The setting is 1972 Vietnam. A Korean base (thats right, Korea took part in the Vietnam war, something I'd forgotten) is receiving cryptic, static-drenched radio signals from a thought to be lost patrol that disappeared six months prior. They disappeared while on a mission in a place tagged R-Point, an area of deep superstition that the North and South Vietnamese avoid. Naturally, they send a unit to the area and see if any trace of the lost patrol can be found.

In charge of the mission is shell-shocked and disillusioned Lt. Choi, who is given the assignment as a disciplinary action after he and a soldier took off to do some offbase whoring around and his buddy got killed. The group is your typical ragtag bunch, a nondiscript guy, a short timer, a coward, a possibly crazy Sgt., a superstitious guy, a syphilitic guy, and a smallish, smart radio operator (one of the great war movie cliche's- writers always figure if any soldier is going to be kind of geeky it's the radio operator because, I guess, firing a grenade launcher doesn't take as much smarts as tuning into frequencies).

The portents of bad things to come start the moment they set foot in R-Point. Ancient markers instantly warn them of the areas history where Chinese invaders were repelled in a bloody massacre and a temple was built. One eroded message reads, ‟those with blood on their hands...‟ They find ruins, a maze of caves, eerie fields, misty marshes, and the large worn down temple where they set up base. It doesn't take long before the strange occurrences start piling up and the men find themselves increasingly paranoid and in danger of being picked off one by one by some unknown force.

First, R-Point does not entirely work as a solid horror vehicle, which isn't to say the film isn't good. I mean, its no Cannibal Merceneries, but few films are. What works best about the film can be summed up in one line that a character speaks, ‟You killed a man in broad daylight and blame it on a ghost?‟ That is the kind of moment where the film doesn't play to the ol' Asian horror spook cliches and it is tremendously great. While there are plenty of nighttime, rainy scare scenes, the film is bold enough to pull off scares in broad daylight and create a genuinely creepy tone from some subtle direction and a great command of brooding, somethings-just-not-quite-right atmosphere. But, unfortunately, is a film of good moments. For every slick bit, it also falls prey to some horror stumbles, be it overacting, third act stumbles, and supernatural horror cliches.

But all the faltering bits are worth with just for scenes like: a small cadre is out searching in a big field. The back of the pack tag along (the coward) loses sight of the guys in front. He turns his head and we see a couple of soldiers rise up out of the field in front of him, their backs are to us, we know they aren't his crew. He starts to follow them, begins to feel something is off, turns his head again for a moment, and the soldiers disappear just as quickly as they appeared, descending back into the grass. Freaky. To my eye, no CGI, no trick shots, no editing, just a good, old school, spook-you-out scene done with simplicity.

Where the film falters is in its choice for the source of it's scares. During the bulk of the film, it relies on scenes like the above and is purely a ghost scare film along the lines of The Haunting (original, of course) by way of Platoon. The horror of the last half dips into a possession film, dredges up some Asian ghost girl cliches, and flirts with, but doesn't successfully pull off, some paranoia horror along the lines of The Thing (remake). The possession angle doesn't work as well, but you get the feeling they ran out of imaginative ways to off the soldiers because there is only so much a ghost can do other than mislead a guy and get him lost or make him accidentally start firing his gun blindly in fear, catching his buddies in the crossfire. Personally, I would have just left out the possession business, kept the ghostly misdirection, and made the crazy Sgt. and the coward go off the deep end to provide further ways to harm the soldiers.

Normally I frown upon remakes, mainly because, for some reason, in most instances we find perfectly fine films being remade instead of stinkers and clunkers. I don't frown upon remakes of (good or bad) foreign films, because, while I'm perfectly fine with foreign languages and cultures, I understand why some people aren't as keen. Remakes of international films also provide a chance to do a film with a different cultural slant which can substantially change many aspects of the tone and story. In the case of Asian horror remakes, The Ring, Dark Water and The Grudge are all actually pretty damn fair when stacked up next to the originals. R-Point is the kind of film that if I heard there was a remake in the works, I'd actually be excited. I would hope that the remaking film makers saw the same pros and cons I did and, while retaining the effective setting and sense of atmosphere, used the opportunity to smooth out the rougher instances where the R-Point doesn't quite gel.

The DVD: TARTAN

Picture: Anamorphic Widescreen. Checking around, the Tartan R2 release got some complaints of a high grain level and some ghosting. The US transfer seems pretty sharp, good print, and I couldn't spot any ghosting. Contrast levels are pretty good, fairly deep, and maintain good detail which is a plus considering the films numerous nighttime scenes. Colors are strong, including the cheesy blue/green tint of ‟ghost vision.‟ Some slightly noise levels hamper the definiiton, but the film should look acceptable on most systems.

Sound: Korean language DTS, 5.1, or 2.0. Optional English or Spanish subtitles. The only real problem here is that some of the English dialogue scenes weren't miked well. That's right, English dialogue, they run into a squad of US soldiers. Otherwise, a very good mix, strong fx puts you right into the firefight and an effective creepy drone/noise soundtrack enhances the scare factor.

Extras: Slipcase. --- Trailer, plus more Tartan release trailers. --- ‟Making Of‟ Featurette (30:09). --- Creating 1972 Vietnam Featurette (10:00). --- Special FX Featurette (10:00). --- Commentary by director Kong Soo-chang, producer Choi Kang-hyuk, and the film's location supervisor.

The feauturettes are all pretty nice. The ‟making of‟ is standard, lots of behind the scenes clips and actor interviews where they pretty much just pay lip service to how glad they are to be working on the film and expect good things. The commentary's general tone is disgruntled. The project was a tough shoot and the director makes no qualms about complaining about certain scenes being rushed, the terrible, remote conditions on location in Cambodia, and the film being under budget for its scale.

Conclusion: R-Point is a nice little chiller. Tartan's transfer has a good presentation and a decent round of extras. For every moment that the film shows promise and innovation it falls back on supernatural horror cliches, so most viewers may want to stick to the film as a good weekend rental. Die-hard Asian horror fans could certainly look at the film as purchase worthy.