Ko Joo Yeon as Asako

Written by

Jude Thaddeus L. Bautista

Consciousness and a sense of self is one of the things that supposedly separates people from beasts. And it is this consciousness and sense of identity that the Korean horror film “The Epitaph” plays with to portray how the human soul can get lost. If you liked M. Night Shyamalan’s “Sixth Sense”, then “The Epitaph” will simply blow your mind. This is “Sixth Sense” to the nth power.  While Shyamalan’s film revolves around a child who sees ‘dead people’, this masterpiece by the Jung brothers is multiple focus. Nearly every character has their unique brush with death and the afterlife.

“The Epitaph” can be seen for free at the Shang Rila Cineplex starting October 26 to 31, as part of the “2010 Korean Horror Movie Festival.” It is only one of many titles that the public can catch for free during the fest. The Cinema One Film fest immediately follows also in Shang Rila Cineplex on November 9.

Park Jung Nam (Jing Goo) is a young medical intern who is adjusting to his tour of duty in the morgue. His first autopsy case is a stabbing of a Japanese soldier that has him vomiting. When he encounters the cadaver of a young teenage girl, he could not explain why he was strangely drawn to her. He later finds out that their families have a shared background. This film is not for the faint of heart as there are a lot of scenes that go beyond the normal conventions of gore especially from western cinema. But for those who are more open to a truly horrific scare the kind that stays in your mind, then you can’t miss this film. There may have to be a new classification as it includes a psychological thriller with a lot of the elements of the afterlife and even romance.

Ko Joo Yeon’s performance as twelve year old Asako is nothing short of spectacular. She survives a car cash and is tormented by the memory of witnessing her mother’s death. The film deals with the taboo subject of children’s sexual awareness. Asako is racked by guilt in many levels that she is not able to share with anyone. The child is brought to the Anseng Hospital, where Jung Nam interns and all the terrifying events converge. Medical explanations to the concept of the soul and death are explained to students by Dr. Kim Dong Won (Kim Tae Woo) a brilliant brain surgeon.  His wife, In Yong (Kim Bo Kyong) is also a doctor. Theirs is the most touching love story within the intense horror flick.

from left: Jin Goo plays medical intern Park Jung Nam, Yeo Ji plays the teenager he falls for

Pay close attention to the dates and the names as the narrative goes back and forth through different time frames. The treatment may be a little bit confusing and it is part of the desired effect. This is to build up the suspense to a series of mysterious murders. Set in 1942, the production design creates the tone to a time when Korea was under Imperial Japanese rule. Everything from the cars to the clothes was accurately depicted, earning a nomination for the production designers Min-bok Lee and Yu-jeong Kim, in the Asian Film Awards 2008.