Hero (2002) – Fant-Asia Film Review

HERO is one of the best films of its kind and one of the most beautiful films ever made. A martial arts Fant-Asia costume epic, the film’s storyline edges closer to legend than history, and its displays of impossible fighting skill (swordsmen running on water, bouncing off treetops, floating through the air) pushes it into outright fantasy territory. The closest point of comparison for most American audiences will, of course, be Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but HERO may be an even finer achievement. Its plot may not have the same broad appeal (although it too includes a love story), but HERO director Zhang Yimou stages every scene with a grandeur and beauty beyond the relatively mild approach of Ang Lee.
Set in pre-unified China, at a time when a king’s armies have been conquering local provinces and bringing them under his rule, the story uses a RASHOMON-type narrative device of having its events narrated by a nameless hero (played by Jet Li, he is literally called “Nameless”), who is invited to the royal castle after slaying three assassins who had dedicated themselves to killing the king. For this, he is rewarded with gold, land, and the privilege of sitting within ten paces of the king. Nameless explains how he defeated the assassins Sky (Donnie Yen), Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung), and Broken Sword (Tony Leung), but the story does not add up for the king, who offers a different version: the assassins sacrificed themselves, allowing Nameless to kill them so that he would win the privilege of getting within ten paces of the king—close enough to assassinate him. The king may be correct, but Nameless hesitates to take advantage of his opportunity. Instead, he tells a third version of events, in which Broken Sword, who has attained a kind of enlightenment through years of dedication to calligraphy, advises him to assassination attempt.
Initially, the story-telling device seems like an excuse to string together several fight scenes, and Nameless polishes off the three assassins so quickly that you wonder how the filmmakers will stretch their tale to feature length. Once the alternate versions of events emerge, however, the complications serve to deepen and enrich the story. What started out looking like a simple action flick turns into a wonderful drama, with characters acting out of complex, contradictory motives. Much of the conflict emerges from the love affair between Broken Sword and Flying Snow, the latter of whom remains dedicated to revenging herself upon the king for the death of her father even after her lover has renounced the mission. This love story is not as central to the film as the one in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but it goes a long way toward investing the events with operatic-style melodramatic emotions, in keeping with the virtuoso displays of visual style.
This is a film in which every fight is layered beneath falling rain, wind-blown flower petals, or whirling curtains—a colorful feast for the eyes that should appeal even to those who do not appreciate martial arts films in general. By now, it’s become a cliché to say that Chinese actions scenes are staged like a well-choreographed ballet, but this is a film that lives up to that description and then some. Unlike the action in the KILL BILL films, the floating wire-work and slow-motion stunts are not just visceral display of action prowess; they create a hypnotic dance in which every move expresses some part of each character’s soul, revealing as much about them as any intimate dialogue ever could. This is a film that wants you to cry, not cheer, when a fatal blow is struck, and it succeeds.
If there is a flaw in the film, it is that the narrative structure, showing multiple versions of past events, grows slightly repetitious. By the time the film abandons this story-telling device and wraps up its loose threads, showing us the actual conclusion of events, the story almost feels as if it is extending itself one or two scenes too far: When we see the final battle between Broken Sword and Flying Snow, still quarreling over the mission to kill the king, it’s almost a replay of the imagined confrontations shown before—and that’s still not the end of the movie, with yet another scene detailing the fate of the film’s Nameless Hero.
Even here, however, the film manages a heartfelt, tragic conclusion that resonates deeply with the viewer, redeeming any narrative weakness. HERO is an action film, but it is much more, attaining a kind of grandeur that Troy wanted but only partially achieved. Even if you’re not interested in fancy swordplay, the bold colors and big emotions will win you over.

TRIVIA

The film created a small controversy when it was released, based on the accusations by some that it conveyed a pro-communist message. Read more here.
Yimou Zhang followed up HERO with the even better HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS.
HERO (a.k.a. Ying Xiong, 2002). Directed by Yimou Zhang. Written by Feng Li, Bin Wang, Yimou Zhang. Cast: Jet Li, Tony Leung, Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung, Ziyi Zhang, Daoming Chen, Donnie Yen.
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The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) – Fantasy Film Review


It may not be impossible, but it is certainly difficult to think of a film more weighted down with expectations – both good and bad – than this Hong Kong-style martial arts fantasy. Most obviously, it represents the first on-screen pairing of Jackie Chan and Jet Li – which makes it an automatic must-see movie, while simultaneously setting itself up to disappoint (can it possibly live up to the potential?). Even more potential pitfalls lie in the fact that it is an Americanization of traditional Chinese legends, raising concerns about Hollywood’s penchant for homogenizing material culled from other cultures. In other words, THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM could be either a thrill-filled hit or an epic disaster. In the end, it is not quite either, but despite falling prey to some of the anticipate problems, it ultimately emerges victorious, perhaps wobbling a bit, but only in the giddy manner of the drunken master played by Chan.
The film launches with a scene of the Monkey King (a legendary Chinese figure, here played by Li) defeating some of the Jade Emperor’s warriors on a mountain top, immediately establishing that the patented Woo-ping Yuen stunt choreography (complete with wire-work that makes the characters seem to fly) is up to standards. A segue implies that the sequence is a dream in the head of an American teen named Jason (Michael Angarano), a sort of Karate Kid for the new millennium, who is obsessed with old kung fu movies starring Bruce Lee – and even more obscure titles, unknown to the average American viewer.  His initial geeky blandness is so overdone that FORBIDDEN KINGDOM starts to resemble an afternoon special aimed at junior high school kids.
Jason is friends with Old Hop, owner of a Chinese pawn shop, who sells him DVDs of movies that Hop regards with contempt. If you don’t look close, you won’t realize that Old Hop is played, beneath layers of old age makeup, by Jackie Chan. This accomplishes two things: It shows us Chan attempting an actual acting role (as opposed to merely playing himself, which he does quite well), and it lays the first yellow brick in the road that will lead the film as much into the land of Oz as into Chinese mythology.
This is an American film, so of course there are some one-dimensional thugs who terrorize our Jason, forcing him to act as a decoy when they rob Old Hop’s store. As fate would have it, the store contains an ancient spear that once belonged to the Monkey King. Jason grabs it and runs up on the roof, where the thugs confront him, warning him to keep silent after they shoot Old Hop. Jason is magically dragged off the roof and falls – not to his death but into an ancient Chinese fantasy land, populated by immortals and magical figures, where he soon finds himself on a quest to return the weapon to its rightful owner. He is aided by a garrulous “Drunken Master” (Chan again, the first of several actors in dual roles). Later, they are joined by a Silent Monk (Jet Li again), who steals the spear. There is also the beautiful Golden Sparrow (Yifei Liu), who wants revenge against the Jade Warrior (Colin Chou), who killed her parents. The Jade Warrior has his own agents on his side, including a White-Haired Witch (Bing Bing Li), who cracks a mean whip.
Essentially, this is a coming-of-age story, with the nerdy Jason rising to the occasion, putting aside his movie-inspired kung fu fantasies and learning not only how to kick ass but also how to comport himself with honor and dignity. Although the story itself borders on the trite, it is cleverly used as a path to lure American viewers into the Chinese fantasy land where most of the spectacular action takes place.
Once in the mythical land of the “Forbidden Kingdom,” a sense of magic and adventure infuses the proceedings, lifting the film above its mundane beginning. Jason becomes the eye of the storm, the quiet, almost blank character around whom several whirling dervishes spin like mad, in order to distract us from the vacuum at the film’s center. Fortunately, as Jason grows and buffs out under the tutelage of the two martial arts masters, Angarano seems to take on more definition; the attempt to turn his character into a lean, mean fighting machine, instead of provoking laughter (as one might expect), actually takes him a step toward being a convincing character. (And the film wisely avoids overstepping here: the climax has Jason joined by lots of allies, taking the pressure off of him to perform in battle.)

Jet Li and Jackie Chan fight over who is best qualified to train the young American

If the lead character needs propping up, fortunately the supporting cast is extremely strong. Although screenwriter John Fusco claims he did not write the characters with the stars in mind, both Chan and Li fill out roles that might as well have been tailor made for them. Li is whimsical and amusing as the Monkey King, a showy non-dialogue role that allows for lots of tongue-in-cheek antics mixed with spectacular sword play. As the Silent Monk he is perhaps even more impressive; filling the screen with his mere presence, he registers strongly even while saying little.
Chan revives the “drunken master” persona that helped make him an international star. He is totally comfortable in the role, but what is truly impressive is that it does require more acting from him than usual. Despite his martial arts skills, Chan has always been less of an action star or an actor than the modern equivalent of a silent comedian, yet here he plays a garrulous character who is not only funny but also sometimes sincere. (Chan supposedly objected to the extensive dialogue, expressing a preference for the Silent Monk role; fortunately, he rose to the challenge, delivering a performance that will be familiar to his fans without being a retread. Let’s say it’s an extension of his familiar persona.)
Rounding out the quartet of heroes is the lovely Yifei Liu as Golden Sparrow, the young woman seeking to avenge her parents. Like much on view in FORBIDDEN KINGDOM, her role will seem familiar to fans of Hong Kong fantasy films (she’s delicate and beautiful, but she kicks ass as well as any of the men), but in this case familiarity does not breed contempt. Instead, it’s refreshing fun to see her play the same old notes in her own style.
On the villains’ side, Colin Chou is the classic man you love to hate – all regal charm laced with subdued menace. Avoiding scenary chewing theatrics, he puts the character across with body language and a carefully modulated voice. (Of all the Asian actors, he gives the strongest performance on a pure acting level, and if anyone ever wants to remake LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES, he should definitely get the Dracula role.)
As Chou’s chief agent, Bing Bing Li might seem to possess a face too young and beautiful to convey much menace as the White-Haired Witch, but she is totally convincing when she leaps into action and even more so when she is standing still: she knows how to strike a pose that tells you everything you need to know about her character’s intentions.
Fusco’s script is filled subplots that give the characters their own agendas, but he manages to tie the threads together without getting them tangled. Besides the central quest, there is also Golden Sparrow’s revenge, and one of the heroes is mortally wounded and can only be saved by a magical elixir – which the Jade Warlord has promised to the White-Haired Witch. All of this culminates in wild battle, where everyone’s karma gets leveled (unlike say, ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO, which lost track of who should be shooting whom). The only minor misstep stems from the eager anticipation the White-Haired Witch conveys early in the film regarding Golden Sparrow; the moment perfectly sets up a cat-fight confrontation that is short-circuited in the finale, because there are so many different fights going on that the combatants seem to change partners almost as if in a square dance.
Unfortunately, the film cannot quite end there. Like Dorothy leaving Oz, Jason has to return to this old life. In his case, however, he cannot simply wake up in his room with Aunty Em; he has to confront those bullies who beat him up. The predictable payback scene is not helped by Michael Angarano’s unconvincing mad face when he finally decides to utilize all those martial arts skills he learned over the rainbow, but at least his character makes a token attempt at trying to talk his way out of a fight. And there is a nice grace note, with the surprise appearance of yet another character who corresponds to someone in the Forbidden Kingdom. 
Of course, the real must-see moment is the fight between Li and Chan. It is perhaps not quite the most spectacular scene of its kind every filmed, but it does feature the amazing choreography one expects from Woo-ping Yuen, and more important, it has some personality to it, capturing the contrasting styles of the two stars: the affability of Chan versus the stoicism of Li. The purists – especially those who despise wire-work because it is too fanciful – may object, but everyone else should be satisfied. 
Director Rob Minkoff (whose last film was Disney’s dreadful THE HAUNTED MANSION in 2003) captures much of the appeal of the Hong Kong fantasy genre, and he serves it up in a way that is palatable to an American audience. Despite the PG-13 rating, there are times when he seems to think he is still directing a Disney kiddie movie instead of a more mature mythological adventure, and as if that were not a big enough yardstick, the WIZARD OF OZ parallels provide more reason to find the film lacking. (When the White-Haired – instead of green-faced – Witch confronts the quartet of one young woman and three men in a cherry orchard, you can’t help trying to match the characters: Golden Sparrow is Dorothy; Lu Yan is the Cowardly Lion; the Silent Monk is the Tin Man; and Jason is…Toto?)

Tin Man, the Lion, Toto and Dorothy?

Still, a movie can fall short of a classic and still be exhilerating fun. THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM’s saving grace is its good natured eagerness to please, coupled with a decent amount of ambition. It’s not really sophisticated, but it’s not just a mindless bastardization of the films it emulates. It may lack the purity and/or originality of HERO and A CHINESE GHOST STORY. It definitely lacks the rapturous romance of THE BRIDE WITH WHITE HAIR; CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON; and HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS. Yet, if you’re willing to make allowances for the necessity of appealing to a broad American audience, FORBIDDEN KINGDOM works quite well as a crowd-pleaser. Connoisseurs may insist that their favorite cocktail be served only in a traditional Chinese container, but everyone else should enjoy tasting the same ingredients remixed in an American tumbler.
THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM (2007). Directed by Rob Minkoff. Written by John Fusco. Cast: Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michael Angarano, Colin Chou, Yifei Liu, Bing Bing Li, Morgan Benoit, Deshun Wang.

Sulu in San Diego: An Intimate Interview, Part III

In Part I of this chat with George Takei at the 2007 San Diego Asian Film, the actor talked with SDAFF founder and executive director Lee Ann Kim about his experience on STAR TREK and his relationship with Gene Roddenberry.  In Part II, he discussed lobbying for Captaincy in the STAR TREK movies, his memories of being forced to live in a Japanese internment camp during World War 2, why he came out of the closet, and his disdain toward Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and President George W. Bush.  In Part III he reveals his satisfaction doing the William Shatner Roast on Comedy Central, how he got involved in THE HOWARD STERN SHOW and HEROES, and how he met Bruce Lee. As with the first two parts, rather than write this as an article, I felt that it would be more respectful to share Takei’s words using Q&A format so his nothing is taken out of context. Continue reading “Sulu in San Diego: An Intimate Interview, Part III”

Sulu in San Diego: An Intimate Interview, Part II

Actor Geroge TakeiIn Part I of an intimate interview with George Takei at the 2007 San Diego Asian Film Festival, SDAFF founder and executive director Lee Ann Kim asked George Takei about his experience on the original STAR TREK television show and his relationship with Gene Roddenberry.  In Part II, the actor discusses his ascension to captaincy in the movie series, his reasons for telling the media he is gay, and his political views on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and President George W. Bush.
As previously mentioned, because of the touchy nature of the topics he chose to discuss, rather than write his quotes into an article, I felt that it would be more respectful to share Takei’s comments in Q&A format, so that his words are not taken out of context.
LEE ANN KIM:  Did you have to do any lobbying in order to try go up the ranks on the Enterprise over the years?
GEORGE TAKEI:  We had seven regular actors and two battling for supremacy. Bill Shatner was the ostensible star of the series, but once the series was on the air, Leonard Nimoy had more fan letters than any of us, including Bill Shatner.  And Bill got very insecure.  So there was a battle royale going on and they were lobbying for their characters and when you have the two leads in a series trying to get as much time as possible, it was difficult for the rest of us to get to say more than just, “Aye aye, sir,” and, “Warp 3.” Continue reading “Sulu in San Diego: An Intimate Interview, Part II”

Sulu in San Diego: Intimate Interview with George Takei – Part I

George TakeiIt’s been a while since the San Diego Asian Film Festival (SDAFF, which I wrote about here and here) and it’s given me time to digest all that was wild, woolly, cool, creepy, sad, mad, angry and far out.  At the end of the day, George Takei’s appearance was the one event that encompassed all these emotions as he revealed more about his life and career from the aspect of being a Japanese-American actor living and working in Hollywood than with his run-of-the-mill appearances at STAR TREK conventions.  When was the last time he spoke about being gay and the angst that goes with that to Trekie fans?  Never.
Lee Ann Kim (LAK), an anchor for KGTV (San Diego’s ABC TV affiliate) and the executive director of the San Diego Film Foundation invited me to be the SDAFF’s official blogger and arranged for me to be present during Takie’s interview.  Armed with a tape recorder and camera, I had front row seat furor and witnessed this event first-hand, which was simulcast over the Internet to millions of Takei fans worldwide.  The buzz had the electrified fans whirring all over the world, watching Kim ask the actor about his newly named cosmic namesake, whichprompted him to blurt, “Oh, my – I am now a heavenly body.” I am of course referring to the asteroid formerly known as “1994 GT9” that has been renamed “7307 Takei” in honor of the actor.  All of us that were squeezed into Theater 6, sat around like little children with wide-eyed wonder hanging on every word that Takei was willing to share…and share he did. Continue reading “Sulu in San Diego: Intimate Interview with George Takei – Part I”

Remaking Asian Horror – A Brief History

THE GRUDGE: Kayako (Takako Fuji) performs her infamous downstairs crawl in the American remake.

THE EYE (based on the 2002 film by the Pang Brothers) is the lastest in a series of remakes inspired by horror films from Japan, Korea, and China. American audiences first became aware of this trend in 2002, when THE RING (a remake of Japan’s 1998 gem RING) was released to blockbuster success – nearly $130-million at the U.S. box office alone. This led to THE GRUDGE two years later (based on JU-ON: THE GRUDGE), which was almost as big a success as THE RING, earning in excess of $110-million on American screens. Of course, this kind of success inspires repetition, and it seems as if American cinema has been drowning in remakes of Asian horror films ever since (a fact spoofed in the tagline for HATCHET, which proclaimed, “It’s not a sequel, it’s not a remake, and it’s not based on a Japanese one”).
As one might expect from a trend based entirely on mercenary motives, the critical reaction has been mostly negative. After all, few of these films cry out to be remade; most of the originals are superior; and the main stumbling block to U.S. distribution is the language barrier (American audiences do not like to read subtitles, and dubbing often sounds silly). American filmmakers look to Asia less for inspiration than for ready-made templates that can be used to punch out duplicates; besides language and loctation, the major “improvements” usually consist of pumping up the pacing with a few more jump-scares and enhancing the special effects with computer-generated imagery.
What is perhaps a little more surprising in the face of the on-going trend is that, since THE GRUDGE, none of these films has become a blockbuster. In 2005, THE RING 2 topped out at $76-million; a year later, THE GRUDGE 2 fared even worse, falling shy of the $40-million mark. At this point, an Asian-inspired horror film that could crack $30-million would be an anamoly, yet Hollywood keeps churning them out ( apparently the rational is that the film can still be profitable because they can be made cheaply).
This is a sad statement about the lack of originality in the American horror genre. One can hardly blame filmmakers for chasing after the big bucks, but when it becomes an accounting game (“After  tallying in DVD sales and ancillary markets, we’re out of the red”), one has to wonder how the mercenary motivation can be strong enough to justify the continuing artistic hackery.
With this preamble in mind, below the fold we offer a rundown of remakes and spin-offs inspired by great Asian horror films. We had originally considered calling this a “Best of” list, until the absurdity of using “best” in this context reduced us to gales of derisive laughter. Read on, if you dare…

* * *

RING (a.k.a. “Ringu,” 1998).

RING (998) proves that television is bad for you: Sadako emerges from the cursed video tape

Our first entry is a bit of a joke: the film that started it all is a remake! Koji Suzuki’s novel had previously been adapted as a 1995 Japanese television mini-series that hewed closer to the source material. The feature film version made several significant changes: the lead character became a single woman with a child (as in Suzuki’s short story “Dark Water”); the virus metaphor (with references to small pox and DNA providing a hint of a scientific explanation for the cursed video) was downplayed in favor of the supernatural; and in a nod to David Cronenberg’s VIDEODROME, the memorable conclusion featured the ghostly Sadako emerging from the television set. The rest is horror history.

*

RING 2 (a.k.a. “Ringu 2,” 1999).
This sequel to RING is in a sense a remake, although we may be stretching the definition a bit. The first sequel, RASEN (a.k.a. “Spiral,” 1998, based on Suzuki’s novel), was shot simultaneously with RING, but it turned out to be a box office flop. One year later, the producers went back and made a new sequel. Although RING 2 is officially not a remake of RASEN, it does hit many of the same story points: Takano Mai (Nakatanii Miki) is searching to unravel the mystery of math professor Ryuji Takayama’s death in the first film; the parents of Reiko Asakawa (the reporter from the first film) choose to burn the videotape and die rather than spread Sadako’s curse; and Asakawa dies in a car accident. RING 2 is a bit of a rehash (“let’s take what worked before and do it again”), but it captures a little bit of the mood from its predecessor, and fans may find it diverting.

*

THE RING VIRUS (2000).
Before the Americans got ahold of RING, South Korea delivered this  remake (which takes its title from a phrase used in Spiral, Susuki’s sci-fi sequel to his original novel). This film contains several elements from the novel that were abandoned in the Japanese film; in his book The Ring Companion, Denis Meikle goes so far as to insist that RING VIRUS is too different to be considered a genuine remake. Nevertheless, this film retains the essential changes wrought by RING: the protagonist is a woman reporter with a child, and the film ends with the evil ghost (here called Eun-Su) crawling out of a television set. RING VIRUS has little to offer that was not done better in RING, but it does feature a few ideas/images that were borrowed in the later American remake, so the Korean film has had an impact on the trend that followed.

*

THE RING (2002).
Here is where the remake trend really took off at the box office. When producers Laurie MacDonald and Walter F. Parkes saw RING, instead of simply purchasing the distribution rights, the opted to remake it for American audiences. Their version borrows not only from its namesake but also from RING 2  and THE RING VIRUS (and possibly even DARK WATER). It is pretty much a soulless, mechanical affair, “distinguished” by the addition of a few gratuitous shocks (a suicide by electrocution in the bath tub and the goring of a horse by a ship’s propeller) and by some crazy foreshadowing (long before Samara [this film’s version of Sadako, played by Daveigh Chase], a fly magically emerges from a TV screen showing the cursed videotape, but our crack reporter does not sense a front page story at this miracle). The film is not exactly bad, but it is lacking in inspiration and atmosphere, creating some dull passages (unlike the original, which was tense even when nothing was happening). In any case, it was a huge hit, with a worldwide gross of nearly $250-million.

*

THE GRUDGE (2004).
Uniquely, this remake of JU-ONE: THE GRUDGE was directed by the same man who helmed the original, Takashi Shimizu; not only that, it is set in Tokyo instead of being relocated to America, and Takako Fuji returns as the malevolent ghost Kayako. The American production company, Ghost House, was created by Sam Raimi (director of SPIDER-MAN) specifically to remake foreign horror films for the American market. Raimi wisely realized that, in the horror genre, execution can be more important than story; hence the hiring of Shimizu. The screenplay by Stephen Susco incorporates elements from all four Japanese JU-ON movies and forefronts the leading lady (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar), turning her into a more traditional protagonist and diminishing the fragmented narrative structure of the original. Despite the changes, this is easily the best of the American remakes, the only one that stands on its own. It’s a bit like hearing a recording artist redo one of his own hits: Working with Hollywood resources, Shimizu not only recreates his patented scares; he sometimes exceeds them. For example, check out the wonderful elevator scene, in which cat-ghost boy Toshio is seen on every floor: unlike the original, which relied on editing to fake the illusion, the American remake achieves the effect in a single, continuous take. The result was another box office hit, with worldwide reveneues of over $188-million.

*

THE RING TWO (2005).

Samara climbs out of the well in THE RING TWO

This time, the American producers followed the example of Sam Raimi and hired the director of the Japanese original to helm their film. Although not officially a remake of RING 2, this American sequel to the 2002 hit takes a similar tack, destroying the cursed videotape right off the bat, instead of following up on the implications of THE RING’s ending (which suggested that copies of the tape would spread like a virus). Having nipped the curse in the bud, the screenplay by Ehren Kruger has to come up with a new story, which it does, but only feebly. Now, Samara seems to want a mother figure to replace the one she lost while alive, and she turns her attention on harassing the son of reporter Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts). With this storyline, and plenty of water imagery, THE RING TWO feels like more of a remake of DARK WATER. Hideo Nagata, director of RING, got a chance to helm this sequel, but he brings little of the atmosphere and intensity he achieved in his Japanese horror films; the film just coasts along, searching for scares like a tourist on a lonely road, desperate for a roadside attraction to break the tedium. The film showed a steep decline at the box office from THE RING, but it was still a big hit worldwide, earning nearly $162-million.

*

DARK WATER (2005).
This is not a particularly bad film, but it succumbs to the all-too-common “it’s not really a horror film” syndrome. Following the plot of the 2001 Japanese film, this remake stars Oscar-winner Jennifer Connelly as a woman going through a painful divorce, who moves into a rundown building with her daughter. The dingy, deteriorating setting becomes an externalization of her declining mental state, and to top it all off, the place is haunted by a little ghost girl looking for a surrogate mother. The film was a box office disappointment, perhaps predictably; after all, its basic  had been stolen by THE RING TWO, so audiences were left feeling as if they had seen it all before. Consequently, this is the first evidence that remaking a J-Horror film is not the equivalent of minting gold. Worldwide box office returns fell shy of $50-million.

*

THE GRUDGE 2 (2006).
After the success of THE GRUDGE, this sequel turned out to be a massive disappointment. Like THE RING TWO, this is not an official remake of its Japanese namesake, JU-ON: THE GRUDGE 2; instead, we get an original story that finds screenwriter Stephen Susco (like Ehren Kruger before him) fumbling about when he does not have a pre-written story to copy. Judgin from the behind-the-scenes features on the DVD, there were major disagreements between the American production company and the Japanese filmmakers over what direction to take; the result is a compromised effort that plays out like a weak duplication of its predecessor. Director Takashi Shimizu utilizes his patented scare techniques, but they are undermined by a convoluted structure that delays the pay-offs past the point of audience patience. The film is also hampered by a rather obvious studio injunction to get the story headed toward America, presumably so that subsequent sequels can abandon the Tokyo connection altogether. One gets the feeling that the strategy was to set the franchise up to make less expensive sequels, possibly for the DVD market (a suspicion enhanced by the “Tales from the Grudge” Internet webisodes released before the film, which looked like resume builders for a potential future director). The box office result was a big drop from THE GRUDGE, with worldwide total not quite reaching $69-million.

*

PULSE (2006).
This remake of the enigmatic KAIRO (2001) sat on a shelf for a long time while the Hollywood filmmakers re-tooled it. They might as well have not bothered: when it finally came out, it barely earned $20-million in the U.S., with overseas totals boosting the worldwide total to a meagre $29.8-million.

*

ONE MISSED CALL (2008).
Arriving earlier this year, this remake proved once and for all that Hollywood just does not get it. The 2004 Japanese original (directed by Takasha Miike) was a virtual parody of the cliches that had proliferated in the six years since RING. Ingoring the satirical intent of the original, the American remake treats the material with a straight face, as if it had never been seen before, and the result is decidedly dull, even though the running time is nearly a half-hour shorter. Not only that, director Eric Valette botches the two big set pieces: the death of one victim in a television recording studio, and the resurrection of a corpse in a hospital. As of this writing, the film’s U.S. gross stands at $26.2-million, with overseas revenues yet to kick in. Final tallies should be somewhere in the neighborhood of DARK WATER.

* * *

When a horror sub-genre is so depleted that it cannot deliver even basic scares, it is time to call it quits. Unfortunately, Hollywood refuses to learn its lesson. Not only is THE EYE opening today; A TALE OF TWO SISTERS (remade from the well regarded Korean film) is scheduled for later this year. Oh well, at least the continuing trend of Asian remakes is no worse than TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, THE HILLS HAVE EYES, THE HITCHER, and FRIDAY THE 13TH.

The Eye 10 (2005) – DVD Review

Despite the numeral 10 in the title, this is only the second sequel to THE EYE; the title actually refers to ten methods for viewing the dead, one of which was seen in each previous film, leaving eight for this movie to explore. This interesting concept helps retroactively turn the first two EYES into more of a matched pair (THE EYE 2 actually had little in common with its predecessor), and it also provides a vivid jumping-off for more sight-seeing among the dead. Unfortunately, the promising premise soon grows weary and bloodshot with strain, and the film develops an even more obvious case of myopia than afflicted THE EYE 2. Directors Danny and Oxide Pang display occasional flashes of the brilliant vision that made the original EYE a sight not to be missed, but more often than not they seem blind to the serious emotional qualities that made the film something more than a silly spook show.
The minimal story has a group from Hong Kong on vacation in Thailand, where a friend reveals “The Ten Encounters.” Having heard of the first two (brief flashbacks imply they are familiar with the vents of EYE and EYE 2), the friends decided to try the other eight, in hope of seeing a ghost. During one encounter (a sort of hide and seek by night in the woods, with a cat used to reveal the ghost), one of the group disappears, apparently sucked into the spirit world. Two of his friends bail out on him, returning to Hong Kong, while another stays behind to search for him, and winds up disappearing herself. Eventually, the two friends in Hong Kong, haunted by ghosts and guilt, return to Thailand and use the Tenth Encounter (sleeping in funeral clothes) to enter the Land of the Dead and search for their missing comrades.
For the first act, the concept works as a means to string together a series of frightening set pieces; you actually believe the film is going to consist of eight sequences, one for each of the untried “Encounters.” Although the method lacks the dramatic aspirations of the first two pictures, it does lend itself to a bigger eyeful of spooky encounters. In particular, an exterior sequence at a crossroads, tapping chopsticks on bowls to summon hungry spirits, is a highlight, with dozens of the dead swarming around the frightened humans (who must continue tapping or risk becoming visible to the ghosts).
Once the plot kicks in, the film stumbles and falls as if struck blind. The cowardly departure of two friends is treated as a joke, but it’s a bad one. Later, one of the lead characters is briefly possessed, and his jerky contortions are misinterpreted by a break-dancer as a challenge, leading to a lengthy music-video interlude, set to rap music. The sequence is actually one of the most memorable in the film (the visual slapstick is laugh-out-loud funny), but it destroys any vestige of credibility, ensuring that no suspense can survive for the third act excursion into the other world. In any case, the quest in the land of the dead is played for even cruder laughs, including a mind-bogglingly stupid flatulence joke: The swarms of the dead are held at bay by the warm breath of the living; when the living run out of breath, they resort to expelling gas, which is rendered as a computer-generated smoke ring!
Whatever their relative merits, THE EYE and THE EYE 2 aspired to a certain maturity in the story-telling, in each case focusing on a young adult woman undergoing an emotional crisis brought on by unwanted encounters with the dead. THE EYE 10, conversely, is juvenile in concept and execution, focusing on a group of stupid kids who invite trouble upon themselves. Perhaps this was intended to distinguish the sequel from its predecessors, but the attempt backfires: THE EYE 10 ends up resembling dozens of other bad teen horror flicks, filled with non-entity victims. And the incongruous humor seems like a deliberately brutal jab at the viewer’s cornea, warning the audience not to look for the serious quality that distinguished the first film.
All in all, this is one EYE that should have stayed wide shut.

THE TEN ENCOUNTERS

As listed in the film, here are the “Ten Encounters” for viewing the dead:

  1. Seeing through the eyes of the dead (as in THE EYE)
  2. Attempting suicide while pregnant (as in THE EYE 2)
  3. Playing with a Spirit Glass (which spells out answers like a Ouija Board)
  4. Tapping chopsticks on a bowl at an intersection to summon hungry spirits
  5. Playing hide and seek at midnight (a ghost will “hide” one of the players, but a black cat will reveal the ghost)
  6. Rubbing one’s eyes with soil from a grave
  7. Opening an umbrella indoors
  8. Gazing into a mirror at midnight while brushing one’s hair
  9. Bending over to look upside down through one’s own legs
  10. Being laid out in clothing as if for one’s own funeral.

DVD DETAILS

The DVD for THE EYE 10 features a good widescreen transfer with 5.1 surround sound, in the original language (Cantonese, Thai, etc), with English subtitles. Bonus features include a trailer and a making-of featurette. The featurette explains the reasoning behind the title (trying to do something other than the expected “Eye 3”). It also features the Pang brothers discussing their inspiration for the “Ten Encounters”: as in the featurettes for THE EYE and THE EYE 2, they claim to have based their ideas on real events, including a game of hide and seek in which a boy went missing for days but had only felt the experience of being gone for a few minutes (presumably because time is slower in the spirit world).

THE EYE 10 (“Gin Gwai 10,” a.k.a. “The Eye: Infinity,” 2005). Directed by Danny Pang and Oxide pang. Written by Mar Wu, from a story by Oxide pang and Danny Pang. Cast: Bo-lin Chen, Yu Gu, Bongkoj Khongmalai, Isabella Leong, Ray MacDonald, Kate Yeung.

FILM & DVD REVIEWS: The Eye The Eye 2 – The Eye (2008 remake)

Evil Cat (1987) – A Retrospective Review

Hardly dull but not necessarily good.

This is a typically outrageous, action-packed flick from Hong Kong, in which characterization and coherence play second fiddle to throwing anything up on the screen that comes into the writer’s mind. With so much going on, the film is hardly ever dull, but that does not necessarily mean it is good. The violence and gore safely pushes the story into horror film territory, but the whole thing is too silly to take seriously, so no real thrills emerge. The cast of characters is rather generic, and the obligatory twist ending is so perfunctory it barely has any impact at all.

The film begins with a construction site where some kind of burial tomb is accidentally unearthed, unleashing a mysterious form of energy. A flashback reveals that fifty years ago, a swordsman fought and defeated a cat-demon (basically a man in makeup left over from Andrew Lloyd Weber’s musical, Cats) at the location. Now his son Master Cheung (Chia-Liang Liu) must re-fight the demon. He enlists the aid of the pretty much useless Long (Mark Cheng), who falls for Cheung’s beautiful daughter, a reporter named Siu-Cheun (Lai-Ying Tang). The cat demon possesses Long’s boss and, after the boss is dispatched, moves on to the body of the boss’s mistress. After the Evil Cat kills off a pop recording star, the heroes, along with cowardly Inspector Wu (played by the film’s writer, Jing Wong) confront the demon for a final showdown in a police station.
As is often the case with Hong Kong cinema, the story is an excuse to string together the action scenes – which is fine if the action is brilliant, but in this case, it is often merely adequate, when it is not completely ridiculous. For example, when the Evil Cat first manifests in an office building, one of its victims ends up running around holding on his severed hand – and asking someone else to hold it for him! An extended sequence in which Long tries to kill his possessed boss with a car plays out like a TERMINATOR-wannabe, as does the finale in the police station, undermining the supernatural horror with more conventional action cliches. Probably the film’s only genuinely scary moment occurs when the Evil Cat’s current human host awakens on an operating table and wipes out the surgical team.
The acting features the usual Hong Kong posturing (the Evil Cat, in whatever body) scowls and points emphatically with two fingers extended). The male lead is far from heroic, being more of a joker accidentally roped into the proceedings. As if this were not enough, Inspector Wu is even more of a joker (it’s impossible to believe he’s in a position of authority).

The titular Evil Cat reveals its true appearance (Meow!)
The titular Evil Cat reveals its true appearance ("Meow!")

The manifestations of the Evil Cat are disappointing. There are two brief glimpses of it in spiritual form (accomplished with animation), and at the beginning and the end we see its human hosts transformed into catlike beings, courtesy of makeup that is, to put it politely, comical in its impact. The rest of the time, the host are required to mimic cat-like movements, which they accomplish with all the skill of an acting student performing an exercise in a first-year acting class.

The film also demonstrates some odd sexist moments. We first meet Long in the company of a woman he calls a prostitute (although we never see any evidence of this). When he gives lift to Master Cheung, they decided to get rid of the woman by tying her up to a street lamp! When Long’s boss is possessed, it takes place mostly off-screen, but when the Evil Cat’s spirit passes on to the boss’s mistress, there is an extended special effects sequence clearly designed to suggest that she is being raped (the animated energy beams focus on her pelvis while she writes on a bed). Finally, the script rather cavalierly dismisses the leading lady at the climax, just to provide a last-minute surprise (along with an “it’s over – but it’s not” twist at the end). The result undermines any good will the audience had left for the film.

For fans of Hong Kong cinema, these blemishes may simply be part of the film’s charm, but EVIL CAT never reaches the giddy heights of the best Tsui Hark productions (e.g., A CHINESE GHOST STORY). It is unusual enough to merit some interest, but that interest is hardly rewarded when the filmmakers cannot be bothered to wrap their story up in a dramatically satisfying way. You may enjoy the ride, but you will regret the destination.

TRIVIA

When Master Cheung explains the story behind the Evil Cat, his skeptical daughter Siu-Cheun remarks that it sounds like something written by “Wisely.” Wisely is a recurring character in Chinese literature and film, an author who writes about his weird adventures encountering unusual phenomena. The character can be seen in the 1990 film THE CAT (“Lao Mao”), which is about some alien warriors on Earth, including a super-powered cat who gets into a kung fu fight with a dog!

EVIL CAT (“Xiang Mao,” 1987). Directed by Dennis Yu, Written by Jing Wong. Cast: Mark Cheng, Gallen Law, Chia-Lang Liu, Yiu Fung Si, Lai-Ying tang, Suk Woon Tsui, Jing Wong, Sai-Kit Yung.
RELATED ARTICLES: Read Hollywood Gothique’s Caturday Blogging entry on this title, which features more images from the film.
OTHER SCAREDY CATS:

Zu Warriors (2001) – DVD Review

ZU WARRIORS

This is a major disappointment from Hong Kong filmmaker Tsui Hark, who produced and/or directed some of the best fantasy films of the 1980s and 1990s (including A CHINESE GHOST STORY and GREEN SNAKE). This 2001 production, a re-hashing of 1983’s ZU, WARRIORS OF THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN, is updated in terms of productions values and special effects, but it lacks the flair and charm of Hark’s earlier productions. The heavy-handed approach to the slim story bogs the film down so badly that even hardcore fans will find their patience tested to the limits as they wait in vain hope for some of the old excitement to arise.

The setting is the mythical world of Zu, where immortals train for centuries to perfect their martial arts skills. One day, a pupil named King Sky (Ekin Cheng) is sent away by his master Dawn (Cecilia Cheung) just before an evil force destroys her. Centuries later, King Sky teams up with Red (Louis Koo) and White Eyebrows (Sammo Hung Kam-Bo) to confront the force, which now threatens all of Zu. King Sky meets Enigma, who is the reincarnation of Dawn. Red keeps watch over a mountain where the evil is gestating, but he is bedeviled by a tiny pixie that eventually possesses him, turning him evil. White Eyebrows instructs his followers to merge the Thunder and Sky swords into one invincible weapon, but the attempt fails. Then White Eyebrows tells King Sky that he has the ability to merge three great powers that will defeat the evil; only this does not work, so it’s back to merging the two magic swords, which finally succeeds, enabling victory. Continue reading “Zu Warriors (2001) – DVD Review”

Snake Woman's Curse (1968) – Film & DVD Review

This 1968 effort is the last in a series of kaidan eiga (ghost story movies) filmed by director Nobuo Nakagawa during a classic period that began in 1956 with THE VAMPIRE MOSTH (Kyuketsuki-ga). SNAKE WOMAN’S CURSE (Kaidan Hebi-Onna, literally, “Ghost Story of the Snake Woman”) is frankly not quite up to the standard of his earlier work, which includes the classics THE GHOST STORY OF YOTSUYA (Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan – i.e., “The Ghost Story of Yotsuya in Tokaido,” 1959) and JIGOKU (“Hell,” 1960); however, the film does include many of the stylist elements that established Nakagawa as Japan’s premier director of horror films. Fans of Japanese cinema, particularly Japanese horror cinema, should find it interesting; others will be put off by the slow pacing and occasional cornball moments.
The story is set during a period when Japan was undergoing a period of “Westernization” – a process that does not extend to the small coastal village where the action takes place. After the death of a poor farmer (who vowed he would work all his life and “even eat dirt” to retain his land), an indifferent overlord repossesses the farm and puts the dead man’s family to work in his house as servants. The widow (who previously nursed a wounded pigeon back to health) objects to the killing of a snake, is kicked down by the lord, and dies from a crack on the head. The daughter is raped by the lord’s son, then commits suicide. The daughter’s lover seeks revenge but falls off a cliff when hounded by the lord’s men. The lord, his wife, and their son are haunted by visions of ghosts, which drive all of them to their deaths. Have achieved retribution, the ghosts of the dead peasants are seen walking across a foggy plain toward the sun, apparently heading toward the afterlife. Continue reading “Snake Woman's Curse (1968) – Film & DVD Review”