Genre: Crime/Thriller
Director: Park Yu-hwan
Cast: Ariel Lin, Kara Hui, Jiang Wu, Chen Xiao, Lan Ching-Lung
Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Shaw 
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 20 April 2017

Synopsis: Miaomiao was soaked in pain after suffering grave physical and mental hurt. Her life became a lifeless backwater. All she wanted was to live in peace and quiet, yet the murderer did not let her go, and even laid his evil hands over the whole family. Seeing her desperate mother, helpless brother and the cruel killing of her father right before her eyes, this weak girl wiped her tears and decided to fight back. But why did her efforts to save the family end in vain? She racked her brains, but could never change the results. As destiny played tricks upon her repeatedly, she was in profound agony.

Movie Review:

Kara Hui is a great actress. This reviewer’s parents have spoken much about her kungfu roles in Shaw Brothers Studio films in the 1970s and 1980s. The Hong Kongactress of Manchu ethnicity has also managed to portray a wide range of roles on screen with much success. In Malaysian director Ho Yuhang’s At The End of A Daybreak (2009), Hui portrayal of a divorced mother earned her acting awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards, Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards, Changchun Film Festival, Pacific Meridian, Asian Film Awards, and Golden Horse Awards. At the recent Hong Kong Film Awards, the 57 year old actress was recognised for her performance in Andy Lo’s Happiness (she plays a cognitive disorder patient), making her the inaugural and a three time winner of the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress.

Jiang Wu is a great actor. The younger brother of Jiang Wen, the 49 year old born in China’s Hebeiwas a member of the Beijing Experimental Theatre Troupe. He has starred in countless critically acclaimed films, including Zhang Yimou’s To Live (1994), Peter Chan’s Wu Zia (2011) and Jia Zhangke’s A Touch of Sin (2013). He is also a director, having helmed Let the Bullets Fly (2011) and its 2014 sequel Gone with the Bullets.

So what are two great actors doing in this messy movie by Korean writer director Park Yu Hwan? It is unfortunate that they are supporting characters for what was meant to be a star vehicle for Taiwanese actress and singer Ariel Lin. The 34 year old actress, best known for her role in popular Taiwanese idol drama (she rose to popularity with 2005’s It Started with a Kiss), plays a survivor of a sexual assault. A meaty role like this would have been the dream of any aspiring actress – but alas, the storytelling of this sluggish film spoilt it all.

Inspired by a criminal case in China's Fujian province involving the murder of a family of four, the film begins by painting a happy picture of a family and how their lives are changed with the younger daughter Miaomiao (Lin) is brutally attacked. Tragedy strikes again when everyone in the family except Miaomiao is murdered. She then embarks on a journey to uncover the truth. The strange thing is, the series of events is on loop, and viewers are left confused instead of being intrigued.

As audiences, we try to be clever and spot clues which may unveil the big twist at the end of the 92 minute movie. However, we aren’t sure where the film is headed. It ultimately becomes rather silly – which is rather unfortunate because the ensemble cast seemed to have put in a lot of effort to play their roles.

Hui and Jiang are naturally great performers, playing Miaomiao’s loving parents who are embroiled in a mysterious series of events. Lin tries her very best to emote, but she is seen screaming and running for most of the movie, and it does become frustrating after a while. Mainland Chinese actor Chen Xiao plays her older brother. He doesn’t have a lot to do, but he is eye candy for female viewers. Elsewhere, Taiwanese actor Lan Ching Lung is the assailant. The 38 year old is a good looker who has his fans from idol dramas, but he also does not get to flex his acting chops in this movie, being in shadows and behind mask most of the time.

Movie Rating:

(Despite the compelling setup and the ensemble cast’s remarkable performances, the sluggish movie is a failed suspense thriller) 

Review by John Li

Genre: CG Animation
Director: Carlos Saldanha
Cast: John Cena, Kate McKinnon, Gina Rodriguez, Anthony Anderson, David Tennant, Bobby Cannavale, Daveed Diggs, Sally Phillips
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: 20th Century Fox 
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 21 December 2017

Synopsis: FERDINAND tells the story of a giant bull with a big heart. After being mistaken for a dangerous beast, he is captured and torn from his home. Determined to return to his family, he rallies a misfit team on the ultimate adventure. Set in Spain, Ferdinand proves you can't judge a bull by its cover.

Movie Review:

Fun fact – ‘Ferdinand’ hails from the 1936 Munro Leaf children’s classic ‘The Story of Ferdinand’ about a titular Spanish bull who would rather smell the flowers than fight in the ring, and because it was published just before the Spanish Civil War, it was then vilified as pacifist propaganda.

Fun fact number two – the black-and-white picture book illustrated by Robert Lawson has only since been made into an Oscar-winning ‘Silly Symphonies’-vintage Disney short back in 1938, and no one else has attempted a different adaptation or for that matter tried to translate it for a feature-length canvas.

As enduringly popular as that book may have been, familiarity with the literary phenomenon in this part of the world is likely to be faint, and even more so with that faithful 1938 animated short. In fact, the whole premise of bull-fighting will probably seem quaint, what with the idea of ranches raising prize-worthy bulls and matadors coming around to select their would-be opponents in the ring. That is not lost on Carlos Saldanha, who in his seventh Blue Sky feature as either director or co-director has ensured that its be-yourself messaging will be universally comprehended no matter the cultural unfamiliarity.

Just as significantly, his latest computer-animated adaptation throws in plenty of Hollywood-style sight gags and comic set-pieces to appeal to young ones and their parents alike, while retaining enough cultural accents in the overall atmosphere so that the source material’s distinct Spanish flavour (from the verdant Spanish pastures to the Madrid traffic to the bullfighting ring) isn’t lost. It is also worth mentioning that he and his three writers have opted to preserve the beginning and end of Lawson’s book, while adding new incidents and characters to the middle act to expand its protagonist’s adventures away from home.

So just like in the book, we first meet Ferdinand when he is just a calf on a ranch who seems to be more interested in a lone red flower growing within the pen he shares with the other young’uns than butting heads with them. After his father fails to return from a bullfight, the young Ferdinand runs away on a train, eventually finding idyllic refuge with a young girl Nina (Lily Day) on her father’s farm where he grows to full, enormous size. Although given explicit instructions to stay at home lest he frighten the crowds, Ferdinand makes his own way into town for the annual flower festival. Unfortunately, the usually docile creature goes wild after a spot with a bee, thus incurring the lasso from the authorities and a trip thousands of miles back to the ranch where he was born.

There, not only is he reunited with old friends (including a Scottish Highland bull voiced by David tenant) and foe (namely a big, brown bullying bull voiced by Bobby Cannavale), Ferdinand also has to contend with a whole new menagerie of ranch dwellers – among them, the kooky ‘calming goat’ Lupe (Kate McKinnon), a trio of wacky thieving hedgehogs Uno, Dos and Cuartro (Gina Rodriguez, Daveed Diggs, Gabriel Iglesias) who do not speak of Tres, and three snooty German horses (voiced by Flula Borg, Sally Phillips and Boris Kodjoe). Ferdinand is determined to get back to Nina, and while at first sceptical, he will eventually win over Lupe, the said hedgehogs and even the conscientious objections of his fellow bulls to break out of the ranch and find their own lives outside of bullfighting (and the ‘chop shop’, we might add).

It’s an excess of supporting characters to be frank, and as noble as it is to give each his or her due, the film could do with fewer of them and a less saggy midsection. That said, Saldanha does his level best to keep the physical and verbal comedy going at a steady pace, and there is no denying many of them are cheerfully amusing. Some of the highlights include a ‘dance-off’ between the bulls and the three Lipizzaner horses, and an extended chase between the bulls and their owners that starts at the ranch and continues along a busy highway right into the heart of the Spanish capital Madrid. Though calculated for pure manic humour, there is enough wit and inventiveness in each of these two madcap sequences to justify their welcome here.

To its credit, the film chooses to end on a much less raucous note, and is indeed all the better for it. As he stands inside the ring with the veteran bullfighter El Primero (Miguel Angel Silvestre) who had wanted Ferdinand for a farewell appearance, Ferdinand underscores his choice for peace, not violence, beautifully and the inevitable reunion between him and Nina is surprisingly heartfelt. Much of that poignancy is also thanks to WWE wrestler John Cena’s lively voice-work, balanced perfectly between sweetness and strength to give Ferdinand a larger-than-life vividness. Cena also has great support in a talented multi-racial ensemble, including ‘SNL’ alum McKinnon on fine eccentric form as Lupe as well as Rodriguez, Diggs and Iglesias playing his hedgehog sidekicks.

So even if you’re not familiar with the Leaf children’s book or its Spanish traditions, ‘Ferdinand’ is still a big bull (sorry, ball) of fun, complete with a reaffirming message that will speak to audiences of any shape, size or cultural background. Though Hollywood has on more than one occasion reduced a beloved children’s short story when expanding it to feature-length into a series of cookie-cutter chase sequences with topical humour, we’re glad to say that this isn’t one of those occasions, and while enlivened with a fair bit of contemporary wit, it does take care to honour its source material and retain the distinctive ethnic flair within. If anything, it does give the proverbial ‘bull in a china shop’ idiom a whole new literal meaning, and you’ll have to see it to believe it. 

Movie Rating:

(Bullish on wit, charm and heart, this latest Blue Sky toon is a big ball of fun)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Sci-Fi/Action
Director: Luc Besson
Cast: Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Clive Owen, Rihanna, Ethan Hawke, John Goodman, Herbie Hancock, Kris Wu
Runtime: 2 hrs 17 mins
Rating: PG (Some Violence)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures 
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/ValerianMovie/

Opening Day: 20 July 2017

Synopsis: Visionary writer/director Luc Besson helms this contemporary, unique and epic science-fiction saga that will take you through an extraordinary world. Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are special operatives for the government of the human territories charged with maintaining order throughout the universe. Under directive from their Commander (Clive Owen), Valerian and Laureline embark on a mission to the breathtaking intergalactic city of Alpha, an ever-expanding metropolis comprised of thousands of different species from all four corners of the universe. Alpha’s seventeen million inhabitants have converged over time -- uniting their talents, technology and resources for the betterment of all. Unfortunately, not everyone on Alpha shares in these same objectives; in fact, unseen forces are at work, placing our race in great danger.

Movie Review:

Luc Besson's latest bombastic USD200 million sci-fi outing reinforces how, as a founding member of the Cinéma du look movement,he is a master of visuals. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is so visually rich and full of grandeur, it gives you the sense that you are really in space or another dimension altogether (perhaps from being high on this visual spectacle).   

Besson succeeds in besting himself (ala his other space adventure flick, The Fifth Element) and pushes our senses to the extreme in his creation of a unique alien universe. One of the best visual treats that Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets has to offer includesthe vast city of Alpha (the titular City). Practically a wonderland in outer space, Alpha is home to over hundreds different species (hence making it a city of a thousand planets). Another showcase of Besson’s visual storytelling prowess is the ingeniously succinct opening that details the accidental decimation of beach-dwelling aliens known as the Pearls. With little dialogue, Besson makes us grow emotionally attached to them in less than five minutes and you feel for them as you witness them watching doom approach them and their peaceful lives shattered through no fault of theirs. Ironically, the characters with more lines are the ones you feel less for and whose lack of chemistry makes you wonder why Besson thinks we would buy that they have deep relationships with each other to the point that they are willing to die for each other.

Like Besson’s other sci-fi blockbuster, The Fifth Element, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, overloads you visually with the use of tight editing and framing as you follow the action. An early adventure in the film is a showcase of the best this film has to offer. The camera cuts rapidly between the female lead, Laureline (portrayed by British model Cara Delevigne) and the male lead, Valerian (portrayed by Dane DeHaan) as Valerian crosses dimensions, dodging gangsters and weapons while Laureline walks calmly near him.

While visually exciting and thrilling, the downside of so much going on visually is that you sometimes get distracted by other things happening rather than the main plotline. Before you can fully comprehend and appreciate what you see before you, you are propelled into another scenario and cliffhanger with no clear idea of where you or the leads are heading. The film’s episodic nature adds to that as it meanders and ventures into digressions simply to show off more of the manifestation of Besson’s imagination put to film. An example being when Laureline spends one part of the film searching for a lost Valerian who, in turn, returns the favour of rescuing Laureline just shortly after being rescued by her (yes, the film can get as convoluted as this sentence was).

Just as Besson’s strength in visual storytelling comes forth strongly in this film, his weakness in the non-visual aspects come true just as strongly in how disappointing his leads and their dialogue are. DeHaan’s Valerian is more gawky kidult than gruff He-Man with his voice being his most masculine feature unfortunately. Valerian comes across as a Han Solo poser, too scrawny and child-like to be taken seriously as a swashbuckling dashing space major. His tendency to deliver one-liners would work with a more magnetic and cool actor but in the hands of DeHaan, it comes across as a Keanu Reeves impression (and not a very good one either).

Delevigne’s Laureline is better than DeHaan’s Valerian, partly because she gets the more sensible (although still cheesy) lines. While she is generally left in situations where her expressions are mostly those of disapproval, irritation and boredom as she listens to Valerian’s stilted declarations of love, there are a few moments where she gets to show a different side of Laureline in those moments where Laureline lets her guard down and express her true affections towards Valerian. It is those moments that marks the difference between Delevigne’s and DeHaan’s performances (for some reason, you can feel Laureline’s anxiety in rescuing a lost Valerian while you feel Valerian is more returning the favour than truly anxious about Laureline when she gets kidnapped).

The weakness of DeHaan’s performance and the lack of chemistry between them make moving away from them, such as when we encounter Rihanna’s shape shifting character, a welcome relief. It is a terrible thing when your titular lead robs from the story and the visual beauty of the film and any moment away from hearing him utter stilted dialogue makes the film a lot more enjoyable. 

Movie Rating:

(Go in knowing that you will be blown away by the visuals, but don’t expect much from the predictable plot and dialogue)

Review by Katrina Tee

Genre: Comedy
Director: Kim Deok-su
Cast: Kang Ye-won, Han Che-a, Jo Jae-yun, Kim Min-kyo, Namkoong Min
Runtime: 1 hr 51 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Sexual References)
Released By: Encore Films and Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 6 April 2017

Synopsis: 35-year-old Jang Young-sil (Kang Ye-won) has never held a full-time job her entire life, despite having countless qualifications. After being fired from her contract job at the National Security Agency, she accidentally discovers her ex-boss's (Jo Jae-yun) secret… The agency lost half a million dollars to a voice phishing scam because of him! Desperate for a job, Young-sil offers to go undercover at the phishing centre, and strikes a deal with her ex-boss. If she successfully retrieves the money without alerting the authorities, she will be given a permanent position at the agency. While undercover at the phishing centre, she meets foul-mouthed cop Na Jung-an (Han Chae-a) from the Intellectual Crimes Unit, who was assigned to infiltrate the organisation to uncover the identity of the mastermind behind its operations. The two reluctantly join forces, but each with different agendas. What will be the final outcome of their undercover mission?

Movie Review:

True to its title, the Korean action-comedy ‘Part-Time Spy’ is only half as good as a spy movie. The titular agent here is Kang Ye-won’s National Security Agency (NSA) staff Jang Young-sil, who due to budgetary cuts across the whole of Government is asked by her boss Deputy Park (Jo Jae-yun) to leave three months before her two-year contract is up. By some strange twist of fate, Deputy Park falls victim to a voice phishing scam and ends up losing half a million dollars of Government funds at the same time; and after stumbling into his office in the middle of his fit of rage, Young-sil offers to help Deputy Park retrieve the money by going undercover at the company suspected of the scam, in exchange for a permanent position if she is successful. There, she forms an unlikely team with a real undercover agent Detective Na Jung-an (Han Chae-a) from the Intellectual Crimes Unit. Though starting off at loggerheads with each other (because they are each afraid that the other will compromise their respective mission objectives), the two ladies will eventually hit it off, become best pals and take down the masterminds behind the nefarious organization as a team.

You’d probably already sense that director Kim Deok-su’s sophomore feature is trying to be many things at the same time. It starts off highlighting the plight of contract workers, who try to shore up as many qualifications as necessary in between successive (usually unsuccessful) job interviews and odd jobs – hence the montage tracking Young-sil’s career history over a decade that sees her acquire certifications from telemarketing to livestock handling while making ends meet as a taxi driver. Then it becomes a 101 lesson on voice phishing, laying bare its tactics, techniques and mechanics as Young-sil is inducted into the company and given a rundown on just how to con people into giving up their money under various guises whether for investment, safekeeping or plain extortion. And last but not least, it is also a buddy comedy between the shy, diffident Young-sil and the short-fused, foul-mouthed Jung-an, who will learn to put aside their differences and differing personalities over the course of the movie to eventually bond over a girls’ night out of drinks and dancing and even matching tattoos.

As you can imagine, it doesn’t quite manage to be all three as successfully. Young-sil’s employment struggles and her concomitant disappointment upon her dismissal is keenly felt in the first act, especially over a phone call she has with her mother who tells her just how much her late father had wanted her to work in the civil service and her subsequent lie about doing well in her NSA job. That is however quickly forgotten in favour of the bumbling amateur spy routine, which even sees an ‘Infernal Affairs’ spoof that has Young-sil having a discreet rooftop rendezvous with Deputy Park. Oh yes, Young-sil’s inexperience as an undercover agent is played to the hilt here, as well as in contrast to the clearly more trained and experienced Detective Na. There is nothing here that hasn’t already been done in countless spy comedies from South Korea or otherwise, which is probably why the last third changes tack to become a celebration of ‘girl power’ as Jung-an’s fighting skills and Young-sil’s resourcefulness become complements out in the field against a dashing but slippery President Choi (Namkoong Min) and his lecherous second-in-command Mr Yang (Kim Min-kyo).

It should be said that there are no surprises just who the villains really are at any point. From the point that Young-sil is briefly interviewed and accepted as an employee of Daeheung, it is evident that both President Choi and Mr Yang are deliberate perpetrators here. In fact, the same can be said of every single Daeheung employee, i.e. that each knows their job is to trick people into transferring their money to some burner account based in a foreign country which they will not be able to retrieve or trace later on. As much as the film tries to hint at a Chairman who is really pulling the strings from all the way in China, there is little doubt that it is no more than a red herring to try to inject some narrative intrigue into the story – and the fact that we hardly buy it shows just how effective that is. That President Choi is ultimately a criminal at the end of the day also explains the half-heartedness of the supposed attraction that Young-sil has for him, which leads to an unexpected dinner date between the two over a meal of spicy chicken feet that has Young-sil sweating profusely from every pore.

If it isn’t obvious enough, not a lot that happens makes sense. For one, it is surprising that an organization like Daeheung would not even bother to run background checks on their prospective employees, which should automatically rule out someone like Young-sil. For another, it is completely laughable that Jung-an would use her real name at Daeheung, without even bothering with the semblance of a cover identity to disguise herself. Indeed, more important than storytelling or even plain logic here are the gags, but even on that level, there is barely enough to sustain your interest. Jung-an’s tough demeanor is intended as a running joke throughout the film, despite the fact that it seems incongruous with how she needs to be in order to successfully infiltrate Daeheung. Jang’s social awkwardness is another, which starts off amusing but grows increasingly one-note. Ditto her constantly exasperating exchanges with Deputy Park, which similarly grow tiresome by the time we get to the n-th time Young-sil calls her boss ‘Oppa’ as part of the cover.

In short, ‘Part-Time Spy’ as a movie is symptomatic of the issues about contract workers. Just as the latter often do, the movie tries to be everything at the same time without ever becoming truly skilful at anything. It starts off with a strong social slant, abandons it for crowd-pleasing laughs, realizes it is running out of steam and then switches to become an odd-couple team-up. But despite the committed efforts of the cast, there is nothing refreshing or new here, made worse by the lack of conviction of being a social satire, a spy spoof, or a buddy comedy. The fact that it doesn’t even bother to be any less straightforward or any more credible in its setup is also telling, and even more reason that it is ultimately responsible for its own plight. Like we said at the start, it is only half as good as a spy movie, or in fact any worthwhile movie for that matter, so let’s just say you’ll probably be better off without this moonlighter. 

Movie Rating:

(Like its subject, this is half-hearted whether as social satire, spy spoof or buddy comedy, and therefore only half as good whichever way)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: CG Animation
Director: Pete Docter, Kemp Powers
Cast: Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Quest Love, Phylicia Rashad, Daveed Diggs, John Ratzenberger, Angela Bassett
Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Walt Disney
Official Website: https://movies.disney.com/soul

Opening Day: 25 December 2020

Synopsis: "Why am I here" is the question at the heart of Soul, a film which explores where souls come from. For the movie, Pixar dreamed up "You" seminars are where soul's learn personalities and hop into people's bodies as they graduate. The film's lead character Joe Gardner (Foxx) is a music teacher who gets his dream music gig but takes a wrong step and his soul leaves his body, as a result he ends up at the "You" Seminar. Joe will adventure through the cosmos to find his way back.

Movie Review:

‘Soul’ continues Pixar’s streak of philosophically themed animations after ‘Inside Out’ and ‘Coco’, and among their more recent offerings, counts among the best.

On the surface, it is a story of a tired, middle-aged, African-American guy in New York named Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx), who is none the happier after being offered a permanent position teaching band at a high school. While his mother (Phylicia Rashad) couldn’t be more relieved, Joe cannot quite let go of his dream of performing on stage in front of an adoring crowd.

As fate would have it, an ex-student calls him with the opportunity to play with jazz legend Dorothea Williams (Angela Bassett) at the Half Note club. Joe aces the audition, but in his excitement, fails to see an open manhole as he walks back to his apartment to prepare for the evening performance.

Just like that, Joe finds himself transformed into a glowing blue-green turnip-shaped ghost on an escalator to the Great Beyond, also known as ‘Life After Death’. Not content that his life be over just like that, Joe escapes into a void and lands up in the Great Before, a place which he is told is where ““new souls get their personalities, quirks, and interests before they go to Earth”.

As visualised by Pixar, it is a beguiling place of glimmering blues and lavenders populated by bureaucratic counsellors who all happen to be named ‘Jerry’; but more importantly, this is where new souls receive guidance by mentors – those who have lived, passed on and are keen to inspire the next generation – before they gain their spark and gain an entry pass to a physical body on Earth. Not to worry if it all sounds abstract; you can trust Pixar to convey it in a simple yet ingenious way onscreen.

Joe’s mentee is an errant, brattish, not-yet-born soul called 22 (Tina Fey), who is perfectly content with her life in the Great Before as it is and has resisted going to Earth despite having mentors such as Mother Teresa, Gandhi and Copernicus. Without giving away too much, let’s just say that Joe and 22 find a way to get back to Earth with some help from a mystic (Graham Norton), though in Joe’s haste, they end up switching bodies between Joe and the therapy cat the hospital authorities have placed on his bed.

From there, Joe and 22 embark on a quest to get the former to the Half Note Club on time for him to deliver the performance he had been yearning to his whole life. It’s isn’t hard to guess that 22 will discover her ‘spark’ for living along the way, but let’s just say Pete Docter and Kemp Powers, who directed the movie from a screenplay they co-wrote with Mike Jones, manage more than a number of surprises along the way. Indeed, it isn’t quite as straightforward as you think it would be, and the beautifully nuanced conclusion is one of the most poignant endings we’ve seen this year.

Again, it is best you experience it for yourself, but we’ll say as much that Pixar vet Docter (who was also behind ‘Inside Out’) has chosen to tackle the fundamental question of existence itself. Why do I exist? What is the point of being alive? What happens after I fulfil my dream? ‘Soul’ isn’t afraid to raise these meta-physical questions which kids arguably won’t be able to grasp but will resonate deeply with their parents, many of whom like Joe will have lived a good part of their lives chasing after the equivalent of Joe’s full-time teaching job with pension and benefits, as well as wrestling with the dilemma of settling down for something comfortable or chasing after one’s lifelong ambition.

Just as significantly, ‘Soul’ is Pixar’s love letter to the golden city of New York. From squalling car horns, to clattering trains, to barbershops and jazz clubs, New York is so authentically and lovingly rendered here that you can almost feel it. The contrast between New York and the fantastical worlds of the Great Before and Great Beyond are entirely intentional, but the former is so gloriously lived-in that anyone who’s been there (before the COVID-19 pandemic) will instantly miss being there and feeling so alive.

The same can be said of the voice cast, who are impeccably chosen for their parts. Foxx brings warmth, humour and the necessary touch of exasperation to Joe, while Fey has great fun riffing on Carl Jung, George Orwell, and other subjects that will impress even the most cerebral of audiences. Ditto the soundtrack here, which blends Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ rhythmic compositions with Jon Batiste’s lively piano numbers to create something utterly transcendent.

True to its title, ‘Soul’ is soulful, and filled with heart and soul. It is a befitting complement to Pixar’s earlier ruminations about life, living and the afterlife, and a reminder amidst the COVID-19 pandemic that there remains reason to simply live. Like we said, there are parts which kids won’t be able to appreciate, but its beauty lies also in being and meaning different things to different people who are in different stages of their lives. We cannot think of a more meaningful and inspiring way to close off 2020, or for that matter, a more wondrous return to the sort of bold, imaginative originals which made Pixar the preeminent animation house in Hollywood.

Movie Rating:

(It's got soul, feeling and a whole lot of meaning)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Drama/Thriller
Director: Alec Su
Cast: Wang Kai, Ruby Lin, Zhang Luyi
Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films 
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 20 April 2017

Synopsis: In the gripping thriller, DEVOTION OF SUSPECT X, Shi Hong is a teacher who enjoys the company of his beautiful neighbor, divorcee Chen Jing and her young daughter. When Fu Jian, Chen Jing’s abusive ex-husband, suddenly shows up trying to extort money from Chen Jing, threatening both her and her daughter, the situation spirals out of control and Fu Jian is killed. Shi Hong offers to help Chen Jing and her daughter cover up the crime, but when his former classmate and police consultant, Tang Chuan, becomes involved in investigating the murder, Shi Hong must betray his friend’s trust and involve himself in a dangerous cat-and-mouse game that reveals the depths of his feelings for Chen Jing and her daughter.

Movie Review:

If you’ve seen the 2008 Japanese adaptation ‘Suspect X’, then this made-for-China version of the same Keigo Higashino thriller probably holds little surprises. As its synopsis already reads, ‘The Devotion of Suspect X’ tells of a reunion between two brilliant minds who were once classmates – criminologist Prof Tang Chuan (Wang Kai) and secondary school Mathematics teacher Shi Hong (Zhang Luyi) – when a gruesome murder is committed that ensnares Shi Hong’s next-door neighbor Chen Jing (Ruby Lin) and her teenage daughter Xiaoxin. Though the lead detective Luo Mao is suspicious of Chen Jing and her somewhat too-perfect alibi, Prof Tang believes that his former intellectual equal Shi Hong is somehow implicated in the case – and true enough, the latter had not only assisted Chen Jing in covering up the accidental death of her ex-husband, but will also be instrumental in coming up with a Plan B as Detective Luo’s investigative noose slowly tightens around Chen Jing.

Whereas Hiroshi Nishitani’s film turned that premise into a battle-of-wits, sophomore director Alec Su dials down the tension between the protagonists in favour of a more affecting observation of Shi Hong and the circumstances surrounding his misplaced altruism. Why would someone whom Prof Tang first proclaims to be interested only in Mathematics and not in money or relationships go out of his way in order to help someone who is at best an acquaintance? What drives the middle-aged Shi Hong now, whose shyness has now turned into detachment, disappointment and worse disillusionment? And therefore, how far would Shi Hong go to help Chen Jing, even to the extent of shouldering the murder rap? Bit by bit, Su peels back the layers to reveal an intimate portrait of Shi Hong, a Mathematics prodigy now wasting his time teaching inattentive adolescents in school and left despondent that his life has now become utterly meaningless.

That emphasis on Shi Hong inevitably comes at the expense of Prof Tang, whose purpose in the movie is confined to drawing out Shi Hong’s motivations, figuring out Shi Hong’s role in the case, and by extension push the plot-driven narrative forward. Aside from his astute criminal mind and familiarity with Shi Hong, there is little else that defines Prof Tang. Unlike Shi Hong therefore, we know not what drives him to engage in the investigation, whether is it because he relishes the challenge itself or whether it is borne of his firm belief in the pursuit of the truth. That in turn constrains how far we believe and empathize with his crisis of conscience that he faces at the end after finally uncovering the facts of the case – what good is the truth if its revelation ultimately causes the parties involved, sans the police, even more pain? That is what left Prof Tang’s equivalent distraught with at the close of ‘Suspect X’ and the conundrum that its viewers were meant to ponder, but which are both regrettably glossed over here.

It isn’t just Prof Tang’s part that is diminished, but also the dynamic between Prof Tang and Shi Hong. A series of flashbacks early on tells of the stimulation of intellectual sparring when they were classmates, with each taking turns to come up with IQ questions that the other must solve. That same simulation is apparently what makes Prof Tang excited about reconnecting with Shi Hong after so many years, who brings the latter a paper disproofing the Riemann hypothesis for him to validate on the occasion of their first reunion. And yet, subsequent scenes between the two male leads fail to reinforce this, their banter heavy on ambiguity but little else. Unlike the novel and the previous Japanese big-screen iteration of it therefore, their relationship feels more of two old friends reconnecting after a long while apart than of two equally clever minds facing off with each other, which in turn makes it seem slightly perplexing why Prof Tang would continue assisting the investigation especially knowing fair well that it would invariably push Shi Hong into a corner.

Compared to Masuharu Fukuyama and Shinichi Tsutsumi, Wang Kai and Zhang Luyi are simply not as compelling. The former cuts a suave, sharp figure as Prof Tang, but is constrained by the limits of his character in relation to the story. The latter, on the other hand, captures the reclusive, introverted nature of Shi Hong, but not his inner brilliance or his profound sense of attachment towards Chen Jing and Xiaoxin, which arguably is crucial to understanding why he would go to such lengths to protect both mother and daughter against their abusive and degenerate father. Indeed, Zhang Luyi’s performance consists quite one-dimensionally of hunching his soldiers, looking forlorn and smiling on occasion when his character gets the opportunity to share a tender moment with either Chen Jing or Xiaoxin. The two female actresses playing Chen Jing and Xiaoxin inject sufficient vulnerability and warmth into their respective roles, but the film rests on its two male leads and needed to have a stronger complement than Zhang Luyi.  

To be fair, ‘The Devotion of Suspect X’ is perfectly watchable, and a major step-up from Su’s flat-footed first film ‘My Left Foot’. Unfortunately, after a superior Japanese adaptation and another well-reviewed Korean one, Su’s faithful but unremarkable version somehow comes off underwhelming. For those unfamiliar with the story, this will probably do fine; but for those (and we suspect there will be many) who are already familiar with the twists and turns, there needs to be a more compelling reason to be invested in this version, not just for the fact that it is set in China’s Jiangnan and stars a bunch of Chinese actors. Without strong character development (and we mean both Prof Tang and Shi Hong, not just one or the other) as well as equally robust acting, there is not enough to distinguish this from its predecessors – and that is, even with recruiting author Higashino as one of its six screenwriters no less. 

Movie Rating:

(An assured, faithful, but ultimately unremarkable, adaptation of the Keigo Higashino novel that will do fine for those unfamiliar with the tale, but offer little for those who already know its twists and turns)

Review by Gabriel Chong

Genre: Comedy
Director: Zach Braff
Cast: Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Alan Arkin, Matt Dillon, Christopher Lloyd, Joey King, John Ortiz
Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Coarse Language and Drug Use)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures 
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 20 April 2017

Synopsis: Oscar winners Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Alan Arkin team up in Zach Braff's new comedy, "Going in Style"! Played by Freeman, Caine, and Arkin, lifelong buddies Willie, Joe and Al, decide to buck retirement and step off the straight-and-narrow for the first time in their lives when their pension fund becomes a corporate casualty. Desperate to pay the bills and come through for their loved ones, the three risk it all by embarking on a daring bid to knock off the very bank that absconded with their money.

Movie Review:

You’ve got Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Alan Arkin - something’s gotta work, we say. Unfortunately, even this trio of legends fall flat in Zach Braff’s Going In Style, going through the entire film like a dress rehearsal.

It’s like that itch which you can’t really get to, or that sneeze that never came - the lines, written by Hidden Figures Theodore Melfi, are set up for some sassiness, but are ruined by awkward pauses and mistimed comedic rhythm. That’s not to say that the script is without fault. It dallies unnecessarily long at the front, developing side stories that then loiter without purpose throughout the rest of the film. The writing, is simply half-hearted.

Caine, Freeman and Arkin play retired co-workers Joe, Willie and Al, whose pension plans are wiped out as a casualty of corporate maneuvering. Desperate to maintain things for their loved ones, and partly fueled to do a Robin Hood in retaliation to institution greed, they embark on a plan to rob a bank, inspired by a recent success at their local bank.

The premise lends itself to comedy, and at times it seems that both writer and director come close to milking it for its worth. But Melfi’s writing seems disjointed and compiled, while Braff seemed to have his hands off the wheel. Was he intimidated by the cast? I would be. But that’s a disservice to all in the end, when the whole film’s pulse stays barely there, needing desperate resuscitation with some push.

Maybe they lacked coffee on set. Adding more burden to the pace, are the low-energy performances of Caine, Freeman, and Arkin. They recite their lines with nary a twitch in their faces, or if so, inappropriate to the circumstance. I’m not sure if they are outraged, sad, or joyful in many instances. In one case, I can even swear that Arkin forgot his line!

You can see the missed opportunities when some scenes that work pop in. There’s one when Caine finally checks-in, as he leaves parting words to his beloved granddaughter before the robbery. Finally, some emotion! And Freeman gives a dose of his nuance, when a little girl returns for a police lineup.

But largely, the cast plods along. Some gags are older than their combined age of 246. Is this Braff’s way of explaining the doldrums of geriatric life? If so, it totally misfired. As was the episode at Value Mart where the trio went for a trial stealing from a grocery store.

There’s some good times to be had during the actual heist. It stays brisk, and the comedy comes out in full swing, but it’s too little to go on for the almost-100-minute caper. Braff is ultimately the one to blame for foiling this expedition. This film is more tired than retired.

Movie Rating:

(Talented cast is wasted on poor material and direction in this lacklustre and doddering effort at comedy)

Review by Morgan Awyong

Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Phillip Guzman
Cast: Lori Petty, Jesse Bradford, Brea Grant, Jocelin Donahue
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Drug Use And Horror)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: http://areyoudeadawake.com

Opening Day: 11 May 2017

Synopsis: Dead Awake centers on Kate Bowman (Jocelin Donahue), a young woman who discovers an ancient evil stalking people who suffer from sleep paralysis. As Kate finds herself besieged by this terrifying entity, she teams up with a local artist (Jesse Bradford) to try and stop it. With a skeptical doctor (Lori Petty) questioning her sanity, Kate turns to an eccentric expert on sleep disorders (Jesse Borrego) who opens her mind to the horrifying truth: Kate has unwittingly opened the door for this evil to enter our world and has put the lives of her friend Linda (Brea Grant), her father (James Eckhouse), and everyone else close to her in danger.

Movie Review:

Considering that sleep paralysis (an affliction which renders one unable to move or react while waking up) has been a relatively well-documented phenomenon – surely you’ve heard or read about the condition, or know someone who’s recounted a paranormal encounter with congruent details, or even experienced it yourself – remarkably few horror films have used it specifically as a premise for their storylines. And by far, some of the scariest movies made manage to deliver the chills because they root themselves in some form of relatable reality (think The Ring – who knew chain letter-style curses manifested in then-everyday VHS technology could be this terrifying?) or shared myths (the somewhat-based-on-a-true-story exorcism tales of The Conjuring or The Exorcism of Emily Rose).

So you’d think the concept behind Dead Awake at least has that going for it – except that not only does this film fail miserably in realising the potential of its premise, the most frightening aspect of this horror flick is how mind-numbingly unexciting it manages to be from start to end. Surprising, given that Dead Awake largely banks on the name of its screenwriter Jeffrey Reddick, who is best known for being the scribe that gave rise to the underrated Final Destination series – a franchise that truly provided its fair share of original and gratifying popcorn-scattering scares.  

Featuring a largely unfamiliar cast, director Philip Guzman’s (A Kiss and a Promise, Desdemona: A Love Story) first foray into the horror genre starts off by depicting one of several episodes of sleep paralysis that Beth Bowman (played by Jocelin Donahue) has experienced in her bedroom – there clearly is an other-worldly presence, but nobody’s sure what it is yet. Nobody really seems to be able to help her out of her predicament, not even her reassuring artist boyfriend Evan (Jesse Bradford of Flags of Our Fathers, Swimfan, Bring It On fame and arguably the most recognisable name here) or her twin sister Kate (also played by Donahue), who is convinced by the ostensibly scientific reasons behind Beth’s psychological distress and advises the latter not to resist the malevolent force when it assaults her in her next occurrence of sleep paralysis.

Unfortunately, Kate’s advice has tragic consequences for Beth; a combination of both guilt and the experience of having seen the same ghoulish being in her own dreams drives Kate on an all-too predictable quest to seek answers and to prevent other sufferers around her from succumbing to the same fate. Unfortunately, as much as the story is uninspiring, the characters are mostly bland. Mexican-American actor Jesse Borrego leaves more of an impression but for all the wrong reasons. Distastefully caricaturised as an other here (whether intentional or not), he plays the unorthodox doctor Hassan (completely unnecessary Arabic name there), who might as well be a modern-day shaman in western garb. Gangly, unkempt and in essence majorly awkward, he inhabits a house full of cultish idols from around the world. Keep your eyes peeled and you’ll even spot a statuette of the Bodhisattva Guanyin somewhere in there.

Other things don’t quite make sense. Funny that Hassan, who’s spent his life researching the topic on sleep disorders and seems to hold the ticket out of everyone’s misery all along, should only reveal his solution of ridding the nefarious affliction in the last one-third of the film when Kate and Evan finally seek his expertise. The plot also loses credibility points when you consider the “Hag” (or so the nightmarish creature is called) has been known to kill off others throughout history with the same modus operandi – heck, if this is something so universal that could happen to you or me during an episode of sleep paralysis, it had better feel darn believable. Or at least tap on the deepest recesses of moviegoers’ minds in creative ways.

For example, just think about the particularity of the paranormal instances in The Ring, The Conjuring or just about all the best horror flicks – they’re creepy because while there’s an element of realism, it leaves something to the imagination that allows fear to fester. In this film, however, the banal stylings of the demon, revealed all too early on, leaves much to be desired. Sadder is the fact that one of the film’s most interesting moments is a laugh-out-loud cringeworthy scene that involves Hassan fumbling with and dropping a life-saving syringe in a key exorcism scene.

Much of the film trudges on tediously otherwise. If the movie is attempting to pay homage to Wes Craven and the great horror mainstays of the 80’s, as it purports to be, the film does this in the most perfunctory way possible by checking off a list of genre clichés and executing them in dull-as-dishwasher fashion. Malignant spirit crawls up on bed to wreak havoc on its victim – check. Protagonist looks up the origins on the internet and seeks help from unorthodox authority figures – once more, check. Murky bathtub with body sinking under the bathwater – not again. Something awful happens when somebody is in the shower – enough already.

In all, it feels like the production crew isn’t invested in making anything that rises above mediocrity here. Nobody seems interested in adhering to Basic Principles of Horror 101: build up the sense of dread so thickly we don’t-want-yet-need to know what’s appearing around the corner, or else deliver a solid jolt of a scare when we least expect something offensive to the senses to happen. But no, we can’t remember any instances of either since everything is foreshadowed to death. Certain aspects of the set-up also look so embarrassingly amateurish (the mock-ups of newspaper clippings and video-sharing websites featured, for example) that the whole movie could well pass off as a high-school project submission for film class. If you don’t know what sleep paralysis feels like, we’ll hazard a description here – spending 100 minutes staring at a theatre screen waiting for something remotely compelling to happen before being allowed to dash for the exit doors.

Movie Rating:

(Paralyzingly uninspired, you might just fall dead asleep watching this. The money’s probably better spent on just about anything else showing on screens right now)

Review by Tan Yong Chia Gabriel

Genre: Action
Director: Park Kwang-hyeon
Cast: Ji Chang Wook, Shim Run Kyung, Ahn Mae Hong, Oh Jung, Kim Sang-ho, Kim Ming-kyo
Runtime: 2 hrs 6 mins
Rating: NC16 (Violence and Coarse Language)
Released By: Sony Pictures Releasing International 
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 20 April 2017

Synopsis: Kwon Yoo is framed for murder and his life is turned upsisde down. He faces the reality of manipulation.

Movie Review:

 “If it wasn’t something new, I had no reason to come back,” proclaims Director Park Kwang-hyung on his latest film, Fabricated City. And admittedly, the classic story of a scapegoat turning tables on his offenders is getting a little predictable. After a decade-long break, Park injects enough ingenuity into his latest work to keep the genre fresh, if a little unbelievable at times. 

Ji Chang-wook is his aimless victim and hero, playing a disgraced ex-national Taekwondo sportsman-turned-gamer Kwon Yoo. The boy whiles his hours playing shoot-out games, leading his team “Resurrection” from victory to victory.

Known as Captain online, he is suave and ambitious, sometimes even self-sacrificial, especially for a bumbling teammate by the alias of “Mr Hairy”. He forms a bond with his team but never meets them, aware that he is far from the charismatic leader they might think he is.

After one of the sessions, he unknowingly walks into a trap when he receives a call on a stranger's mobile at his gaming station. A reward of $300 is offered for the return of the phone, and he gladly obliges without ever really seeing the owner in person when he drops it at the apartment. However, he wakes up the next morning to find himself swiftly arrested for the murder and rape of that same stranger.

Kwon Yoo is made out to look like a beast by the media, and is sent to jail in record time, eventually getting abused and raped himself, completely obliterating what little dignity he had left. His mother struggles to get an appeal on his sentence, hinting at a witness as a solid alibi. This comes to nothing, when public lawyer Min (Oh Jung-se) delivers shocking news that his mother has passed away from grief.

The brittle Kwon Yoo would have lost all hope, if not for an enigmatic jail-mate who stirs up his will again, to fight for his innocence in light of his mum’s effort. He uses his wits and does a Prison Break, and gets contacted by his gaming team on the outside to solve the mystery behind his predicament.

Ji plays a superb lead, like a younger Gong Yoo with a balance of looks and acting cred to pull the story along. In many scenes, such as the one where he tears up while eating rice after his jailbreak, is heartfelt, and pulls the audience right along before receiving the anticipated revenge payout at the end.

But it’s his team mates that steal the show, by injecting both humour and realism into scenarios that take more than a little believing at times.

For instance, “Mr Hairy” (Shim Eun-kyung) turns out to be a diminutive and socially-awkward girl, who leads the resistance as a hacker prodigy. “Demolition” (Ahn Jae-hong) is a special effects artist, always ready to lend a hand.  The two Kims (Min-kyo and Ki-cheon) are a riot. As a expert technician and retired professor, these two provide the best chemistry and moments in the show, helping their leader to uncover and unravel the odious perpetrators’ plans.

As said earlier, there are some moments that takes one right out of the realism. There’s plenty of scenes that takes place in the villain’s vault computer system - one that Professor Xavier would have been proud to have. There’s another where Kim Min-kyo builds a drone from scratch, not unbelievable - until it starts to scan buildings for hideouts and delivers homing explosives. A hired henchman Ma (Kim Sang-ho) is reputedly a gang boss in jail, but can’t even fire a gun to kill a man 5 metres away.

Lucky for Park, the spiffy effects and some original action sequences blast away all these shortcoming, and give Fabricated City a polish that still shines.

Movie Rating:

(Classic plot gets some refreshing twists and treatment, and coupled with the quality production and choice ensemble, makes this movie a satisfying-enough thriller)

Review by Morgan Awyong

Genre: Horror
Director: Jeremy Gillespie, Steven Kostanski
Cast: Aaron Poole, Kathleen Munroe, Ellen Wong, Kenneth Welsh
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins
Rating: M18 (Violence and Gore)
Released By: Shaw 
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 13 April 2017

Synopsis: When police officer Carter discovers a blood-soaked man limping down a deserted road, he rushes him to a local hospital with a bare bones, night shift staff. As cloaked, cult-like figures surround the building, the patients and staff inside start to turn ravenously insane. Trying to protect the survivors, Carter leads them into the depths of the hospital where they discover a gateway to immense evil.

Movie Review:

Fans of John Carpenter, Clive Barker and Stuart Gordon rejoice – the low-budget splat-flick ‘The Void’ from first-time feature directors Jeremy Gillespie and Steve Kostanski is a glorious throwback to the days of ‘Halloween 2’, ‘Hellraiser’ and ‘The Thing’. Gleefully going off the rails for their solo venture outside of the Canadian genre filmmaking collective Astron-6, both unabashed fans of Reagan-era blood, slash and goo have assembled killer cults, tentacled monsters, shotgun-toting psychos and otherworldly demons for a 1980s-reminiscent old-school horror that isn’t afraid to go absolutely bonkers, even if all of that doesn’t quite make sense being in the same movie at the same time.

Although it begins with a grisly murder at a dilapidated farm house, most of the action unfolds at the local county hospital, where small-town sheriff Daniel Carter (Aaron Poole) has brought a wounded man (Evan Stern) he sees stumbling out of the woods while on beat duty. Unbeknownst to Daniel, that man had shortly before escaped the scene of the first crime and is now hunted by a shotgun- and gasoline-wielding father-son team (Daniel Fathers and Mik Byskov) who will eventually make their way to the hospital. Meanwhile at the facility, Daniel is joined by his estranged wife cum resident nurse Allison (Kathleen Munroe), a pregnant teenager (Grace Munro) accompanied by her grandfather (James Millington), a disgruntled nurse intern (Ellen Wong), and last but not least, the veteran Dr Powell on duty (Kenneth Walsh).

An inexplicable act of violence by one of the nurses, who stabs a patient in the eye before cutting off her own face, is just the start of the night’s troubles for the ragtag group. We’re not talking about the father-son team; oh no, as it turns out, they are one of the good guys. We’re referring instead to the hordes of people surrounding the hospital, dressed in white hooded capes with black triangles where their faces should be and armed with daggers which they have no qualms using on anyone trying to leave. We’re referring as well to the dead people within the hospital who transform into writhing monsters and feed on the living. And yet, both are just harbingers of an even greater horror to come, sprung from the titular abyss of time and space to manifest on our dimension.

Turns out the setting is no coincidence – down in the burned-out basement, Dan will discover grisly evidence of arcane rituals being carried out in secret by no less than Dr Powell, which aim to open a doorway that will allow an ancient evil bringing the promise of eternal death to bring its brand of damnation into our world. It’s a lot to take in, and arguably Gillispie and Kostanski (who also wrote the script together) don’t seem to be trying very hard to string all of these disparate horror elements together into a coherent whole; rather, they seem more intent to create enough memorable sequences drawn from 1980s genre cinema to please fans of the latter.

On that count, it’s hard to argue that they have not succeeded. Right from the beginning to its Lucio Fulci-inspired finale, there is much to embrace about the use of monstrous gore, practical FX and immersive sets to create the feeling of cosmic dread, which is also testament to the filmmakers’ experience in Hollywood as art directors. There’s no denying that the script is clunky at parts, the characters not quite fully sketched and the acting somewhat iffy, but equally, it is to their credit that their movie remains a transfixing watch from start to finish. More significantly, even when it does go full blown crazy, these moments are executed deftly enough that you’ll never get the feeling they have gone overboard simply for the sake of shlock.

If it isn’t yet apparent, ‘The Void’ will probably be off-putting for those who like their horror elegant and tasteful. There is no such thing as subtlety here – not when you have icktastic monsters piercing their tentacles right through a person’s chest or corpses piercing their own heads through a metal rod in the wall – but ‘The Void’ is precisely comfort food for those who love their horror with gore, gross-out creatures and phantom zone-like multiverses. Ultimately, how much you enjoy ‘The Void’ will depend on how much you think you’ll appreciate a return trip to the 1980s, but if you’re in the mood for classic Carpenter, Barker and Gordon-type Lovecraftian horror, then we guarantee you’ll relish this journey into ‘The Void’. 

Movie Rating:

(Made for fans of 1980s horror, this low-budget splat-flick with killer cults, tentacled monsters, shotgun-toting psychos and otherworldly demons gleefully goes off the rails for a glorious throwback to the days of John Carpenter, Clive Barker and Stuart Gordon)

Review by Gabriel Chong