Director: Keui Chih-hung
Year: 1974
Country: Hong Kong
Alternate Titles: Gui yan
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
After visiting an optometrist, a woman finds her life has turned upside down following her encounter with a strange man who works there, who is soon revealed to be a vampiric ghost looking to use her as a means of securing new prey, and she must turn to various masters of the supernatural to combat his plans.
Review:
Overall, this was a pretty fun and likable effort. One of the better features is a surprisingly fun and intriguing storyline that brings about several enjoyable aspects. The simple setup that sets everything in motion is innocuous enough that it never feels like the lead-in to greater danger, while the burgeoning ploy of her continually waking up naked in a strange bed or constantly seeing people who no one else can come off well. The combined idea of these factors merging to spell out the supernatural malady afflicting her and the resultant idea of possession these acts signal is treated rather logically. As a result, the discovery of his diabolical plans and what it means for her to break out of the trance she's in provides some interesting twists not normally expected in this type of fare.
On top of that, this setup is the lead-in to a host of fine supernatural hauntings. The first half of the film focuses most of its scares on psychological scares that run into one of two categories: the effects of the vampiric drain of her life force or the ability to see ghosts, which no one else can do. The visions are understandably chilling, whether it's the hallucinations of those doing normal activities or scenarios like the victims of the mudslide crying out for help. While the psychological torments here are far more impressive, the idea of him using her for sexual gratification before the secondary storyline where he forces her to bring victims to kill, allows for a fine introduction of the Taoist Priest to save her. It sets about a fantastic finale where the big confrontation is rather chilling and creative in how the battle takes place, while also getting quite inventive with its effects to generally be a rather fun time.
There are some issues here that do bring it down. Among its main drawbacks is a jarring and odd structure in place that seems to switch up the tempo depending on the needs of the scene. The first half, where it's more about her realizing that he has possessed her and is controlling her, moves along quite quickly, getting a lot to like in a nice period. However, the middle of the film slows down quite a bit, where the need to figure out what's going on and why she's lifeless and acting differently comes about at a much slower tempo. There are too many meetings between the two to set about the next target, or her boyfriend trying to talk sense into her that don't amount to much. It also highlights the other flaw in that there's nowhere close to the kind of sleaze or gore that's expected of this one, which can feel dry and underwhelming, making for the biggest detriments to this one.
Overview: ***.5/5
A generally fine genre effort with a lot to like here, this comes off quite a bit better than expected, even if some drawbacks do bring it down. Those who appreciate this type of genre fare, are fans of the creative crew, or are curious about this one, will enjoy it, while most others should heed caution with it.
This review was originally published on Asian Movie Pulse and is gratefully reprinted with their cooperation.
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