Monstrous Corpse, A (1981) Review

“A Monstrous Corpse” Theatrical Poster

Director: Kang Beomgu
Cast: Chiang Ming, Yu Gwang-ok, Hong Yun-jeong, Kim Wang-guk, Baek Song, Pauline Wong
Running Time: 85 min.

By Paul Bramhall 

As far as baffling remake choices go, the obscure Korean horror oddity A Monstrous Corpse from 1981 must surely be up there as one of the top contenders. A reimagining of the 1974 Italian and Spanish co-production Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, director Jorge Grau’s Lake District set tale of the undead predated the likes of George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead and Lucio Fulci’s Zombie by a number of years. It would arguably be the latter productions which popularised the zombie genre, particularly in Europe, so it’s all the more interesting that director Kang Beomgu would choose the comparatively more sedate earlier outing as the source material for his own take on the genre.

From a purely historical perspective, A Monstrous Corpse is significant in that it proves the Korean film industry produced a zombie movie 35 years before Train to Busan was released, a title which became frequently referred to as the countries first attempt at the zombie genre. Is there a reason for A Monstrous Corpse to have faded into obscurity? It’s worth noting that Korean cinema from the 1980’s in general is still not as widely available as the decades the precede it, with the last few years seeing a steady stream of classics from the 1960’s and 1970’s be re-released for new audiences to discover. Korea spent much of the 80’s in the shadow of military dictator Chun Doo-hwan’s authoritarian like regime, and A Monstrous Corpse was made during his first 12 months in power, falling into a decade that cinematically stills feels like one that’s willingly forgotten.

Korean cinema itself was still subjected to significant censorship and foreign film quotas in the early 80’s, restrictions that saw filmmakers increasingly turn to Taiwan to collaborate on co-productions, a way to both access wider audiences and secure more funding. The practice was most popular in the martial arts genre, with the likes of Ninja vs. Shaolin Guards, South Shaolin vs. North Shaolin, and Shaolin vs. Tai Chi all benefitting from having Korean and Taiwanese cast members, however it was also common in the horror genre. The likes of Evil Hits Evil, and even director Kang Beomgu’s Grudge of the Sleepwalking Woman from 1983 were both Korea and Taiwan co-productions, so it’s no surprise that there’s also a Taiwanese presence involved in A Monstrous Corpse.

Taiwanese actor Chiang Ming (here dubbed in Korean), who was no stranger to Korean and Taiwan collaborations having featured in the likes of 1969’s Kings of Blade and Sword and 1971’s Devil Spider, plays a bug expert visiting Korea from Taiwan to attend a summit on environmental conservation. His eye-catching attire includes a slouch hat, which features the turned up side covered in travel pin badges (presumably from other countries he’s travelled to attend environmental summits), and in the kind of fashion choice that would cause all kinds of controversy in todays political powder keg climate, his favorite pin badge is proudly pinned to the front – the Taiwan flag. For reasons never explained he’s hitchhiking to the summit, and is picked up by a kind passer-by played by Yu Gwang-ok (Blues at Midnight, A Man and a Giaseng), in what would be her last performance before disappearing from the film industry.

She’s just returned from Korea to visit her sister after spending 5 years in America, and soon finds herself listening to Ming espousing the virtues of bugs while they drive. It’s when Ming bumps into his old university classmate who’s involved in a “world famous experiment to eliminate harmful bugs using ultrasonic waves” that things get interesting. Firstly, for such a prestigious experiment, it’s apparently being run out of a flimsy tent in the middle of a random field (complete with a foreign actor for extra credibility – who isn’t listed anywhere!). Secondly, while Gwang-ok waits by the car on the other side of a stream, she finds herself being accosted by possibly the slowest moving zombie ever committed to screen. Could there be a connection between her attacker and the ultrasonic waves? Of course there is, and you bet no one will listen to a woman until it’s too late, and the undead will start to rise in their masses!

Despite its European origin material, A Monstrous Corpse feels steeped in the unique atmosphere that permeates through many Korean horror movies made in the 80’s. In some cases this can even be taken literally, as the house that Gwang-ok’s sister and her husband reside in is the same one that Suddenly in the Dark is set in, made the same year (although notably A Monstrous Corpse was released first, hitting cinemas in April compared to Suddenly in the Dark’s July release). Played by Hong Yun-jeong (Bloody Fist, So-kwon Martial Arts) and Kim Wang-guk (Returned Single-Legged Man, Returned a Single-Legged Man 2), there are even similarities between Wang-guk’s occupation and the husband in Suddenly in the Dark, with Wang-guk being a nature photographer compared to the butterfly collector in Suddenly in the Dark.

Once it’s been established the wondering zombie is a revived version of the local drunk who drowned a couple of days ago, the titular monstrous corpse who’s played with a bulking lethargy by Baek Song (Four Iron Men, Only Son for Four Generations), proceedings essentially turn into a police procedural. Because of this those looking for more of a straight up horror fix will understandably be left disappointed by the lack of gore, and not a single memorable kill, that A Monstrous Corpse fails to deliver on. Indeed the most horrific scene involves a nurse (played by Taiwanese actress Pauline Wong – The Handcuff, Mr. Vampire Part 2) showing a couple of black and white photos with kids who’ve been born with physical defects, in part because I have a feeling the images in the photos are real.

As a director Kang Beomgu had a varied career, debuting in 1962 with the anti-communist propaganda flick When Black Flowers Fade, he’d continue to make anti-communist movies throughout the decade like 1967’s Female Viet Cong No. 18 and 1968’s I’m Not a Traitor. It was also in 1968 that he helmed his first martial arts movie, with the One Armed Swordsman inspired Great Swordsman, and he’d continue to dabble in martial arts, credited as the co-director on the likes of Tiger of Northland and Tower of Death. We also have Beomgu to thank for Korea’s most infamous entry in the Jackiespoloitation genre, with the ridiculous Revenge of the Drunken Master, which was released the same year as A Monstrous Corpse.

It’s perhaps Beomgu’s experience in the martial arts genre that results in A Monstrous Corpse’s highlight scene when, surrounded by the undead in the local morgue, Ming suddenly breaks character and busts out a few kung-fu poses before lunging at the snail-paced corpses with his fists and feet. It makes zero sense, but considering the tepid nature of everything else, it makes for an unexpected bright point even if it is for all the wrong reasons. The narrative does eventually try to inject some urgency back into proceedings when it’s revealed the scientists have increased the range of the ultrasonic waves from 1 kilometre to 3, which puts the local hospital in range and leads to more dordling zombies gracing the screen. However unlike Let Sleeping Corpses Lie the Korean version never leans into the horror aspect, with even the zombies themselves only really distinguishable via a blue light being shone on their face.

Ultimately it’s hard to call A Monstrous Corpse a good movie, however as a reflection of the era it was made in it undeniably has a certain quaint charm that keeps it watchable, and at just 85 minutes nobody can accuse it of overstaying its welcome. Now I just need to go and find the nearest 5G tower.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 5/10

Note: A Monstrous Corpse is currently available on the Korean Film Archive’s Korean Classic Film YouTube channel, linked below for convenience.