G.P. 506 is another entry on the slowly growing list of military horror films, like R-Point, another film of this new(ish) sub-genre written and directed by Su-chang Kong. The latter had very effective moments but didn't work for me as a whole. G.P. 506 is a brilliant step in the right direction.
It starts when a remote Southern outpost in the demilitarized zone between South and North Korea ceases communications. A troop of soldiers is dispatched and finds nineteen of the twenty-one soldiers manning the outpost dead, one soldier missing and the last one standing over the corpses of his comrades. Half naked, blood-spattered and with an axe in his hand. What seems like an obvious case soon leads the investigating officer of the military police in quite a different direction.
I'll leave the plot synopsis there, because I don't intend to ruin the effect the sure, detailed and slow but perfectly paced film should have. I think it is much preferable to go into this film without being spoilt.
Let's just say that G.P.506 also has very strong mystery elements and turns out to be part of a sub-genre of the horror film that is very dear to me.
South Korean films are often oddly fascinating. On one hand we have technical standards and a level of polish more typical for Hollywood, on the other often much more daring, interesting and accomplished scripts. As if South Korean scriptwriters had trust in the ability of their viewers to think about films, even come to conclusions on their stories without the need to have everything spelt out for them.
The real beauty of a film like G.P.506 lies in watching actively, following the directions the plot leads to and being happy with it.
In other words: You have to see this one for yourself.
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