For starters, the handful of thespians on show here all perform well, especially leads Shawn Yue and Stephy Tang. Yue does a marvelous job, even further cementing himself as Hong Kong’s strongest male actor. Tang is also good, surprisingly creepy in a film that succeeds in throwing at least one major curveball, namely where the basic premise takes us.
Sure, the Pang connection is a dead giveaway, but still, many viewers will think they’re looking at a romantic tragedy when it starts. The setup is there and the horror doesn’t get going till a much later point in the story. And it’s a basically good premise: Tang plays Wai, a young woman diagnosed with cancer. Her life partner Ming (Shawn Yue), who loves her and her little kid sister more than anything, goes the distance and gladly sacrifices his career as a designer so he could spend more time with them.
This invariably leads to his dismissal and search for a new gig, which in turn becomes an opportunity to hook up with old childhood friend Chu Fong Ting, now a fully developed and decidedly gorgeous executive. That’s when things go awry and the film takes that inevitable turn towards grossout land. Be warned, one scene in particular will have you skipping a few meals, and kudos to Stephy for agreeing to do the repulsive honors.
In fact, this one is probably the scariest, most disturbing release from the Pang collective. That still doesn’t mean it’s terribly frightening, but effective use of darkness and light adds volumes to proceedings, as does the superb soundtrack, once again contributed by Pang’s usual Thai collaborators.
A young woman named Wai is diagnosed with cancer. Her life partner Ming, who loves her and her little kid sister more than anything, goes the distance and gladly sacrifices his career as a designer so he could spend more time with them. This invariably leads to his dismissal and search for a new gig, which in turn becomes an opportunity to hook up with old childhood friend Chu Fong Ting, now a fully developed and decidedly gorgeous executive. |