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The Guard Post (2008)

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Overall Rating 58%
Overall Rating
Ranked #7,551
...out of 20,329 movies
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A squad of Korean soldiers is sent to investigate a guard post that overlooks the DMZ. Seemingly deserted at first, the squad eventually discovers mysterious corpses and body parts strewn all throughout the post. Amidst the macabre scene they discover one survivor with a bloody ax in his hand, but soon he falls into a coma, leaving more questions unanswered. --IMDb
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Review by Chad
Added: August 8, 2010
Sometimes, not getting what you ask for is a pretty sweet deal. I mean, sure, it would put a damper on your day if you ordered a steak dinner and were served a burger from McDonalds, but on that rare occasion when it works the other way around, one can't help but smile. Such was the case with G.P. 506, a South Korean horror release that was described to me as a "great zombie flick." Now, anyone who has spent any amount of time on this site knows that I love a good zombie movie, so giving this one a watch was a no-brainer. Sadly, I did put it off for longer than I would have liked, and I now regret that... even though I didn't get what I expected. Contrary to what you may have heard, G.P. 506 is not a zombie movie. It does feature some infected humans who aren't all there in the head and who are rather violent to the rest of mankind, but it's not a zombie movie. I'm not saying that it's like 28 Days Later, where we witness hordes of flesh-hungry people who are "infected, not zombified" tear apart a bunch of survivors: I'm saying, it's not a zombie movie, period. Normally, this would be a bummer, but I actually enjoyed what I got instead.

The movie begins with an introduction to Noh (Ho-jin Chun) and his soldiers, who have been tasked with finding out what has happened to the soldiers stationed at guard post #506. It seems that nobody has heard from them in days, which definitely should not be the case. When Noh and his crew show up at the post, they find two things: an ankle-deep pile of blood, guts, dismembered limbs, and what's left of the bodies, and a man covered in blood with an axe in his hand. Sounds pretty cut and dry what happened, doesn't it? The medics get in there and clean up the bodies while Noh investigates a little closer, and what he finds will ruin everyone's night.

You see, it turns out that a couple of these soldiers headed out into the nearby woods, and there, they picked up some type of nasty disease which they proceeded to bring back to their guard post. This disease causes the host to become savagely violent to both himself and other humans, and then it goes dormant, leaving said host with no memories of what happened. Then it may or may not come back for round two. Needless to say, the disease spreads quickly, and it becomes a matter of survival for those left breathing.

The story is told through two separate timelines, with Noh's present-time story taking up half of the movie and the "what originally happened" story taking the other. This does work rather well for a good chunk of the movie, but - and this is my one complaint about the film - it starts to get a little confusing towards the latter half. I don't think it's too much of a spoiler to say that shit starts to fall apart in both timelines, and maybe it's the dog-faced American in me talking, but jumping back and forth between two separate timelines with different characters just threw a wrench in things.

How can I put this as racially-sensitive as possible... let's see: "I can't really tell most Koreans apart", does that work? I mean, I can tell them apart in most movies, but when there's two or three main characters and two squads worth of grunts in matching uniforms, it gets a little confusing - especially when the movie jumps from one timeline to the other with no prompting and no cuts. Maybe Koreans feel the same way about some of our army movies, who knows? Regardless, this did sour me on the movie to an extent, but honestly, the film isn't that hard to figure out. You may find that you are lost a time or two, but in the end, it will all make sense.

With that out of the way, I really enjoyed the movie. The storyline may have been done before, but there is enough fresh material here to warrant a viewing from anyone who read that plot synopsis and got a little interested. As a bonus, the entire film is masterfully done: from the cinematography to the score to the special effects, there is not one technical detail that one could look at that would cause you to walk away dissatisfied. Some of the shots found within these two hours are just amazing, with the "circling camera in a room with one mirror" scene going down in my book as one of the greatest shots in recent memory. Also, yes, the movie does run for two hours, but aside from a few rough patches here and there, it never really drags: the story is interesting from start to finish, and if I were in charge of editing out said rough patches, I do believe that only a maximum of five minutes worth of footage would hit the floor.

As for the effects, wow - just, wow. This movie is not a bloodbath from start to finish and nor does it feature dozens of infected humans, but what is there is top-notch stuff. When you see the opening scene with all of the bodies and when you witness one of the more disgusting examples of what this virus can do to a man, it's really just a thing of beauty for gorehounds and effects-fans alike. Making the deal even sweeter is that it was all done practically with no CGI wizardry to be found... well, there may have been some, but if there was, I never noticed it. Thumbs up either way.

Overall, G.P. 506 gets my recommendation. It may not be a zombie movie, but horror fans will love it no less for that "fault." Aside from the character differentiation problems that I had (and that may just be a personal problem), there's really nothing that I can say against the film. Whether you go into a movie looking for great writing, superb acting, a catchy score, or just to see a bunch of the red stuff doesn't matter: either way, you're more than likely walking away from this one impressed. 8/10.
Ginose #1: Ginose - added August 14, 2010 at 4:52pm
Me and my lady watched this one yesterday. I thought it was well-made and, for the most part, a great character-driven thriller, but, like Chad, I was confused by the constant flashbacks wiht no indication towards which was which, and the last 20 minutes I saw from a mile away, so, meh, she seemed to like itmore than me, to be sure.
7.1/10
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