Epitaph (2007) Movie Review

Against all the odds, with the genre having long been lingering in the cinematic doldrums, 2007 turned out to be a bumper year for Korean horror, largely thanks to the willingness of directors to innovate and to try something a little different than the usual simple tales of vengeful long haired spirits stalking schoolgirls. This is certainly the case with “Epitaph” from newcomers the Jung Brothers who took the ambitious move of making their debut a complexly woven anthology style piece with an intriguing historical setting. Certainly their efforts paid off, and unusually for a horror film it screened at a number of prestigious festivals and won the brothers the New Director award at the Pusan Film Critics Awards.

The film begins in 1979 as an old doctor reminisces about his past days as a medical student. The drama soon shifts to 1942 and Kyung Sung, the then capital of Japan-occupied Korea when he worked at the famous Ahn Seng Hospital where the doctors were at the time puzzled by the savage killing of a Japanese soldier. Three stories unfold, the first dealing with Jung Nam, a student (Jin Goo, also in “Dirty Carnival” and “A Bittersweet Life”) assigned to morgue duty who becomes obsessed with the corpse of a young woman who was found drowned in the icy river. Although the viewer might expect the body to thaw and proceed with the usual murderous crusade of revenge, the plot thankfully takes a very different and unexpected turn. The second tale begins as a young girl called Asako (a wonderful performance by actress Ju Yeon Ko, recently in “The Fox Family”) is brought into the hospital after a car crash which claimed the life of her mother. As she slowly recovers under the tender care of doctor Soo In, she is beset by terrifying visions and haunted by dreams of her mother and Japanese stepfather every night. The final tale returns to the case of the murdered soldier which is being investigated by doctors In Young (Kim Bo Kyung, “Blue Sky”) and her husband Dong Won (Kim Tae Woo, “Woman on the Beach”), and which soon seems to point to the work of a serial killer. Dong Won begins to suspect that his wife may be involved, spurred by the sinister discovery that she has no shadow.

Although it is made up of three different story arcs, to an extent it devalues “Epitaph” to think of it as a mere anthology, mainly since the form has been so badly abused over the years, particularly in the horror genre. With a narrative which is complex and at times obscure, denying the viewer obvious answers as to what is going on and how it fits in with other events, the Jung Brothers have made a genuine attempt to provide a film which is intellectually challenging as well as frightening. This is obviously no mean feat, though through some intricate plotting and clever twists on the usual modern Asian ghost formula they manage not only to keep viewers on their toes and guessing as to what will come next, but to actually make them think about some fairly deep philosophical issues which the drama raises. The film also achieves an admirable balance between being cold and bleak, and yet strangely romantic and wistful, exploring not only life, but love after death. As a result, it enjoys far more depth and thought provoking substance than almost any other genre work in recent memory, save perhaps “A Tale of Two Sisters”, and it certainly stands head and shoulders above other similarly themed hospital horrors such as “The Cut”, also released in 2007.

The film is visually as well as intellectually impressive, with some gorgeous cinematography and wonderfully composed shots that at time give the film the look of a beautiful painting. Great effort quite obviously went into recreating the period setting, and the film is never less than convincing, successfully evoking the time through high production values and a telling attention to detail. The hospital, with its polished wooden floors and walls, and shadowy corridors almost becomes a character itself and plays a large part in making the film atmospheric and eerie. The brothers make excellent use of lighting and colour to give the proceedings a delicately yet surreal other-worldly air, and the viewer is captivated throughout, constantly aware that the supposed barriers between life and death are here entirely negotiable.

Whilst this is all well and good, such lofty achievements would count for little if the film were not actually frightening, though thankfully on this count it scores very highly indeed. The Jung Brothers certainly do not neglect scaring the viewer, and the ghosts themselves are a fine and grotesque bunch, howling away and suddenly popping up for a good number of genuinely unsettling moments. It also helps that they don’t stint on the blood, serving up a heady mixture of surgical and supernatural gore, with a few gruesome murders thrown in for good measure. As a result, the film makes for visceral viewing, and comes across as being a pleasingly adult affair.

All of this combines to mark “Epitaph” not only as the best Korean horror film of 2007, by quite a long way, but as one of the best of any genre. Masterfully constructed and directed, it is one of the rare cases which sees directors willing to push the envelope and attempt to really unnerve viewers by aiming for the mind, heart and stomach at the same time. A difficult juggling act to be sure, but one which the Jung Brothers manage to pull off with an assured sense of style and verve, confirming them as exciting talents for the future.

Jeong Beom-sik, Jeong Beom-sik (director)
CAST: Bo-kyeong Kim
Tae-woo Kim
Dong-kyu Lee