Almost Buddhist - 戲‧論

★☆☆☆☆ 見識過泰國的 < 鬼影 > ，講因果輪回，鋪排精心，氣氛陰森，真相嚇尿。聽聞過韓國的 < 哭聲 > ，頗有風格，但故事講什麽就完全沒印象了！這次泰韓兩大恐怖大師破天荒合作的 < 凶靈祭 > ，什麽勇奪富川國際奇幻影展最佳作品，什麽壓倒 < 黑寡婦 > ，勇奪韓國開畫票房冠軍，什麽本年度最恐怖作品，看過之後，真是大失所望，雖不至於是垃圾，但也差不多！ 片長超過兩小時，前半段節奏氣氛的把度還好，來到後半段，當主角之一阿敏被邪靈上身之後，有人覺得影片就此開始高能，我就覺得開始低能兼失控。去到尾段更純粹賣弄惡心暴力，完全崩盤，簡直笑話！可能編導到最後已經不知如何打圓場了，所以索性廢話少說，奉上血腥大餐算數！ 故事好像很複雜，訪問一大輪，什麽「巴揚神」，什麽「薩滿」傳承，簡單講就是靈媒驅魔！其實本片最大的敗筆就是其拍攝手法——僞紀錄片！説起僞紀錄片，始祖應該是十幾年前那部 < 死亡習作 > ，但其實 < 死亡習作 > 也是不值一提的。真正發揮出僞紀錄片那種沉浸恐怖感的，印象中就只有西班牙的那部 <80 分鐘死亡直播 > ！而 < 凶靈祭 > 卻是偽紀錄片的失敗示範，越看到最後，就越明白爲什麽！試想一下你是拿攝影機的那個人，你會在極度恐懼，腸穿肚爛就快死的情況下，繼續鎮定地對著恐怖暴力的來源繼續拍攝嗎？當然， <80 分鐘死亡直播 > 和 < 死亡習作 > 也有類似不合理之處，但起碼他們做得沒那麽出位和明顯。 泰國鬼片多數都會談及一些佛教因果輪回的概念， < 凶靈祭 > 也不例外，但只是略略帶過，沒有過多强調。祖先作惡，後輩受報，因果真的如此運作？所謂各自因果各自受，因果從來都是公道的，不偏不倚的，有偏差的只是人的信念和信心。片中所發生的悲劇都源自於人對護佑他的神靈的信心不足！ We are what we believe 。無信心，則無願力，無願力則隨業流轉，而你我都知，我們的業多數是一些可悲可怖，亂七八糟的東西！

  ★☆☆☆☆ I had high expectations for ‘Old’ on account of its theme which is about time and aging, and also the fact that it’s from the director of ‘The Sixth Sense’, ‘The Village’, ‘The Visit’, considered the exceptional demonstrations of how a clever immersive horror is supposed to be like, and thus I’m completely let down as it turns out be so ineffective, weird and chaotic! A bunch of people arrive at a luxury resort, from where they’re led to a secret beach nearby. At first they think they’re privileged to enjoy the paradise but soon they realize it’s hell to stay because they can’t seem to find a way out of there where they age rapidly. Right, what could be worse than having to face the ticking clock of your own mortality? But the film is basically 100 minutes too long, too boring! The script, the acting, the tone, the way the camera moves, all are awkward and inconsistent. There’s no apparent main character here in fact. All seem dispensable and paper-thin so you don’t reall...

  ★★★☆☆ I have absolutely no idea what ‘Candyman’ is about beforehand. Whether it’s a sequel or a reboot or a remake or whatever! All I know is, it’s a horror, and turns out it’s an artistic one in terms of score and cinematography. If you expect a bloodthirsty slaughter, you’ll be rather disappointed. Here we have is a well-paced, nerve-wracking, heart-breaking urban legend told in a stylish way, involving art, gentrification, race and memory, which is sort of a surprising treat indeed. The story itself is, to be honest, more or less of a supernatural cliché, where a black man falls in love with a white girl. Later, when the girl gets pregnant, her father chases down the black man, cuts off his right hand and inserts a hook instead, covers him with honey and lets bees sting him to death before setting him on fire. The innocent black man becomes the Candyman afterwards, who would come and get you if you say his name ‘Candyman’ five times in a mirror regardless of who you are and ...

  ★☆☆☆☆ I thought I was watching something else at first instead of a sequel to 2016’s ‘ Don’t Breathe ’, an exceptional horror that delivers high level of claustrophobia and sickening stuff that you could find hard to believe. Near the end of the film however, I am assured by the blind man’s own confession, that my memory about him is right. That he’s killed. He’s raped. He is a sicko! I couldn’t help but wonder how come a sick old man back there has become such a simpatico die-hard hero right here all of a sudden. To survive the film, you got to accept this sort of ridiculous change of setup or characterization but I just can’t! ‘Don’t Breathe 2’ is a total disaster from whatever angle you look at it. The setting that’s supposed to take your breath away is gone! So is the claustrophobic feel! What you get instead is simply a carefree game of hide-and-seek-and-chase-and-kill. Some of the action scenes look preposterous while most are exaggerated. Like expected, there’s also some...