Serious Hong Kong horror

Re: HORROR HOTLINE ... BIG HEAD MONSTER (thoughts on this and other Asian horrors) -- justin Kerswell
» Posted by: Yvonne , 01/25/2002, 11:00:20

Here's recommending the following titles for the viewing "pleasure" of those who like their horror straight up (or at least unadulterated by comedy) and also more on the criminal -- as opposed to supernatural -- side:-

NUDE FEAR -- The exploitative title probably contributed a lot to making this intelligent and gripping work the sleeper that it seems to be. Don't think I would be remiss in suggesting that Alan Mak's directorial debut work does to female viewers what AUDITION does to male ones. Having said that, still do reckon that it ought to captivate at least some male fans of suspenseful crime dramas.

VICTIM (1999) -- Even though the ending on most home video versions appears to be the one favored by producer Joe Ma (rather than director Ringo Lam), that which boasts very effective performances from Tony Leung Kar Fai, Lau Ching Wan and Amy Kwok still is a pretty well made and excellent suspenseful -- plus at times downright creepy -- film for the most part.

HER VENGEANCE -- The often sadly under-rated Pauline Wong and Lam Ching Ying are the major reasons why I reckon that this raw, action-packed rape revenge drama is as good as it is.

REMAINS OF A WOMAN -- The following encapsulates what I feel about that which won Carrie Ng a Golden Horse best actress award: "The scariest thing about the movie is not its gore but the way [its main male character] turns women into putty by feeding them cocaine or religious beautitudes. [He] is the sort of heartless bastard that otherwise-rational women crawl over broken glass for while nice guys...shrug [their] shoulders in resigned disbelief..." (Stefan Hammond and Mike Wilkins, "Sex and Zen & A Bullet in the Head", 1996:234).

INTRUDER -- Has a horror movie villain(ess) ever had a sweeter face and been scarier? In any case, what a great pity it is that this dark film appears to have been too much/hard to take for most people; with the consequence being that it's Milkway Image's lowest box office grosser plus that which put paid to Wu Chien-Lien's Hong Kong movie career...