A remote island off the coast of Korea is supposed to be inhabited by
17 people ... and yet there's no one left alive, all the cops who have
been called to the island find is corpses. Flashback a few days: The
islanders celebrate to have been elected (once again) the healthiest
Korean remote island, and they are awarded the island's sugar supply for a
whole year by the gouvernment. This all is of course in no small part the
accomplishment of the island doctor Woo Song (Park Hae Il), who came only
a few years ago and seems to have worked miracles right away. However, at
the celebration itself, things start to get out of hands when one of the
islanders is murdered. As always in restricted spaces like the island, a
tailor-made culprit is soon found, and as long as he remains missing,
everything seems ok ... until his dead body is found. Suspicion soon falls
upon the doctor, and he is incarcerated - but released when yet another
murder is committed. With the island's only radio broken, it's a matter of
days to get the proper authorities here, and in the meantime, more murders
and even a few suicides happen - until the population of the island is
down to three, the doctor, his nurse to whom he has a somewhat ambivalent
relationship, and the local drunk, whose state has steadily improved under
the doctor's care - but who still turns out to be the killer, and who is
finally disposed of. But is that the solution of the story? No, in
fact, all fo the islanders were just the doctor's guineapigs who were
testing a new drug - which was given to them with the sugar from the
gouvernment - unbeknowest to themselves, a drug that cures all sorts of
ailments but that also causes rage, illusions and the like, which is why
the drunkt went crazy in the first place. The doctor lets the nurse, whom
he's apparently secretly in love with, escape, then he starts
experimenting on himself - to who knows what results. A clever
mix of nurder mystery, mad scientist tale and ghost story, that might be a
bit convoluted but remains entertaining throughout - yet one can't help
but noticing that the film takes itself a bit too seriously on one hand,
while on the other hand, the direction lacks any real inventiveness or
playfulness considering all the pulp mainstays it uses. Still enjoyable,
if nothing great.
|