Revenge: A Love Story
A dark and gruesome tale of revenge from director Wong Ching-Po (Jiang Hu, Let’s Go!)…
Detectives Jeff (Chin Siu-Ho, Tai Chi Master, Ticket, Battle of Wits, Mr. Vampire) and Kwok Hua (Tony Ho, New Police Story, 3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy, Flash Point, Divergence, Infernal Affairs) are tracking a serial killer who targets pregnant women. Cutting the foetus from their living bodies he’s been labelled ‘The Dissector’ by the press.
Investigating the latest murder, with the woman’s husband found drowned in a bath of boiling hot water, they manage to capture the man they think responsible, Chan Kit (Juno Mak, Dream Home, Truth Or Dare: 6th Floor Rear Flat).
Stopping at nothing to interrogate the man, whom they also suspect of targeting their own colleagues, they are forced to release him when another woman is found mutilated. But if Chan is not guilty who is? As the story unfolds we discover their shared history. That some injustices will not remain covered up or unpunished, and how unconditional love can turn to bloody vengeance…
Wong Ching-Po approaches his gruesome subject matter in cool, desaturated tones. Having cut his teeth on commercial films like Jiang Hu, there’s no doubt this is much more personal, working from an original story by lead Juno Mak, but full of style and, for Hong Kong cinema at least, unconventional in look and just as unpredictable in plot.
It’s a dark and pretty nihilistic look at vengeance. Like the revenge films of Park Chan-wook (Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance, Old Boy, Lady Vengeance) and Kim Jee-Woon’s I Saw The Devil, though the participants may be looking for some kind of justice, once the path has been taken their hatred just leads them well beyond the chance of any sort of redemption themselves.
The comparison to Korean filmmaking seems apt. Though this is faster moving, it feels like it has much more in common with South Korean films than it does with much of Hong Kong cinema. The action is highly stylised, even when digital effects are used – such as the sequence when a car flips over into a field crashing right behind Chan – meaning that Wong Ching-Po must possess a strong vision of what he wants from the final film.
It’s that style that really sets the film apart, titling the chapters as they overlap in a manner not unlike Takashi Shimizu’s Ju-On: The Grudge series. But this is far more a case of gruesome activity than of terror.
Watching the film I felt like it had much in common with Edmond Pang’s Dream Home, so it didn’t come as a massive surprise to find it had the same producer, Conroy Chan, who set up the production company 852 Films with his wife Josie Ho in order to push boundaries and give actors more opportunities to play roles other than ‘gangsters or prostitutes’ as he puts it.
If pushing boundaries was the remit, then pushing our expectations of Hong Kong horror seems to be part of that too. Hong Kong has always managed to complement wacky kung fu sequences and/or comedy with horror, but truly scary or gory films with intelligence or satire behind them often haven’t worked out as well this side of Fruit Chan’s Dumplings and the Pang Brothers The Eye (though the Pang’s have done little to match it since).
The one issue I have with the movie is a common one, particularly in action films: that the rape sequence is filmed in a salacious (at best) manner. Though filmed in an ugly manner, I still felt there was far too much on show that didn’t need to be. What really doesn’t help matters is the casting of Japanese adult movie superstar Sola Aoi (Big Tits Zombie) – she does happen to be extremely cute!
That aside, this is visually striking film that doesn’t follow the usual rules of the revenge or horror genres. Hong Kong horror is really coming of age…
Revenge: A Love Story is on DVD now, released by Terror-cotta (Terracotta Distribution).
DVD details
Distributor: Terror-Cotta (UK)
Edition: DVD (2012)
Another strong DVD release from Terror-Cotta (Terracotta), with a solid transfer of the film and good extras, including a fab making of featurette and an exclusive interview with producer Conroy Chan.
(But is it just me, or are there some typos on the subtitles?)
Thanks for the review. I just saw this film and have to concur with much of what you say Andy. Revenge also did really strike me as a departure from your typical HK cinema fare. Definitely worth a viewing!
Jason January 23rd, 2012 at 5:43 pmThanks Jason!
Andy H January 23rd, 2012 at 6:42 pm