The Guard Post (2008)

Just so...so bad

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

I really dig this 'Genre' of Horror films where there is a military 'Outpost' or 'Bunker' somewhere, and something is amiss...Immediately I was frigg'n blown away by just the sheer look of the film. The Blu-ray was SO damn sharp and dimensional, that I fully expected the soldiers to walk right out into my living room at any time! It was absolutely LOVELY to look at. And the Dark Blue tones and lighting were done very well.One thing though... and you will likely be able to tell this by some of the other reviewers' Summaries here. This is a VERY SLOW-building, suspenseful Horror film. Those who prefer a lot of fast action or continuous mayhem will likely find it pretty slow and boring. BUT... if you don't mind, or like me, actually really enjoy the slow-burn type of Horror films, you will probably like it.Another real strong element in this film is that it is such a DAMN Mystery. There were several places along the story where I'm thinking, 'What the hell just happened?' Or, there are places where you almost swear that they show multiple flash-backs, but the same scenes are somehow different, GREATLY adding to the sense of Mystery and Suspense. Without giving anything away, I THINK that at the end the audience pretty much knows WHAT the primary 'Cause' of everything was. But, to me it was a little confusing at times as to exactly WHO was doing WHAT? Especially with the multiple flashbacks.Ultimately, I felt that the film was paced very well, with a nice, slow-burn building of Suspense and Terror as to what the hell was going on. The primary actor was very good too, and I think that 'Through' his eyes, the audience really feels and experiences what is going on in a more visceral way.I won't give away what it is that is behind what's happening, but I will say that it was a little bit different of an approach than many of the other similar films of it's type. I personally probably prefer the 'Other' approach more so, just for my preference and taste, but even though this one came from another angle, I still felt that there was a good, strong sense of Mystery, particularly, and I felt that the director and actors did an excellent job!I would say that if you are familiar with movies like this, and IF you don't mind a bit of a slow-burn to your Horror films, then you likely will find this well made, Dark and Mysterious Korean Horror movie entertaining...

A grisly yet derivative horror flick set on a border post between North and South Korea. THE GUARD POST turns out to be a very familiar journey in its depictions of the terrors, both real and imagined, that befall a group of soldiers living in an ultra-remote and dangerous locale. The film it most resembles is R-POINT, another Korean movie with a very similar background, and if it isn't quite as good as that film then at least it makes the effort.THE GUARD POST offers a neat blend of psychological fear and in-your-face graphic horror. It opens with a massacre (wisely kept off-screen) and we subsequently follow the fortunes of a group of soldiers sent to investigate what happened. What exactly did happen won't really surprise anyone – the theme is extremely familiar these days in plenty of horror films – but it's handled in an efficient way that maximises the various scare scenes to strong effect. There's physical horror present in the film too, but rather than dwelling on it, it's presented in brief, jarring visions which add to the viewer's disorientation.One flaw prevents THE GUARD POST from being a great film: the disjointed editing. The decision was made to tell both the back-story leading up to the massacre and the present, investigative story at the same time, with rapid-fire editing between the two time frames. Unfortunately, this makes it difficult for the viewer to tell whether what's going on is happening at present, or in the past. It doesn't help that only a few of the main characters are given any kind of depth, and trying to distinguish one huddle of soldiers from the next is a difficult process. If it wasn't for this, then THE GUARD POST could have been a truly great viewing experience; as it stands, it's something I enjoyed but wouldn't bother with a second time.

This Korean movie looked really promising and definitely has some great cinematography to offer. One thing is for sure, there must be a strange interest for war/army horror movies ... RPoint, Dog Soldiers, The Bunker and even remakes of those movies, well GP506 fits in between these movies fine. The movie is set on a guard post on the North/South Korean border where strange happenings occurred and a whole team of 21 soldiers got killed. The one surviving is killed when found blood drenched and wielding with an axe among the remains of the other soldiers. Since the army wants to cover up what happened one soldier is sent in to uncover what happened that night before 6o clock in the morning when an army troop arrives to cease the evidence. From here on the uncovering begins slowly (the movie is 2 hours long, so I expected it) and the new team of soldiers soon finds another surviving man who hesitates to tell his story. The movie is edited in an interesting way of flash backs telling the story fragments found in diaries and the movie soon turns out to be a mix of The Bunker and The crazies because whats behind it all is not the ghost movie you expect at the beginning. I don't want to ruin too much for you, because otherwise you'd spend 2 pretty slow hours to reach the final twist. The problem is that the movie is way to long and repetitive... the visuals are nice, the editing is interesting but it wears off soon. After all its a lot of drama elements in there and although there is some blood its rather on the sidelines for me. GP506 could have been a great movie but its way too long and fragmented for me and will sure not please the typical horror crowd with its ending. If you can't get enough of the movies mentioned before give it a try, but I think its not the same class even though the cinematography is superior to e.g. The Bunker.

Like many of you who've seen this flick or who are about to see it, you most likely have grown to really appreciate South Korea's brand of film-making. From the Chan Wook Park Revenge Trilogy to whacked out films like Save the Green Planet, S. Korea is certainly a lead runner in countries that are producing some of the best modern movies. So when I had the opportunity to check out G.P. 506, I pretty much jumped at the chance. And like the consistent output of this country's cinema, this is also another entry to add to their ever growing list of accomplished films.G.P. 506 is pretty weird. It's encompasses drama, mystery and horror, and does a pretty good job doing so. Going into the flick I was only aware of it's horror elements, so be fore-warned that this film is not solely horror. It's more so a mystery/drama than anything else, though horror elements are clearly present. Anyways, the story revolves around a G.P. aka Guard Post, that has fallen silent. An investigator and new team go in to investigate and what they find is horrific and completely puzzling. With a theme of infection, the movie eventually becomes a survival-type flick with lots of second-guessing. Which is most definitely a fresh take on this type of genre.Overall, G.P. 506 was a pretty good ride. The film delivers good acting, nice direction and solid atmosphere. But it also leaves you with too many questions when the film ends. And ones that you really can't just think of some philosophical answer for. It's more like: I wish they showed this or showed more of that.... Also, the flashbacks were somewhat hard to read. Only by the end did I begin to grasp them.Nevertheless, the flick was entertaining enough and is easily recommendable for people who enjoy a slow-burn type of flick. Being a fan of South Korean cinema wouldn't hurt either.