R-Point [DVD] [2004]: Amazon.co.uk: Kam Woo-Sung, Sohn Byung-Ho, Oh Tae-Kyung, Su-Chang Kong: DVD

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Synopsis

It's 1972. Six months ago on an island situated south of Ho Chi Minh City and known as R-Point, nine Korean soldiers went missing. A radio transmission requesting help is still heard every evening... Now a rescue party - nine soldiers, has nine days to rescue the missing... Korean dialogue with subtitles.

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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

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3.7 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Soo-Yung! Wait for me!", 11 Jul 2006

By	G. Stancer "jiko_konrei" (Just left of Nowhere) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

What with the explosion of soul-less American remakes of Asian films beginning to die out, now would be a good time to catch the few films which are still untouched by the blockbuster treatment. It is with a sad sigh that this film will probably be remade into a glossy American, high budget affair with lots of attractive Americans posing in designer stubble. And this will be a real shame, as one thing that Eastern horror films stands head and shoulders above their American copies is their use of space and tension over gore and special effects.

Where Asian horror films succeed is their use of waiting. Like the old adage that the journey is better than the destination, most of the fear lies in waiting for the actual moment, rather than the moment itself. The human mind and its imagination is a powerful tool, and the makers of R-Point clearly understand this. Instead of trying to scare the viewer by showing whatever it maybe that is doing the scaring, the film piles on the atmosphere by keeping it hidden, using location and the viewers own imagination to make it uncomfortable to watch. Visual scenes of horror are few and far between, but where the film works is in its apprehension, the tension that builds as clues are dropped as too what maybe going on.

Another victory is scored through the script, as in not the spoken dialogue, but the way in which completely innocent events which happened previously are shown later to be excatly the opposite. This is nothing new in film making, but placed in such a forboding enviroment it starts to play tricks on the mind, and the thoughts that accompany film watching are scrambled and eventually you start to become as confused and bewildered as the protagonists in the film.
If you are used horror being about any of the following: oceans of blood, knives, prom queen virgins, homicidal dolls, dumb American jocks, stupid police, spooky sanitriums, quiet suburban streets, daft hysteria, and having everything explained so you know what is going on, then you should look elsewhere.
If, however, you are clever enough to appreciate the creativity and imagination that goes into creating a unique piece of true psychological horror, then watch this quickly before America bumbles in and takes away everything that makes it special.

NB: A couple of people have mocked the silliness of the script, but bear in mind it is made in Korea and so reflects the way Koreans speak, not the way English speak. ( some people obviously expect everything to revolve around them ) This is no way detracts from the film itself.

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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars apocalypse now meets catch22 meets juon meets reservoir dogs, 5 Feb 2006

By	D. Johnson "D.J" (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This film is by far the strangest horror film i've seen in a while!

It blends dark humour, with at times, harsh realism, whilst simultaneously integrating an underlying sense of unease.

The basic plot is essentially, that these fairly inexperienced soldiers are placed under the command of the suspicious, seemingly disturbed anti-hero of the film.

Their mission is to go to point 'R', find the missing squad, and bring them back all in time for supper. their incentive for this mission, is that they will all be relieved of active duty in Vietnam and sent home on an aeroplane back to their loved ones, should they succeed.

However, as you'd expect, nothing is as it seems in point 'r', and things quickly start to turn ugly...

"R-Point" is an eclectic blend of dark, sometimes Milligan-esque humour, with gritty realism and often very disconcerting imagery and sound effects. "R-Point" is quite an anti-war film, portraying very human characters, in almost hyperbolic way in order to get across the uniqueness of each character, and the way in which each character copes with the effects of war as well as the horrors of r-point. The camera work and special effects are very good, and the violence is sparse and so, always a bit of a shock when it does happen. The actors work very well together and the sense of foreboding never lets up once it starts.

There are a few negative points, e.g as the parts towards the end
and personally, i think they could have made some parts last a little longer to increase unease, but i guess that's just me.

In all honesty though, this is a thoroughly enjoyable film, and i
recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good psychological thriller or horror film, and who has an eye for spotting subtle film references. There are some amazingly dark set-pieces, and some original twists, as well as some very humorous dialogue, however, anyone expecting copious amounts of violence and very little dialogue may not necessarily enjoy it!

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Ghost Horror , 8 Aug 2006

By	Green Man Music "green-man-music" (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This Korean horror film is the story of a unit of soldiers searching for a missing unit of comrades in a remote area who find shelter in a derelict oriental palace during a terrible storm.

It soon becomes clear that evil lurks close at hand. As if the unit stumbling into a lake full of dead bodies and finding a graveyard wasn't enough, the unit's commander has sightings of a woman luring him out of the palace into a storm while the entire unit is visited by a mysterious American patrol who walk out of the night.

The team are steadily driven crazy by an increasing number of weird encounters and happenings including strange messages coming through on their radio and the sudden realisation that not all of their company are who they seem to be.

R-point mixes classic western ghost-storytelling with oriental horror to provide a wonderfully eerie portrayal of a unit of soldiers in a remote location at the mercy of the supernatural.

The acting quality varies, the unit's commander pulling off a good portrayal of a man trying to keep order and calm in the face of inexplicable adversaries. However the portrayal of his unit occasionaly veers off to the camp/theatrical - despite the circumstances one still wouldn't expect trained soldiers to be squealing and crying every time they saw a corpse.

Nevertheless, it's a well thought out story drip-fed with strange encounters and twists and turns throughout, ensuring a good creepy pace and demanding the viewer's full attention.

It's also blessed with an exciting and an interesting finale.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Must have for fans of horror

R-Point tells the story of a South Korean expeditionary army division sent to fight in the Vietnam war. Read more

Published 4 months ago by M. McManus

4.0 out of 5 stars Spooky Korean horror
The radio operator from Buffalo patrol, all of who are missing presumed dead,sends a message to the South Korean base in Nah-Trang, Vietnam requesting immediate help. Read more

Published 12 months ago by Mr. Jonathon T. Beckett

2.0 out of 5 stars Just another Deathwatch in the Keep's Bunker...
Heard the one about the army unit that comes across a haunted Keep/bunker/trench/rest home and find themselves killing each other as their past sins find them out? Read more

Published 23 months ago by Trevor Willsmer

3.0 out of 5 stars R Pointless but entertaining
R Point is an entertaining film that never manages to step outside the conventions and expectations of its genre. Read more

Published on 15 Feb 2007 by Mr. C. Moore

4.0 out of 5 stars One crappy bit but the rest is good...
Was going to get it off here but it was shown of Film4 recently. The story isn't exactly fantastic but still gripping and interesting. Read more

Published on 18 Aug 2006 by S. Felsted

2.0 out of 5 stars Derivative and uninspiring stuff
Korean cinema recently has been outstanding, producing films that are brave, innovative and thrilling. So R-Point is a tremendous disappointment. Read more

Published on 13 Aug 2006 by Private

3.0 out of 5 stars A few shocks but no big bangs
I did anjoy the movie but I think I expected much more.
A platoon of soldiers is sent out to locate or at least find some evidence of a platoon that went missing at... Read more

Published on 11 Aug 2006 by Jackie Coupe

1.0 out of 5 stars R for rotten
Blimey there's some hype flying around in the reviews for this!
Bog standard story, Korean soldiers sent to investigate 'mysterious spooky island' to find previous group,... Read more

Published on 7 Jun 2006 by Mr. David Halliday

5.0 out of 5 stars Genuine terror!
This is the scariest film that i have ever seen. R-point has a genuinly creepy atmosphere throughout. Read more

Published on 20 May 2006 by Phillip Fry

4.0 out of 5 stars Creepy and memorable
A brilliant Korean war-movie cum ghost-story. Creepy and compelling, this is a film that lingers in the mind long after it has run its course. Read more

Published on 14 May 2006 by Mr. Warren M. Fisher

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	81% buy the item featured on this page: R-Point [DVD] [2004] 3.7 out of 5 stars (14) �6.98
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R-Point [DVD] [2004]

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