R-Point (review)

It’s a familiar trope of military movies: the one-last-mission-before-we-all-go-home thing that goes, of course, disastrously wrong. Only here, recast as Asian Horror, from South Korean writer/director Kong Su-chang, it takes on a distinctly creepy new tenor. Way more atmospheric than the direction Hollywood horror films have taken of late, this is a subtle and sneakily unsettling film that builds slowly to its unique idea of what constitutes scary. Mysterious radio transmissions draw a small military unit into remote jungle territory in search of a missing patrol, where they discover a brand of... let’s call it “judgment” on their behavior as soldiers. Did I mention it’s 1972, and the Vietnam War, with all its attendant atrocities on all sides, is in full swing? Comparisons to Apocalypse Now and Platoon and Full Metal Jacket are inevitable, but this is a truly unique film with a shocking concept of military justice. The tons of extras that will particularly please horror fans include a director’s commentary track, a making-of featurette, a look at the special effects, and more.