The Guard Post (2008) User Reviews

Well-done flick, but leaving you (me) wanting for more.

[ElijahCSkuggs · 7/10 · 26 June 2008]

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.

Loyalty best shared.

[lost-in-limbo · 7/10 · 16 August 2009]

I went in expecting one of these soldiers facing something supernatural that turns them on each other using their hidden secret/fears kind of story. However the South Korean made feature 'G.P. 506 aka The Guard Post' virtually keeps the same get-up, but takes on a refreshing angle using a different kind of threat and for the majority of the time it's an effective gimmick.

An army investigator is put in charge of a soldier unit to find out what happened at G.P. 506 (and to possibly cover it up), which saw the original team brutally massacred by one of its own (well that's what it seems?) and what this second team uncovers is something terrifyingly devastating.

It's an unusual, but immensely unpredictable military horror/mystery story covering its bases in an interestingly progressive non-linear narrative that constantly moves between present time and flashbacks in a very muddled fashion. At times it was confusing adjusting to which period was which, as they replay scenes over and over again of the lead up to eventful bloody massacre of the original team of G.P. 506 where they would try to reach the correct conclusion. A sense of deja vu really seems to creep in with the actions of the newly appointed team with there investigation. Even then the jadedly slow-grinding and over-long plot leaves you questioning some story devices and knotty developments, but this extremely cold and dread-fill atmospheric tale manages to pull you in as it constructs a threatening environment from its dourly tight bunker quarters, confronting paranoid friction and grippingly suspenseful exchanges that mostly ignited in graphic slabs of twisted violence. There's authentically poignant make-up FX brought across. Su-chang Kong's sleek direction is visually crisp, while maintaining a stark punch and the camera-work fluidly covers many angles. The music is emotionally stirring in its arrangement by adding to the creepy air and the sound effects have that chilling imprint. The starch performances by all are reliably solid and convincing.

A fine addition to the growing military/horror fodder.

Another one in the army horror drawer

[dschmeding · 5/10 · 26 June 2008]

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.

Massacre and madness in a remote border outpost

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 27 April 2012]

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.

Okay military mystery/horror film is too long for its familiar story

[dbborroughs · 6/10 · 14 April 2009]

At a guard post along the DMZ something odd has happened. When a military police officer goes to investigate what he finds is far from pretty, an odd disease seems to be spreading.

Military mystery with horror overtones, is an okay film. There is a certain amount of tension generated as the claustrophobic nature of the post and the uncertainty of what is going on really keeps you on pins and needles for a while, but in the end the hows and whys and all don't really warrant the one minute beyond two hour running time. We've been here before and despite a game cast and some novel twists the parts don't equal the whole. For me as the story played out it reached a point somewhere in the last hour where it started to be less engaging (something the directors similar R-Point did as well) and my patience began to lag. I was invested enough to get to the fade out but in the end it just wasn't anything special, despite some great sequences (which I can't describe lest it give too much plot away- thats the problem the novel things are too few that revealing them would take away any reason to see this film). Certainly it wasn't worth the effort it took me to watch it (my DVD player was uncooperative and I had to move a couple of times to a less happy location to see it), but it is worth a peek if you have an easier time of it and you have the spoilers kept to a minimum.

Overlong and boring.

[nexton · 4/10 · 11 November 2013]

Maybe some of you would say that this movie is good and appalling.

Yes, they make the prosthetic faces disgusting enough for some of you. But, just that nothing more. With addition a little bit of action, many talks and talks again, and there even no a slightest humor in there: make this 2 hour long movie seems so boring.

And for the plot, there so many obscurities about that: the origin of viruses, how they spread, etc etc.

For us to know, that this film is a horror genre, there is no use to make the quasi-dramtical int there. The film should scare us in the context of amusement, instead of that, this film just makes me irritated. They makes the horror movie halfheartedly.

And 2 hours seems like forever.

Very effective, beautifully photographed, slow-burn War / Horror film... Rewatchability: Low...Blu-ray: Stunning A:10 V:10

[lathe-of-heaven · 7/10 · 1 October 2015]

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...

Pretty Good

[danspan101 · 7/10 · 14 March 2013]

Pros: -Well acted. Many actors in military-themed movies do not do a good job of being believable soldiers. Being former military, it's important for me to believe that the characters really act like guys in the military, even when they are just hanging around. These guys did a pretty good job. Let it be known, however, Koreans soldiers seem to be much more comfortable around each other in the shower than Americans do. I can't even imagine what would have happened in the American military if one guy would have asked another to wash his back in a open-bay shower. -Cinematography is pretty clean through most of the movie. Nice, sharp shots, good angles, etc. -Easy to get into the story line. Can quickly pick out who you would like to see prevail, though this may change. No one is really a bad guy or a good guy, just normal people trying to deal with a crappy situation in their own way. -Had never seen a Korean flick before, and I dug it. -If you like Mexican standoffs, this will become you're favorite movie, as they are numerous, long, and none end in a draw.

Cons: -The subtitles often don't show a complete statement. This happens often. Example, 'Remember that time we saw that...' and that's it, no more words in the subtitle. You know the actor finished the line in Korean, because the other in guy in the scene may say 'Yeah, I remember that'. -As other reviews on here mention, does get confusing at times as the time line shifts and the same scenes are reflected back upon, but the character is remembering events in different ways as the disease changes his perspective. I understand the reason for all this, but the unevenness of how it was applied hurt my head at times. -If you don't like Mexican standoffs, you won't like a third of this movie.

That's about it. The pros outweighed the cons. Not a 'must see' but certainly a 'worth seeing' if this is you're genre.

An effectively chilling entry into a growing genre

[revenant_blues · 9/10 · 27 February 2012]

Ever since "Aliens" debuted in the eighties, I've been a rabid fan of the once subgenre: Military Horror. A once thoroughly unexplored branch of the general horror genre, films such as "Dog Soldiers" "R-Point" and "The Bunker"--to name a few, have excitedly fleshed out the intersection of military service and funereal goings on.

A veteran myself, I can only laude the writer who understands the suitability of military life as border to the unexplainable and its fertility for forays into the unknown. That said, "The Guard Post" is a two hour tour de force foray into the realms of psychological and brutal corporeal terror.

Presentation is amazing--a grey, iron hard military outpost manned by a handful of heavily armed soldiers daily humping live ammo just a few hundred meters from their enemy counterparts across a no man's land of concertina and landmines. The setting is great: the soldiers of GP 506 were living under immense tension long before their lives diverged into the unknown. Add to that brutal South Korean military taditions, accidental fire on enemy postions, and the stage is set for even a unit of elite paratroopers to come unglued at the drop of a spent shell casing.

Some of the imagery alone is brutal enough to get you out of your seat, while psychological tension is ratcheted without mercy, building inevitably toward the next "incident". If you love a story that begins with an armed unit in solid control of a ghastly situation, with well armed men sweeping dark corridors where evidence presents of goulish goings on, and continues on toward the at first slow loss of control over said situation, you will thoroughly love this film. Additionally, the subtitles, and foreign sentence structures of an unknown (to most) culture serve to add further tension and alienation during the experience.

While long for a horror film, I was continually watching the play time bar, willing it to slow down. This one is a great find, a gem among scores of so so to downright unwatchable films of the genre, and after viewing this one, I want more!

Enemy within

[kosmasp · 8/10 · 5 June 2020]

Thankfully Covid 19 (the Corona virus) does not make people crazy. Can you imagine being Quarantined and going mad? Wait - that is actually happening to some all over the world? Ah well ... all kidding aside and 2020 references aside (which may or may not get old fast), this movie is quite the monster when it comes to being stuck.

It is also a bluepring on how to interweb two timelines. How to do the now and what happened here a while ago. Technically more than sound (top notch actually), this has many merits. The pacing may seem off to some (going for 2 hours), but it needs time to develop. If I had a criticism, it is about not delving into all the characters more. Something that the movie could have done. Unfortunately there isn't time .. even in a long movie like that. Also the characters that are important get shined on. Not much, this is horror overall so ... this is quite niche and will not appeal to too many people, but those who like these types of movies should like it to say the least