Epitaph (2007) by Jung Bum-shik and Sik Jung

Director: Jung Bum-shik, Sik Jung

Year: 2007

Country: South Korea

Alternate Titles: Gidam

Genre: Ghosts

Plot:

After finding a photo album, a doctor looks back on his life which includes his time working in a hospital during WWII which involves the mysterious case of a young girl being tormented by ghosts among other incidents which set him off on a journey to stop the encounters from continuing.

Review:

This one has quite a lot to like with it. One of the better strengths here is an enjoyable storyline that offers a lot of intriguing elements. That there are several timelines at play with the setup in the present day setting up the storyline at the hospital in the past which sets this one going. The whole idea of the original hospital-set story going through the time period does allow it to tie into actual history quite nicely while that also leads into the series of storylines involving the romance between the doctor and the woman laying on the table he's tasked with working on. On top of this setup is the storyline about the strange deaths involving the soldiers that takes place around the entire hauntings-at-the-hospital setup that's at the center of the film. The ability of this one to keep these factors charging along in a cohesive manner provides a solid baseline here.

The other nice factor here is the strong series of haunting scenes the few times we get them. The early encounters in the hospital showed off the haunted nature of the building with the ghost popping out of strange locations while letting the creepy look and make-up of the ghost generate solid thrills. Also quite effective are the quick ambush attacks of the serial killer going around knocking off the various soldiers which bring about the few bloody sequences that show up here. With the finale also bringing together the various storylines with the series of revelations and reveals coming into play, it ends on a high note that's just as enjoyable as the impressive technical qualities. Full of gorgeous cinematography and some wonderfully composed shots, especially within the hospital setting, which offers an overall impressive setup that has quite a lot to like.

There are some flaws with the film that holds it back. The main factor against this one is the rather dull and plodding pace that takes forever for much to happen. As it winds through the series of intricately laid-out storylines and setups at the hospital, the overall impression taken here is one of a drama rather than a frenetic genre effort. Even taking into account a romance between several of the characters that result in a traumatic incident with the car crash or the struggle to keep the daughter alive following that incident drags the pace out even more. With so much of the film bringing up these outside elements in favor of doing more hauntings and creepy moments, that results in very little of this feeling decidedly creepy or chilling. Despite the enjoyment of the storylines at work, the film could've really used some more action to downplay the heavy focus on dramatics.

Overview: ***.5/5

A strong if somewhat slow-going ghost movie, this one has quite a lot to enjoy about it while there are some of those minor issues that keep it from being the all-time classic it could've been. Fans of the dramatic style of genre fare or who appreciate the J-Horror scene overall will be quite impressed here while most others turned off by these features should heed caution.

This review was originally published on Asian Movie Pulse and is gratefully reprinted with their cooperation.