I enjoy horror and Cantonese cinema, so of course I would sit down to watch "Always Be With You" (aka "Seung joi nei for yau") when I happened to get the chance in 2020. Granted, I hadn't even heard about this 2017 movie from writer and director Herman Yau before I had a chance to sit down and watch it physically.
But with a cast that includes well-establish Hong Kong actors and actresses like Louis Koo, Charlene Choi, Charmaine Sheh, Suet Lam, Ka Tung Lam and horror veteran Lan Law, what was not to like?
The movie does start out well enough being interesting and offering lots of interesting things for the audience, but then along halfway through the movie it starts to lose its moment, and towards the end it was just like "isn't the movie soon finished?". The movie's story is somewhat strange and chaotic, seeming to have very little red thread throughout it. It was predictable, unfortunately.
While the actors and actresses were performing well enough, they just suffered terribly from the lack of a properly interesting script and storyline. This ultimately sent the movie into mediocrity for me.
While "Always Be With You" is listed as a horror and thriller, I will say that if you sit down to watch it for the horror aspect, like I did, you will be sorely disappointed, because there was very little horror to be found in the movie. It should be listed more of a supernatural thriller, not a horror thriller.
I am rating "Always Be With You" a mediocre five out of ten stars. While it was watchable, this is not a movie that warrants a second viewing. Nor is it a movie that displays the best performance of any of the casted actors and actresses. I have now watched it once, and can honestly say that I will not be returning to watch it a second time.
