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R-Point film poster

R-Point (Korean: 알 포인트) is a 2004 South Korean psychological horror war film written and directed by Kong Su-chang. Set in Vietnam in 1972, during the Vietnam War, it stars Kam Woo-sung and Son Byong-ho as members of the South Korean Army in Vietnam. Most of the movie was shot in Cambodia. Bokor Hill Station plays a prominent part of the movie, in this case doubling as a French colonial plantation. In 2011, Palisades Tartan re-released this film on DVD under the title Ghosts of War.

Plot[]

In January 1972, at a South Korean base in Nha-Trang, Vietnam, a missing platoon sends a radio transmission from R-Point, a strategic island near Saigon. Lieutenant Choi receives orders to lead a squad, including Sergeant Jin Chang-rok, on a mission to extract the missing soldiers within a week. In return, they will receive an early honorable discharge and a clean record for Choi, who had previously shown insubordination.

Upon arrival at R-Point, the squad is ambushed by a Vietnamese woman and discovers a week-old corpse. The next day, a mysterious, deserted French Plantation appears near their base. Corporal Joh Byung-hoon gets separated from the group and encounters other soldiers, mistaking them for his unit. When he reunites with his comrades, he shares his sighting of the missing soldiers, but they dismiss his claims.

Later, while repairing the radio, Corporal Byun Moon-Sub intercepts a transmission from a nearby French unit. A French army corporal named Jacques claims to have a twin brother named Paul, raising suspicions as their squad is the only one present. That night, American soldiers arrive and warn the Koreans about supernatural forces in the plantation's second floor, cautioning them not to touch anything.

As the soldiers celebrate with a radio dance party, they suddenly hear terrified screams recorded on the radio. On the second day, they find Private Jung's hanging corpse and report the incident to headquarters, only to learn that Private Jung was one of the missing soldiers they were sent to rescue. Lieutenant Choi begins experiencing visions of the Viet Cong woman who had ambushed their platoon.

Sergeant Oh encounters the ghost of his deceased friend, panics, and accidentally falls into a booby trap, resulting in his death. The unit divides into two groups on the fourth day, discovering a crashed Huey helicopter with decomposed American corpses, revealing that the soldiers they previously encountered were ghosts. Mistaking Sergeant Mah for a ghost, a terrified Corporal Joh accidentally shoots and kills him.

Returning to the plantation, they search for American supplies on the second floor but find it deserted, confirming the presence of supernatural entities. Realizing that R-Point is haunted, they call for rescue, but the earliest helicopter can only arrive by dawn the next day. Sergeant Jin seemingly returns, warns against their presence at R-Point, and beheads Sergeant Park before being shot by the soldiers. Lieutenant Choi orders everyone to verify their identities.

Corporal Byun, seemingly possessed, is shot by Lieutenant Choi but not before pulling the pin from a grenade, blinding Sergeant Jang. As the lieutenant tends to Sergeant Jang, Corporal Joh, also possessed, shoots Corporal Lee. Lieutenant Choi kills Corporal Joh, leaving only the two of them. In Sergeant Jang's pocket, they find a photo of French soldiers with the Viet Cong woman, revealing her responsibility for the deaths of the French garrison and the American soldiers.

Lieutenant Choi then instructs Sergeant Jang to aim his rifle at him and fire, knowing he might be possessed. The next morning, the rescue team finds Sergeant Jang alone with the corpses of the other eight missing soldiers.

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