Yee dou hung gaan

The film 'Inner Senses' is almost two movies. The first chapter is about a young female college student, Yan, who sees ghosts. Yan moves into a small apartment alone, and begins to have strange hallucinations, so she sees a doctor, Jim, On the behest of her cousin. Through her vulnerability she starts to fall for her doctor, who is also her professor, but they are able to keep a professional relationship, and she actually gets cured through the reconciliation between her and her estranged parents that Jim orchestrates.

The next chapter soon begins though, with Jim and Yan living together, and all is well, until he begins sleepwalking, or rather renews a pattern he lived years ago. He though is in deep denial, and will not believe it is his problem, even when he watches a tape of his nightly activities.

We soon find he is haunted by his own ghosts. The love he outgrew and cast aside in high school, who took her life in a terrible way, never resolved, now demands a forum in the hall of the heart. Will he survive the meeting?

The film is very touching, with intermittent spooks, well placed, without being overdone, with obvious ideas taken from Hideo Nakata, an overall very enjoyable, and moving film about love, loss, self discovery, and the battle of the mind and heart to move on. Slightly sappy at times, the story and acting are good enough to overlook the flaws.

Overall Score 7/10

Don't let the put downs deter you. Decide for yourself. This DVD is worth the patience it takes to watch. IF you like the Tomie series, Sixth Sense - etc. - then you will most likely be very pleased with this film. This is a Superb Ghost Story in the tradition of the above - and Ringu! I found it truly moving. It has some truly chilling moments! (The over-the-shoulder-apparition is a classic!) This is a Ten - for me.

INNER SENSES continues Hong Kong's trend of making movies where attractive young women see ghosts. Like Hollywood, Hong Kong has never met a successful film yet that it didn't want to copy...and copy...and copy...and copy some more...

The gimmick for INNER SENSES is that it takes a more psychological approach to its supernatural elements. The ghosts may be real or not, it's open to debate right up to the very end. Unlike other Hong Kong films cashing in on the "I see dead people" trend, INNER SENSES does try to approach the subject from a somewhat common sensical direction, even if the ending comes across as awfully camp.

Of note is that INNER SENSES is one of Leslie Cheung's last films before his untimely suicide earlier this eyar. It's a shame, because the world is going to miss his talent.

6 out of 10.

Good horror film with a serious plot about people who cannot recover from the losses in their pasts. The film builds up very slowly to build character but also produces some genuinely creepy scenes in the third act. The subplot about the landlord (which also acts as a catalyst for the main character) is a little under-explored, which is a shame, but other than that it's a very accomplished film. More Dark Water than, say, Ju-on: The Grudge.

Also Leslie Chungs last film before he threw himself out of a window...a little spooky considering some of the scenes in this film, which are similar.

I've just completed watching all of Cheung's films now, phew....

Yes, it's true that there are many echoes of this film already out there, but I guess it's hard to be unique when producing a ghost story these days!

I thought the film had a reasonably plausable plotline. But most of all, I thought the main actors gave a thoroughly good performance. It's not always easy to discuss the topic of mental disorder in Asian societies, and you also felt that the two main protagonists were quite isolated from everyday events around them. Everything that goes on revolves around them and they have a powerful story to tell.

Cheung is looking more mature than in most of his other roles. He is not a happy-go-lucky comic playboy any more. In fact there is no humour in this film at all, and the tone just gets darker and darker as it progresses. It's a little sad to see how the fate of Cheung's character came to perhaps resemble the final moments in Cheung's real life. I would have loved to see Cheung continue playing in film roles for ever and ever.

A proud career end for Leslie Cheung.