This makes Todd a happy boy ... while the Korean film industry has been in a bit of a slump of late there have been a few stand out offerings on the silver screens and horror effort Epitaph is definitely one of those. Directed by former assistants to Park Chan-Wook the film is a gorgeously shot, very atmospheric, very creepy piece of work. It's not perfect but what it does well it does exceptionally well and local audiences will soon get a shot at checking out thanks to an upcoming release from TLA. Check out the official website below to get a look at the trailers and things and you'll find the complete TLA announcement below the break.
2008 FILMART: TLA RELEASING ACQUIRES NORTH AMERICAN RIGHTS FOR EPITAPH
DANGER AFTER DARK embraces beautifully lush, Korean supernatural, psychological horror
(March 26, 2008) TLA Releasing has secured all rights for North America to EPITAPH (2007, South Korea) the directorial debut of the Jung Brothers. The film is scheduled to play New Directors/New Films 2008 in New York and the 17th Philadelphia Film Festival in April with a release in late 2008 through the DANGER AFTER DARK label.
TLA acquired the film from South Korea-based sales company STUDIO2.0; STUDIO2.0 was represented by Eun-Young Choi, Head of International Business; TLA Releasing was represented by Vice President of Acquisitions Jennifer Arndt-Johns. The deal was finalized at the 2008 Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (Filmart). EPITAPH begins in the year 1942: the Korean capital of Kyung Sung is occupied by the Japanese and the Anseng Hospital lies in the center of the city, representing the twin glories of Japanese Imperialism and western modernization. But mysterious things are happening at the hospital: An intern is bound by his parents to marry a girl whom he never met, but instead is romantically drawn to a corpse; A traumatized little girl, the lone survivor of a horrific car crash, is tortured by bloody visions and a married couple, who are doctors, desperately try to manage their colleagues’ behaviors but find themselves investigating a series of brutal murders. But as the stories unfold and obsessive loves are revealed, the hospital and its staff descend into a darker abyss which they may never return from.
EPITAPH stars Kim Bo Kyung (Blue Sky), Kim Tae Woo (Woman on the Beach) and Jin Goo (Dirty Carnival, A Bittersweet Life) and was a 2007 box-office hit when it was released theatrically in South Korea. The Jung Brothers were also honored with the New Director Award from the 2007 Pusan Film Critics Awards and received international accolades when it screened at the 2007 San Sebastian International Film Festival. By utilizing exquisite cinematography, sumptuous period costuming and an emotionally involving plot to fuse elements of the supernatural, psychological and copious blood-letting horror, initial press for the film has touted EPITAPH as a reinvention of Korean horror and moving it into a refreshingly, new direction.
still got the invoice from yesasia:
http://global.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/code-k/section-videos/pid-1005101750/
unfortunately it seems out of print, maybe you can google for still available copies. I payed 20 euros for it, which is "normal" for a special edition. I don't know if the specials have engl. subtitles, I never watch those.
just found one! thanks! can't wait to see it, that's one good looking Special Edition
I am going to rent this and see what it is like, looks interesting.
Epitaph is also playing the Philly film fest this year along w/ black house, confession of pain, eye in the sky, soo, etc. Sure, most of this is available on dvd already, but it's hard to beat on the big screen.
http://www.phillyfests.com/pff/film-details.cfm?id=7568
for the danger after dark line-up: http://www.phillyfests.com/pff/program.cfm?c=194