(image credit: scanned by DTLCT)
I have to say that I’ve never been scared of Aaron Kwok in my life, considering he’s one of my favorite singers and actors. But this time, I was very freaked out, to say the least, because of this movie.
The story started out as a typical psychological, murder mystery. It had us going throughout that Aaron’s character, Ling Kwong, must have done it–but just lost his memory. The typical, over-killed plot, right? WRONG! He wasn’t really the murderer in the end–as the title had implied since the beginning and the details had let on throughout. He wasn’t exactly the killer behind it all yet he might as well be. Not because there was no evidence to prove his innocence. That was partially it and the reason why he’d been driven to insanity eventually. The actual event that made him became the murderer was killing his long-time friend and partner in the police force, who was portrayed by Eddie Cheung.
What made this movie worth watching for me was seeing Aaron in a completely different role. He was still a cop–as for some previous movies/ TV series–but wasn’t just a typical charming cop with a sense of humor. Maybe because it was suitable that there was no humor because of the intensity throughout the movie. (Duh, right? I KNOW!) This time, it was different because like I mentioned, there were lots of clues leading us to believe he was indeed the murderer. Not to mention how he kept denying it but Tai (portrayed by Chen Kuan Tai) was so scared of him when he woke up. It made sense that he was the killer. But that was another element to mislead us into thinking there was no hope for Kwong. Kwong would eventually pay for his crime, especially after having killed his long-time friend. Yet he was actually paying for a different crime altogether and the most coincidental thing was he didn’t commit either one of the crimes. The first was the serial killer they’d been seeking for all these months. What was the second one? The crime of unfaithfulness was committed by his father years and years ago. Was this like the saying, “What the father owes, the son will have to repay”? Because seriously, that was what happened in this case because his half-brother was out for revenge and he was caught in it all, knowing he couldn’t change anything after he landed in prison at the end of the movie…except wait. Wait for a day when he finally got out and have another opportunity or bulletproof plan to seek revenge.
The second reason why it was worth watching for me was seeing this collaboration between Aaron and Eddie. I don’t know if they’d worked together before–possibly yes. But it was interesting seeing how they teamed up for this one. Their friendship seemed genuine and solid yet it proved that it did not pass the test. Mostly because Kwong had gone bonkers. Even if it wasn’t totally his fault because he wasn’t in the right of mind but I felt that was the biggest mistake he made that landed him in a no-win situation in the end. If Eddie’s character had survived, there might have been more to look forward to. Sure, there would be delays yet more clues would reveal itself and there would be an ally for the final battle with the little devil (literally).
One other thing that made me want to watch this movie was seeing Janine Chang. YES, not a good reason to watch something since it could be misleading. Yet I didn’t mind this time after checking out the plot already. (At least the basic summary.) She had limited screen time but it was all right since the focus was supposed to be on Kwong and his journey to finding out the truth. At first, she was like the rest of them, thinking that Kwong had lost it, but later was convinced by Kwong to watch out for the half-brother. If she’d been more careful, she would’ve survived. But I guess that wasn’t the point because that little devil was definitely careful and manipulative all along. Her death was the cruelest compared to the others–possibly because we got to know her character somewhat as a sweet, caring wife. Randomness-wise, she made an interesting pairing with Aaron. I thought it wouldn’t work but they were quite in sync with one another.
There was also Chin Ka Lok’s brief appearance as one of the cops. His more important role in this film was the action choreographer, which proved quite convincing. The music also played a big part in helping this film achieve its eerie effects.
Recommended? If you’re looking for something to scare you half to death at night, watch it. Watch it at night! It’s scarier. And if you’re willing to give it a try, that is.
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