SYNOPSIS:
When
the leading dancer of Lola – the most anticipated new musical in China
– is gruesomely murdered in her dressing room on the very night of
the premiere, terror looms over the dance troupe. With the murderer still
at large, the coveted role of Lola quickly passes to TIAN (Tian Yuan), a
talented but introverted dancer with a traumatic childhood. Suspicion fanned
by jealousy soon leads to hostility and rejection from fellow dancers, while
figments of childhood memories start haunting her every dream. Tian can
only seek solace in the arms of her gaffer boyfriend ZHEN (Francis Ng).
As the cold-blooded murderer strikes again, Tian begins to realize that
all the slayings are somehow related to her. No sooner is she inextricably
sucked into the curse of the role than she starts suspecting Zhen may actually
be harboring a horrifying secret behind these murders and the troupe itself.
But will she live long enough to uncover the secret and dispel the curse?
MOVIE
REVIEW :
Warning! Do not watch this movie with the expectation of a horror movie,
as “Curse of Lola” is played more like a “Who Done It”
thriller than a supernatural horror movie.
“The
Curse of Lola” takes place in a musical troupe where the lead Lola
character is highly contested between the female members in the troupe.
Rivalry naturally occurs in the troupe and when the chosen dancer for Lola,
Xiao Mei (played by Sui Junbo) dies after the premiere night, suspicions
fall on the next dancer Tian Yuan (played by Tian Yuan) who would get the
role as Lola and her boyfriend Zhen Yu (played by Francis Ng) who has had
a questionable past with Xiao Mei.
This straight
to video movie does offer an interesting and unexpected revelation behind
the curse that haunted the dance troupe but the movie does not really gather
any momentum during the first three quarters of the movie to propel the
viewers into wanting to find out why people are turning up dead in the troupe.
The subplots
of Tian Yuan’s childhood came as flashbacks, which are slotted throughout
the movie, does not really connect with the situation at hand and therefore
effectively slows down the pacing of this movie.
The romance
between Tian Yuan and Zhen Yu was rather weak too as it lacks chemistry
between both leads to make the viewers feel for the couple. It does not
help either when the script calls for Zhen Yu’s character to switch
quickly from a caring boyfriend to an abrasive one
Playing the
role of Zhen Yu is well-known Hong Kong actor, Francis Ng. The most recognizable
actor in this movie and perhaps well known for playing villainous character
in “Infernal Affairs 2” and “Young and Dangerous”
wasn’t able to shine in this movie. While he definitely has the screen
presence to light up the scenes he is in, his performance as the boyfriend
with a secretive past in “Curse of Lola” came across as uneventful
and overacted in certain portions.
This China thriller production by first time female director Li Hong is
filled with too many jarring misdirection that seasoned movie viewers can
easily tell who is not involved in the murders. The attempt to blend drama
and suspense didn’t come off well, making this film a below average
debut for the director.
This Vcd provides
with the option of switching between Cantonese and Mandarin soundtracks
and burnt in English Subtitles for the Non-Chinese viewers. But there are
no Chinese Subtitles found in this 2 Vcd as printed on the cover of “Curse
of Lola”.
MOVIE
RATING:
Review by Richard Lim Jr
