BEHIND THE SHADOWS (私家侦探) (2025)

Genre: Crime/Thriller
Director: Jonathan Li, Chou Man Yu
Cast: Louis Koo, Chrissie Chau, Liu Kuan Ting, Renci Yeung, Raymond Wong, Eddie Cheung, Yumi Wong, Cai Xiangyu, Phei Yong
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 19 June 2025

Synopsis: Au Yeung Wai Yip (Louis Koo) is a private detective who has been focusing on missing persons and adultery investigations for many years. One day, he received a "special" job: the owner of a travel agency had asked him to investigate his girlfriend, who happened to be Au Yeung Wai Yip's wife. Unable to withstand his inner torment, Au Yeung Wai Yip gave up on another ongoing case - a client's search for his missing fiancée - and went to the hotel to catch the adulterer. Unfortunately, the marriage could not be saved, and the client's fiancée was killed. A seemingly ordinary affair has turned into a murderous incident!

Movie Review:

Behind the Shadows marks Louis Koo’s One Cool Group’s first production in Malaysia. Shot entirely in Kuala Lumpur, the film stars the big boss himself as Auyeong Wai Yip, a small-time private detective. A chain-smoking sleuth, Yip mostly takes on cases involving adultery, missing persons and lost pets, not exactly the Sherlock Holmes pedigree of private investigator one might expect.

This time around, Yip has three cases on his plate. First, the mysterious disappearance of a young man’s fiancée. The second involves his friend Crawly (Raymond Wong), a petty hoodlum who suspects his boss’ girlfriend, Betty (Renci Yeung), of cheating on him. The third and most intriguing case hits closer to home: Yip’s own wife, Sam (Chrissie Chau), has not only been unfaithful but may be entangled in an affair with a travel agency owner.

However, the biggest mystery in this co-directed effort by Jonathan Li and Chou Man-yu is the presence of a serial killer who has murdered two seemingly unrelated, innocent women. What’s the motive behind these cold-blooded killings? And what’s the deal with the gloomy homicide detective Chen (Taiwanese actor Liu Kuan-ting), who enters the picture early on?

In a bold yet considerate move, screenwriter Chou reveals the identity of the killer midway through the film. By doing so, much of the mystery behind the murders is stripped away, shifting the narrative focus onto Yip as he pauses his investigations to confront his own failing marriage. It’s clear from the outset that his relationship with Sam has long been on shaky ground.

Despite some narrative choices that undercut its suspense, Behind the Shadows still works, largely thanks to its relevant themes about marriage and relationships. Directors Li and Chou wisely frame these themes within a decent crime mystery, preventing the film from becoming a forgettable domestic drama about marital failure.

Koo delivers a reliably solid performance as Yip, more engaged here than you might expect from one of his many yearly appearances. Raymond Wong provides occasional comic relief as the quirky gangster Crawly, while Hong Kong veteran Eddie Cheung adds gravitas in a supporting role as Yip’s fellow PI. If you are old enough to recall one of Malaysia's pop stars from the early 90s, Guan De Hui, he has a small role here.

Compared to Oxide Pang’s The Detective, another neo-noir mystery thriller shot in Thailand, Behind the Shadows lacks the same level of grit and edge. Still, it remains a thoroughly entertaining, well-shot thriller that delivers modest laughs and minor thrills.

Movie Rating:

(A solid effort from Koo in this otherwise small-scale detective story)

Review by Linus Tee