Epitaph (Jeong Beom-sik 2007) South Korea

“Epitaph” or “Gidam” from South Korea is another ghost story in the Asian Horror genre. Someone dies and has bad dreams and that’s the extent of the story here.

The film chronicles the events of several murders linked together. With some scenes being really semi-scary this film tries to set itself apart from other films like “The Grudge” and “The Ring.” It does this, but it’s slow paced and for lack of a better word, a little boring. Filmmaking was ambitious and story idea was creative.

The story follows three or so characters in their lives of love and happiness in a local hospital during a war. A small girl, a hospital attendee and a doctor all have their stories told through gruesome and terrible experiences. The most frightening scenes are when the little girl whose mother has died in a car crash comes to her in feverish nightmares. Covered in blood and brushing her hair the mother has terrible blood soaked eyes that chill the skin.

The scenes are at times dark and shadowy and then turn to being bright and hopeful. But mostly they are dark and dank as the killings take place outdoors in the cold, snow falling.

The acting is good and genuine. The little girl is great. Her torment from losing her mother shows through. She exhibits a terror in her ridged body as she bits down on a towel her eyes wide and her hair matted as she comes out of one of her horrific nightmares.

The film brings snails into a few scenes. Snails are slow paced and peculiar beings. The relation of them to the story is unclear, but they do add a form of natural eeriness to the setting. The killings are harsh and un-thoughtful. Done in a manner that shows no mercy as the victims is stabbed and stabbed again over and over, blood flowing over the killer.

The one scene where the doctor holds up a snow globe to a light bulb, illuminating and casting a glow or two people with snow falling is both chilling and all together beautiful as his wife, the potential killer looks at him with love and sweet endearment.

Much like “The Grudge” this film makes ghosts and ghouls something different. These aren’t chain wielding transparent beings but terrible and real. Walking toward the characters with blood and vengeance they strike a fear in minds of the characters. The US film industry will more than likely be adapting this story into an English version starring one of today’s up and coming young female stars.

“Epitaph” was all around entertaining with a creative idea in telling a new age ghost story. Yet, with the film being a little long and it came up short. You may be reading this review in the obituaries section.