New Blood
Director: Cheang Pou-soi
Year: 2002
Rating: 7.5
The recent development
from a number of the Hong Kong horror films in providing an authentically
creepy, non-goofy narrative is certainly welcomed by me. The usual inclusion
of comic relief in horror films has always been one of my cinematic pet
peeves and Hong Kong horror films often slowed to a tedious crawl when this
came about. Give me chills and curdling tension all the way through anytime.
With films like The Eye, Inner Senses, Visible Secret, Horror Hotline and
Going Home (the HK segment of Three), it feels like HK cinema has finally
grown up in regards to horror and fear. Part of this no doubt is an attempt
to appeal to an audience outside of Hong Kong where the comic relief bits
don’t play so well. The huge worldwide success of the Ring and The Sixth
Sense has really forced HK filmmakers to adjust their way of making horror
films. This low budget film continues this trend and delivers a nicely focused
film that drips with unease from beginning to end.
There isn’t a very well known cast here and much of the film finds it’s
feet in a nearly deserted hospital, a psycho ward, dark lonely streets, a
mortuary and a temple – but the edgy cinematography draws out every ounce
of eerieness that it can with off kilter shots, a distorted perspective,
spooky images, cold antiseptic colors and a fast moving camera. There really
isn’t a light moment to be had as director Cheang Pou-soi (Horror Hotline,
Diamond Hill) immediately plunges the viewer into a dark spiral that he relentlessly
follows throughout the film. The young cast of Bernard Chow, Cyrus Chow,
Winnie Leung and Niki Chow are quite solid here – Niki in particular is impressive
as she gets a good starring role that gives her more to do than look cheery
and lovely. Her possible descent into madness is the emotional guts of the
film.
It begins with an attempted double suicide of lovers – a deep slice to the
wrists and both reach out for an early death. Before they get there though
they are taken to the hospital and three blood donors with their rare blood
type are able to save the man’s life – but not the girl’s (Winnie Leung) –
and she is very displeased indeed as she finds herself all alone in her next
journey. The three blood donors (Niki, Bernard and Cyrus) leave the hospital
feeling that they have done a good deed – but not all good deeds are rewarded
in this life – some good deeds kill you in fact. Soon all three of them begin
having frightening nightmares, begin seeing a blank eyed ghost staring at
them, find their wrists suddenly bleeding and slowly they begin to unravel
in a fast trajectory to insanity, despair and possession. This spirit wants
her comatose boyfriend to join her by any means necessary.
Like a lot of these low budget horror films, this one doesn’t always make
sense, people’s motivations are not entirely clear, the ending is more than
a bit puzzling – and after having spent some fair time in hospital wards I
always get annoyed when there never seems to be a nurse within screaming distance
in films – but otherwise this film is an excellent entry into this new HK
fling into serious grim horror films. I also really enjoyed the way it plays
with the concept of bad things happening to good people through no fault
of their own and with very little sympathy displayed from the filmmaker for
their misfortune.
