes with the following special features:
• Commentaries by Director Kong Su Chang, Producer Kim Wan Sik, Cheon Ho Jin, Cho Hyun Jae
• Making of The Guard Post 506
• Arts and Settings
• Costumes, Props, Special Effects
• Making of Storyline
• Theatrical Trailer
• Sneak Preview
• Photo Gallery
"I served in the army under Korea's military regime", Kong said. "During that time, the government was in total control".
Kong was a Korean language and literature major who enjoyed keeping a diary while in the military service. The government constantly inspected that diary.
Kong wanted to share his observations of social irregularities in the army on the big screen.
"Young soldiers are pushed to the limit in the army", Kong said. "These are stories that go behind the extremes".
Kong wanted the film to look as real as possible.
"That's why no female characters were cast — there are no women at the guard posts", Kong said.
The film's studio set was created to look as realistic as possible.
Since The Guard Post is an isolated area, the film crew couldn't even visit the zone for the film.
But Kong had once visited the post while serving in the military. His assistant director and several members of the film crew had also served in the military at guard posts. To supplement their memories, Kong arranged an interview with a former guard post sergeant and collected information from photos.
"Above all, the scenes had to look real, but I also wanted them to be grotesque and artistic", Kong said.
Though the film is a mystery thriller the focus isn't on finding the killer.
Before rehearsals at the studio, the actors fell in two rows, just as in the military.
True to the strict, regimented nature of the military, the film focuses instead on how people respond to life's limits.
"When writing the screenplay, I wanted Jo [the actor] to be like French actor Alain Delon's character from 'Purple Noon'," Kong said, referring to the 1960 film.
In Purple Noon, which was remade as the 1999 American film "The Talented Mr. Ripley", Delon's character Tom Ripley kills his friend, suffers intense mental delusions and begins to take on the Dead Friend's persona.
Jo had to similarly delude himself.
Apart from characters and studio setting, Kong was aware of the historic significance of The Guard Post, which symbolizes the tragic division of South and North Korea.
Kong noted a cut scene from The Guard Post that talked about "a rabbit in a submarine".
"In the past, people put a rabbit inside a submarine to check how dense the air was", Kong said.
Rabbits are more sensitive to oxygen than people. Thus if the rabbit died, it meant there wasn't enough oxygen in the submarine.
Kong explained that the submarine symbolizes the country, and The Guard Post, a rabbit. In a way, a rabbit in a submarine is like society, according to Kong.
"It could be a logical leap but I wanted to bring out how The Guard Post is isolated today".
For Korean youngsters, Kong says, the army is like The Guard Post.
"It [serving in the army] is a bitter experience. It places a wall between members of society".
So what's next on his to-do list?
Kong says he's involved in a story about the secret service in Southeast Asia.
"There's no special reason — it [the secret service] has always been a subject I dreamt to depict", he said.
(Source: YesAsia, Koreanfilm, Koreatimes, joongangdaily)
The Twilight Zone: In Love With the Dead, Shadows in the Palace, The Detective, Epitaph, Naraka 19, The Cut
On the 38th parallel, between the two Koreas, lies the last remnant of the Cold War. "Demilitarized" zone is perhaps the most improper name for one of the most heavily fortified places on Earth. On the south side is the tightly contained Guard Post 506 (GP506), where armed soldiers stay alert for possible aggressions from the North.
One rainy evening, sergeant major Noh Seong-gyu is called to attend to an emergency. A massacre has occurred within GP506, leaving 20 dead and one unconscious. The 30-year veteran and 20 others are dispatched to investigate the bloodbath.
It's a messy situation. There are no signs of external attack and the corpses are mostly unidentifiable. The entire Defense Ministry is on fire because the commander of GP506, first lieutenant Yu Jeong-u, happens to be the army chief's son. They have less than 10 hours to wrap up the case and bring back Yu's body.
Corporeal Gang Jin-won, found with an axe in hand and now lying in a coma, is naturally the prime suspect. "I will now kill our entire unit. We must all be dead by the time this is discovered," says a disturbed-looking Gang in a self-taped video. It seems like another spur of the moment act by a soldier gone mad.
Due to the downpour, the investigation team too becomes trapped in the GP. Noh, however, realizes that there are only 19 dead bodies. The soldiers search the maze-like GP and find lieutenant Yu, alive and traumatized. The 6 a.m. deadline draws near, but Yu refuses to break his silence and tries to escape, violently and to no avail.
Yet, as Noh looks into the case, it becomes clear that there is more to it than what appears on the surface. Bizarre happenings had crippled GP506 long before the killings, but critical files have been destroyed and Yu does everything in his power to keep things hidden. Deeper into the night, one ominous secret unravels after another and the 21 investigative soldiers are doomed to face a similar fate.
Indicator Stars: 3,5 stars out of 5
DVD statistics:
Product Title :The Guard Post 506 (AKA: GP506) (DVD) (Limited Edition) (Korea Version)Region Code :Region 3
Picture Format :NTSC
Artist Name(s) :Cho Hyun Jae | Kong Su Chang | Cheon Ho Jin
Release Date :July 5, 2008 ( Order your copy here )
Language :Korean
Subtitle :Korean, English
Package Weight :200 g
Publisher :KD MEDIA
Number of Discs :2 DVDs
This edition comes with the following special features:
• Commentaries by Director Kong Su Chang, Producer Kim Wan Sik, Cheon Ho Jin, Cho Hyun Jae
• Making of The Guard Post 506
• Arts and Settings
• Costumes, Props, Special Effects
• Making of Storyline
• Theatrical Trailer
• Sneak Preview
• Photo Gallery
"I served in the army under Korea's military regime", Kong said. "During that time, the government was in total control".
Kong was a Korean language and literature major who enjoyed keeping a diary while in the military service. The government constantly inspected that diary.
Kong wanted to share his observations of social irregularities in the army on the big screen.
"Young soldiers are pushed to the limit in the army", Kong said. "These are stories that go behind the extremes".
Kong wanted the film to look as real as possible.
"That's why no female characters were cast — there are no women at the guard posts", Kong said.
The film's studio set was created to look as realistic as possible.
Since The Guard Post is an isolated area, the film crew couldn't even visit the zone for the film.
But Kong had once visited the post while serving in the military. His assistant director and several members of the film crew had also served in the military at guard posts. To supplement their memories, Kong arranged an interview with a former guard post sergeant and collected information from photos.
"Above all, the scenes had to look real, but I also wanted them to be grotesque and artistic", Kong said.
Though the film is a mystery thriller the focus isn't on finding the killer.
Before rehearsals at the studio, the actors fell in two rows, just as in the military.
True to the strict, regimented nature of the military, the film focuses instead on how people respond to life's limits.
"When writing the screenplay, I wanted Jo [the actor] to be like French actor Alain Delon's character from 'Purple Noon'," Kong said, referring to the 1960 film.
In Purple Noon, which was remade as the 1999 American film "The Talented Mr. Ripley", Delon's character Tom Ripley kills his friend, suffers intense mental delusions and begins to take on the Dead Friend's persona.
Jo had to similarly delude himself.
Apart from characters and studio setting, Kong was aware of the historic significance of The Guard Post, which symbolizes the tragic division of South and North Korea.
Kong noted a cut scene from The Guard Post that talked about "a rabbit in a submarine".
"In the past, people put a rabbit inside a submarine to check how dense the air was", Kong said.
Rabbits are more sensitive to oxygen than people. Thus if the rabbit died, it meant there wasn't enough oxygen in the submarine.
Kong explained that the submarine symbolizes the country, and The Guard Post, a rabbit. In a way, a rabbit in a submarine is like society, according to Kong.
"It could be a logical leap but I wanted to bring out how The Guard Post is isolated today".
For Korean youngsters, Kong says, the army is like The Guard Post.
"It [serving in the army] is a bitter experience. It places a wall between members of society".
So what's next on his to-do list?
Kong says he's involved in a story about the secret service in Southeast Asia.
"There's no special reason — it [the secret service] has always been a subject I dreamt to depict", he said.
(Source: YesAsia, Koreanfilm, Koreatimes, joongangdaily)
The Twilight Zone: In Love With the Dead, Shadows in the Palace, The Detective, Epitaph, Naraka 19, The Cut
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