Tor dei gui mou yan

I happened to get a chance to sit down and watch the 2015 movie "Keeper of Darkness" (aka "Tor dei gui mou yan") from writer and director Nick Cheung here in 2020. I had not even heard about the movie prior to getting this chance.

Given my fascination with the Hong Kong cinema, needless to say that I seized the moment and sat down to watch this movie.

Well, first of all I must say that the movie's synopsis sounded interesting, and it sold the movie well, and definitely put me up with some expectations for the movie. Which director Nick Cheung unfortunately failed to deliver upon. The movie's storyline just ended up being very bland and often just monotonous.

As for the effects in "Keeper of Darkness", well overall the special effects and CGI team worked their magic quite well. Expect for two horribly rendered ghost effects; the short, overly muscular ghost, it was just atrocious to look at. And the fact that the main ghost was blown out of proportions, it just looked so poorly made, especially because some of the head wasn't show. It looked like they just added a warped image effect in post production. It was laughable to say the least.

It should be said that they had managed to gather a good ensemble of actors and actresses for the movie. Some familiar faces if you are well-traversed within the Hong Kong cinema.

The movie is labelled as a horror and thriller, well I will say that it is more of a thriller than it is a horror movie, because the horror elements are very, very weak throughout the course of the movie.

"Keeper of Darkness" was mediocre at best, and as such I am rating it five out of ten stars. I must admit that when the movie came to an end, I was left with an overwhelming sensation of 'was that really it?'

Keeper of Darkness makes fun of Korean drama on more than one occasion. This is both relevant and ironic, considering the film's often melodramatic, poignant, and at times, humorous script, bears a striking similarity. It would be folly to think the filmmakers are unaware of this, for actor/director Nick Cheung fully embraces this to craft a frequently entertaining, edge of your seat narrative, which combines themes of love, loyalty and the supernatural, and though there's a lot going on, Cheung and his great supporting cast superbly pull this off.

Fatt (the always entertaining Cheung) is a white haired, street smart exorcist, who, with the help of assistant Ah-Chung (Louis Cheung) and his connections with a gang element, assists the city of its spiritual concerns. Though Fatt could never be described as anti-social, his strongest relationship is with Cherr (the adorable Amber Kuo), a ghost who inhabits his home. The characterisation applied to both these leads is fantastic; the story of how they met being developed over the course of the film. However, the same cannot be said for the other characters, who, by the end of the feature, feel greatly underdeveloped, burning questions about them left unanswered.

When Fatt's most recent exorcism makes its way online, journalist Zi-Ling (Sisley Choi) makes it her mission to interview him. Never does she suspect that Fatt would refuse her. Zi-Ling's determination propels her further into the realm of the supernatural, and predictably, into trouble. Running afoul of some ghosts of her own, Fatt finds himself having to help her, while investigating the deaths of fellow mediums and exorcists at the hands of violent spectre Hark (Shi Yanneng). Reasons for Hark's malevolence are explored during the narrative, though the film's attempts to have him seem sympathetic are equally powerful.

With the exception of a couple scenes, the special effects are superb, and really drag you into the world that Keeper of Darkness creates. The only problem is that the world is not always given the depth it deserves. There are moments when Fatt is required, much like John Constantine, to cross over to the other side. These fleeting moments are incredible, and it's a shame these moments are not capitalised on. Moreover, though this is a ghost film, it could never truly qualify as 'horror'. If Fatt using chickens and fireworks to frighten a ghost away is not ridiculously comedic enough, the playfulness of the first ghosts we encounter removes any sense of terror. From selfish ghosts, to the more needy variety, the film creates a deep seeded sympathy for the spiritual realm, while also exploring how people become ghosts in the first place. This is not to say Keeper of Darkness is not without its suspense, the constant danger faced by the characters making us genuinely feel concern.

Unlike other films that clearly introduce the leads and the conflict in the first few frames, Keeper of Darkness takes the rulebook on typical narrative structure and throws it out the window in exchange for something more random. The opening scene sees a young Fatt and his mother (Karena Lam) with zero context, following this up with another random sequence, while it isn't until much later into the film that we are introduced to Cherr, despite her having such a pivotal role.

Though sporadic, while also juggling multiple genres and plots, the film consistently works. The film is similar, tonally, jumping from moments of in your face action, to sweeping emotional sequences. The feature is not without its predictability, but from the first scene until its poignant finish, this never gets in the way. From my experience, Keeper of Darkness is a difficult film to find, and though it's not scary enough to grace our screens come Halloween, its charm, sense of humour and occasional thrills makes for (despite been about ghosts) lively entertainment.

Adorable ghostly specters, I avoided watching at night, who knows... "Do one good deed. One good deed cancels out three bad ones." I liked the plot, the reasonable development, Nick Cheung lost in charm, and won in acting... Great effects, evolving story, satisfying ending...

Nick Cheung has challenged nearly a myriad of roles that come his way, mostly to a good degree of success. He does perform in "Keeper of Darkness" as the eccentric exorcist, but the over usage of CG and fragmented subplots make it hard for audience to invest on any perspective. While it sometimes looks smooth, the movie jumps too hectically from scene to scene, making the progress more convoluted than it needs to be.

Fatt (Nick Cheung) is a man who possessed the ability to see ghosts. He tries to solve their problems and prevents them from stepping too far to the human side. This set-up, along with his tattooed and white haired visage, gives him a quirky and charismatic presence, almost like Constantine, supernatural detective from other side of the globe.

However, the plot tries to churn too many occurrences in too short of a span. Some of the introductions are done sluggishly, then it speeds up to flashback of the past, the burning malicious ghost and even strange bond with female reporter and ghost. The transition is jarring and can be quite confusing with sporadic editing.

This hurts the horror element as well, since some of the scenes are actually quite chilling, yet they are cut too shortly or done with too much CG. The graphic for setting and effect are admittedly pleasant, yet one would think a couple of horror instances are better off with practical effect. It also tries to fit in some comedic laughs, but these come off as cheesy soap opera from old days.

"Keeper of Darkness" wants to bring more visual finesse to oriental horror, however the focus on narrative is messy and frequent shift of tone can be alarmingly distracting.

Not going to bother with the plot as others have succinctly summed it up for you. In my opinion this was a decent film that one could watch if its a weekend and there's nothing to do. The acting, storyline and special effects will not leave you feeling disappointed. At the very least, if you rented this movie for a couple of bucks, rest easy in knowing you will get your money's worth.